Oak Knoll Winery

Last updated
Oak Knoll Winery
Oak knoll winery logo.jpg
Location Hillsboro, Oregon, United States
Appellation Willamette Valley AVA
Other labelsEruption
Frambrosia
Twilight Blush
Founded1970;53 years ago (1970)
Key peopleGreg Lint, former president
Jeff Herinckx, wine maker
Kim Kolb, director of operations
Varietals Pinot noir , Pinot gris , Chardonnay , Niagara , Riesling
Distributionnational
Tasting Open to public
Website www.oakknollwinery.com

Oak Knoll Winery is a privately held winery located in the Tualatin Valley near Hillsboro, Oregon, United States. Established in 1970, it is the oldest winery in Washington County, [1] and produces Pinot noir, Pinot gris, and Chardonnay. The winery also known for producing Frambosia, a red raspberry wine. [2]

Contents

Oak Knoll does not have its own vineyards, instead purchasing grapes from area Willamette Valley grape producers. [3]

History

The winery was established in 1970 by Marjorie and Ron Vuylsteke south of Hillsboro on what was formerly a dairy farm. [4] [5] The couple first started making wine in their garage, after they had a bumper crop of blackberries. [4] At the time, Ron was an electrical engineer. [4] As they became more successful in making wine, they started their business with financial backing from a silent partner. [4]

It was the first winery in Washington County. [1] [3] In its early years, the winery used repurposed Coca-Cola drums for storing the wine during the fermentation process. [5] The first batch consisted of 4,000 gallons of blackberry fruit wine. The winery's first Pinot noir was produced in 1973. [3] Chardonnay and Riesling were introduced in 1975 and Pinot gris was first produced in 1990. [3]

Oak Knoll was the first winery in Washington County to open a tasting room. [5] By 1986, the winery was the second-largest by volume sold in Oregon, [6] but slipped to third by 1988. [7] The Washington Post named the winery's Pinot noir some of the best Pinot noir from the United States in 1986. [8] Oak Knoll produced other fruit wines, such as loganberry, and in 1998, its Oak Knoll raspberry "Frambrosia" was named one of the world's best dessert wines in USA Today . [9] [10] In 2005, the Vuylstekes sold part of the winery to their sons Tom and John. [11] In 2006, the winery was the largest in Washington County with 30,000 cases produced each year. [12]

Business

Winery and tasting room Oak Knoll Winery Oregon.JPG
Winery and tasting room

Oak Knoll uses grapes from within the Willamette Valley AVA to produce its wines. The winery is a family-run enterprise with Greg Lint serving as president until his death in September 2022. [13] As of 2007, it had annual revenues of $7.5 million, selling varieties including Chardonnay, Pinot noir, Niagara, and Pinot gris under its own label as well as under the Twilight Blush, Eruption, and Frambrosia labels. [13] The winery is the official wine sponsor of the Portland Rose Festival. [14] [15]

Accolades

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chardonnay</span> Variety of grape mainly used to make wine

Chardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand. For new and developing wine regions, growing Chardonnay is seen as a 'rite of passage' and an easy entry into the international wine market.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pinot noir</span> Red wine grape variety

Pinot noir is a red-wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French words for pine and black. The word pine alludes to the grape variety having tightly clustered, pinecone–shaped bunches of fruit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pinot gris</span> Variety of grape

Pinot Gris, Pinot Grigio or Grauburgunder is a white wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. Thought to be a mutant clone of the Pinot Noir variety, it normally has a grayish-blue fruit, accounting for its name, but the grapes can have a brownish pink to black and even white appearance. The word pinot could have been given to it because the grapes grow in small pinecone-shaped clusters. The wines produced from this grape also vary in color from a deep golden yellow to copper and even a light shade of pink, and it is one of the more popular grapes for skin-contact wine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Zealand wine</span> Wine making in New Zealand

New Zealand wine is produced in several of its distinct winegrowing regions. As an island country in the South Pacific Ocean, New Zealand has a largely maritime climate, although its elongated geography produces considerable regional variation from north to south. Like many other New World wines, New Zealand wine is usually produced and labelled as single varietal wines, or if blended, winemakers list the varietal components on the label. New Zealand is best known for its Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, and more recently its dense, concentrated Pinot Noir from Marlborough, Martinborough and Central Otago.

Cooper Mountain Vineyards is an American winery located in Beaverton, Oregon, United States. Started in 1978, the certified organic wine maker produces Pinot noir, Pinot gris, Chardonnay, and Pinot blanc. Located in the Portland metropolitan area, the vineyard is sited on the western slopes of Cooper Mountain, an extinct volcano.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington wine</span> Wine produced from grape varieties grown in the U.S. state of Washington

Washington wine is a wine produced from grape varieties grown in the U.S. state of Washington. Washington ranks second in the United States in the production of wine. By 2017, the state had over 55,000 acres (220 km2) of vineyards, a harvest of 229,000 short tons (208,000 t) of grapes, and exports going to over 40 countries around the world from the 940+ wineries located in the state. While there are some viticultural activities in the cooler, wetter western half of the state, the majority (99.9%) of wine grape production takes place in the shrub-steppe eastern half. The rain shadow of the Cascade Range leaves the Columbia River Basin with around 8 inches (200 mm) of annual rain fall, making irrigation and water rights of paramount interest to the Washington wine industry. Viticulture in the state is also influenced by long sunlight hours and consistent temperatures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scholls, Oregon</span> Unincorporated community in the state of Oregon, United States

Scholls, Oregon is an unincorporated community in Washington County, Oregon, United States. It is located along the southern shore of the Tualatin River, near the intersection of Oregon Routes 210 and 219. Scholls is located approximately seven miles north of Newberg, seven miles west of Tigard and eight miles south of Hillsboro. The area around Scholls is primarily agricultural.

The state of Oregon in the United States has established an international reputation for its production of wine, ranking fourth in the country behind California, Washington, and New York. Oregon has several different growing regions within the state's borders that are well-suited to the cultivation of grapes; additional regions straddle the border between Oregon and the states of Washington and Idaho. Wine making dates back to pioneer times in the 1840s, with commercial production beginning in the 1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Columbia Gorge AVA</span> American Viticultural Area

The Columbia Gorge AVA is an American Viticultural Area which includes land surrounding the Columbia River Gorge, straddling the border between Oregon and Washington. Due to the significant gradations of climate and geography found in the gorge, this AVA exhibits a wide range of terroir in a relatively small region; it is marketed as a "world of wine in 40 miles".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willamette Valley Vineyards</span> American winery based in Turner, Oregon


Willamette Valley Vineyards is an American winery located in Turner, Oregon. Named after Oregon's Willamette Valley, the winery is the leading producer of Willamette Valley-appellated Pinot Noir in Oregon, and also produces Chardonnay and Pinot Gris. In 2016, the winery was the largest producer of Riesling wine in the Willamette Valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Auxerrois blanc</span> Variety of grape

Auxerrois blanc or Auxerrois Blanc de Laquenexy is a white wine grape that is important in Alsace, and is also grown in Germany and Luxembourg. It is a full sibling of Chardonnay that is often blended with the similar Pinot blanc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bridgeview Vineyard and Winery</span>

Bridgeview Vineyard and Winery is one of the largest wineries in Oregon. Located in Cave Junction, Oregon, Bridgeview is noted for its chardonnay, pinot gris, and pinot noir. Its 85-acre (340,000 m2) estate in the Illinois Valley is planted in the European style of dense six-foot row and four-foot vine spacing. Bridgeview also has an 80-acre (320,000 m2) vineyard in the Applegate Valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victorian wine</span>

Victorian wine is wine made in the Australian state of Victoria. With over 600 wineries, Victoria has more wine producers than any other Australian wine-producing state but ranks third in overall wine production due to the lack of a mass bulk wine-producing area like South Australia's Riverland and New South Wales's Riverina. Viticulture has existed in Victoria since the 19th century and experienced a high point in the 1890s when the region produced more than half of all wine produced in Australia. The phylloxera epidemic that soon followed took a hard toll on the Victoria wine industry which did not fully recover till the 1950s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King Estate Winery</span> Organic winery in Oregon, US

King Estate Winery is a family owned, Biodynamic(r) winery located southwest of Eugene, Oregon, United States near the community of Lorane. Matt Kramer of The Oregonian considers King Estate the benchmark producer of Pinot gris in the country. While the winery also makes Pinot noir and limited amounts of Chardonnay, it is mainly credited with bringing the Pinot gris grape varietal into national consciousness.

Foris Vineyards Winery is an American winery located near Cave Junction, Oregon in the Illinois Valley region of the Rogue Valley AVA of Southern Oregon. As one of Oregon's pioneering grape growers, Ted Gerber planted his first vineyard in 1974. For 15 years, Gerber provided fruit to other winemakers, until 1986 when the winery was founded by Ted and Meri Gerber and the Foris label was launched.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cristom Vineyards</span> Wine producer and vineyard in Oregon, US

Cristom Vineyards is an Oregon wine producer and vineyard based near Salem, U.S. It is in the Eola-Amity Hills wine region within the Willamette Valley AVA, about 6 miles (9.7 km) northwest of Keizer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bethel Heights Vineyard</span>

Bethel Heights Vineyard is an Oregon winery in the Eola-Amity Hills AVA of the Willamette Valley. Founded in 1977 by twin brothers Ted and Terry Casteel, their wives Pat Dudley and Marilyn Webb, and Pat's sister Barbara Dudley, the vineyard was one of the earliest plantings in the Eola-Amity Hills region. A winery soon followed, with the first estate wines produced in 1984. Bethel Heights specializes in Pinot noir, offering several individual block and vineyard designated bottlings, but also produces wines made from Chardonnay, Pinot gris, Pinot blanc, Riesling, Grüner Veltliner, and Gewürztraminer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sokol Blosser Winery</span> Vineyard, tasting room and winery facility in Dayton, Oregon, U.S.

Sokol Blosser Winery is a vineyard, tasting room and winery facility located northeast of Dayton, Oregon in the Red Hills of Dundee in Yamhill County. It was founded by Bill Blosser and Susan Sokol Blosser in 1971 in what is now known as the Dundee Hills AVA. Sokol Blosser Winery is family owned and operated by second-generation co-presidents, siblings Alex and Alison Sokol Blosser, and is the 6th largest wine producer in Oregon. Sokol Blosser is considered to be “synonymous with sustainability,” and produces Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, proprietary blends Evolution White and Evolution Red, a range of other Evolution wines, and small quantities of single block Pinot Noirs, Rosé of Pinot Noir, White Riesling dessert wine, and sparkling wine.

Fort Berens Winery, aka Fort Berens Estate Winery, is a winery and vineyard based in Lillooet, British Columbia, Canada. Located in East Lillooet, near the site of the never-built Hudson's Bay Company's Fort Berens, it is the first successful attempt at a commercial winery in the area in the 20th Century and has won numerous awards for its wines. It is the only commercial winery so far in the newly designated Lillooet wine region, though there are established local vineyards which are non-commercial and a history of wine cultivation at nearby Fountain. It was founded by Rolf de Bruin, who immigrated to Canada with his family in 2008 from the Netherlands with his wife Heleen Pannekoek and their family. They chose Lillooet over the Okanagan because land values there were a quarter what they were in the Okanagan, which is the centre of the BC wine industry. Though the winery's first commercial vintage was made from grapes and wine brought in from the Okanagan, their first bottles made from grapes grown only in Lillooet were opened on April 30, 2012. The winery first started operations in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Villa Melnik Winery</span>

Villa Melnik is a family-owned winery located near the village of Harsovo, about 7 km south of Melnik, Bulgaria.

References

  1. 1 2 Savage, Maggie; Wootton, Sharon (September 26, 2010). "World of wonder awaits west of Portland". The Olympian. p. C3. Retrieved August 22, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  2. Hinkle, Richard Paul (December 2007). "Not forbidden fruit: Cherry, berry, even rhubarb wines are money-makers across the country". Wines & Vines. Vol. 88, no. 12. Retrieved August 22, 2022 via Gale OneFile.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Our story. Oak Knoll Winery, accessed October 20, 2007.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Ulrich, Roberta (February 7, 1973). "Winemaking Family Affair For Hillsboro Clan". Corvallis Gazette-Times. p. 9. Retrieved August 22, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  5. 1 2 3 McNichol, Bethanye. "A Berry Good Start to Wine. The Oregonian , December 14, 2000.
  6. Christ, Janet. "Oregon Growers Expect Bumper Crop of Wine Grapes. The Oregonian, September 17, 1987.
  7. Biggest Wineries. The Oregonian, October 2, 1988.
  8. Conaway, James. "The Global Reach of Pinot noir". The Washington Post, September 7, 1986.
  9. Sloan, Eugene and Donna L. Williams. "Taste Tickles: Olallieberry, Garlic, Mead". USA TODAY , August 31, 1990.
  10. Witherell, Layne V. "Oregon Winery Uses Cool Climate to Its Advantage". Richmond Times Dispatch , July 15, 1998.
  11. Leeper, Kate. "Business Briefs: Hillsboro". The Oregonian, April 21, 2006.
  12. Mandel, Michelle. "Sweet Sip of Cuccess"[sic]. The Oregonian, May 4, 2006.
  13. 1 2 Oak Knoll Winery. Portland Business Journal , accessed October 20, 2007.
  14. "Portland Rose Festival Sponsors". Portland Rose Festival. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  15. "Oak Knoll sponsors 2009 Rose Festival". The Hillsboro Argus . May 5, 2009. Retrieved May 28, 2009.
  16. Sherrill, Bob. Time's Right for Sampling Washington County. The Oregonian, July 18, 2002.
  17. Foodday: Veritas, Wasson Bros. Take Top Honors: Nine Gold Medals Awarded During State Fair Wine Judging. The Oregonian, August 15, 1989.
  18. Stockley, Tom. Small wineries win top awards. The Seattle Times . August 13, 1990.
  19. Stockley, Tom. Northwest wines fare well during California judging. The Seattle Times, May 15, 1991.
  20. Duff, Dan. Wine Notes: Amity, King Estate wines take top prizes. The Oregonian, September 1, 1998.
  21. "Top 25 Oregon wineries. (Top 25 book)". Business Journal–Portland. December 2001. Retrieved August 22, 2022 via Gale OneFile.
  22. Schultz, John W. Ultimate Oyster Wine Version 2003. Archived 2007-09-17 at the Wayback Machine WineSquire.com, accessed October 20, 2007.
  23. 2006 Awards. Archived 2007-02-05 at the Wayback Machine The Dallas Morning News Wine Competition, accessed October 20, 2007.
  24. Lipson, Larry. Bottles that’ll put you in the red. The Daily News of Los Angeles , May 15, 2007.

45°27′44″N122°59′01″W / 45.462087°N 122.983575°W / 45.462087; -122.983575