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Dan Kent of Salmon Safe, one of the Northwest's leading advocacy and certification groups for environmental sustainable practices, and our Founder Jim Bernau testified before the Portland City Council yesterday. Their testimony encouraged Portland to become the first city to earn Salmon-Safe certification. 

Portland Major Charlie Hales wrote in a release, "Portland is a city of rivers, and our economic well-being and quality of life is interwoven with the health of the Willamette, Columbia, and connecting watersheds that are home to native-endangered salmon." 

Twenty years ago, several winemakers, including Bernau began working with Kent of Salmon Safe to implement sustainable practices in their vineyards to improve soil health and prevent harmful water run-off damaging to wildlife. This organization has now grown to approx. 350 vineyards from British Columbia to the southern Oregon border committed to protecting our environment through their farming practices. Salmon-Safe also helped inform the development of the Oregon wine industry's LIVE certification program and the two continue to work together to this day.

We are proud to announce that Willamette Valley Vineyards Founder Jim Bernau is a finalist for "Person of the Year" in the prestigious Wine Star Awards from Wine Enthusiast. In addition, the Willamette Valley has also been nominated as "Wine Region of the Year".

Wine Enthusiast Magazine was founded in 1988 and with 800,000 readers is regarded as the world’s largest periodical devoted exclusively to wine and spirits. They created the Wine Star Awards to honor individuals and companies that have made outstanding achievements in the wine and beverage world.

We are honored to have our Founder and our region recognized for excellence and be included among our industry's leaders and innovators.

Winners will be announced in the December "Best of the Year" issue of Wine Enthusiast Magazine.

Watch Jim's 30-year quest video which highlights the journey in creating estate-grown wines.

"Person of the Year" in the prestigious Wine Star Awards from Wine Enthusiast. In addition, the Willamette Valley has also been nominated as "Wine Region of the Year".

Watch Founder Jim Bernau speak about Oregon's wine industry and Oregon State University here.

We are so proud to share the exciting news that our Founder Jim Bernau has been honored with the 2016 Oregon State University College of Agricultural Sciences Hall of Fame Award. Oregon Wine Research Institute (OWRI) details the recognition below:

Jim Bernau, founding owner of Willamette Valley Vineyards in Turner, OR, received the 2016 Oregon State University College of Agricultural Sciences Hall of Fame Award, which pays tribute to individuals who have made outstanding contributions in agriculture. He joins Dai Crisp (2015) and David Adelsheim (2013) as wine industry recipients of this honor.   

Jim is an advocate of research and education efforts at OSU, supporting the Oregon Wine Research Institute and the OSU Fermentation Sciences program. Along with a team of industry representatives, his efforts to increase legislative funding enhanced OWRI research in four OSU departments, provided resources to hire an enology faculty research assistant and a research vineyard manager, and a new faculty position in OSU Applied Economics. These resources allow OWRI to better serve the wine industry.

Jim's lobbying efforts extend to the early 1980's with the start of the Oregon Wine Advisory Board (now the Oregon Wine Board) and the establishment of a grape tax to fund the organization. The OWB provides funding opportunities for viticulture and enology research though a granting process. He also supported legislative initiatives aimed at the building of wineries in farm zones, direct wine to consumer sales, and wine tasting in stores. OWB Executive Director Tom Danowski states, "Jim's generous spirit has lifted our industry through his gifts to iSalud! and Oregon State University. He has been an effective spokesperson for our industry in Salem and Washington, D.C."

Jim's contributions to OSU extend past his legislative efforts. When Jim was president of the Nor'Wester Brewing Company of Portland, he made a personal donation to OSU's food science department to establish the first professorship for fermentation science in the nation. Along with the donation, Bernau worked with OSU to establish a pilot brewery equipped with tanks and equipment, used to educate students on the mechanisms behind beer brewing and production. 

Jim demonstrates his efforts in sustainability by his commitment to Oregon Low Input Viticulture and Enology. In the organization's beginning, Jim served on the LIVE board  of directors, and he has dedicated a significant amount of time ensuring all vineyards under his control at Willamette Valley Vineyards are LIVE certified.  

Mark Chien stated, "I met with Jim to interview him he had just returned from meeting with the governor, who wanted an update on the Oregon wine industry. The fact that she called Jim for the information speaks volumes of his role and importance to the state government and the Oregon wine community.  The Oregon Wine Research Institute believes Jim deserves this honor."

Early Muscat compared with Pommard Pinot Noir clusters at Tualatin Estate Vineyard

Veraison at Quail Run Vineyard in Southern Oregon results in Griffin Creek wines

Pinot Noir at Elton Vineyard in the Eola Hills

There is a sweet smell of sugar in the air in our three estate-owned vineyards. The grapes are slowly changing colors and sugars are increasing.

Crop estimations have been completed and the yields are similar to the 2009 vintage, which resulted in concentrated wines of the highest quality.

The vineyard team is busy preparing for another early harvest. We are expecting to begin harvesting around the first week in September. The start date will all depend on the weather conditions over the next few weeks.

The vineyard team will begin pre-harvest sampling this week. We sample clusters from the vineyard to test for Brix (sugar), and TA/pH (acids). We will track this data over the course of veraison to assist the Winemaker in choosing the perfect harvest date.

With an increase of sugar in the grapes, there is a change in ecological activity in the vineyard. Birds, deer, insects and diseases are now our main focus until harvest. We use sustainable and eco-friendly methods to deter any pests from the grapes along with promoting beneficial habitats.

While the team awaits the harvest call; there is a lot to prepare -- tractors need fine tuning and we need to welcome the nearly 100 pickers that will help us harvest premium winegrapes.

We look forward to celebrating the 2016 harvest!

Willamette Valley Vineyards has won the Sunset Travel Award for “Best Vineyard/Tasting Room Experience” from Sunset Magazine.

This is the first time an Oregon winery has been selected for this prestigious award, and we are extremely proud and honored at the recognition. 

About our winery, Sunset says “With behind-the-scenes tours, wine and food pairings, and two suites for overnight guests, Willamette Valley Vineyards is an all-in-one weekend destination. A shaded courtyard with vineyard views and music performances takes the experience up a notch.”

Sunset, founded to promote travel in the West, introduced the Sunset Travel Awards to honor excellence and innovation in the tourism industry across the 13 Western states, British Columbia, and Alberta. The awards recognize achievement in lodging, dining, cultural tourism, outdoor adventure, and other categories.

“Sunset is the travel authority in the West—our 2016 Travel Award winners represent the best of the best.” states Irene Edwards, Editor-in-Chief of Sunset Magazine

Come visit us at our Estate Tasting Room to experience a world-class wine experience including wine tasting, food pairings and winery tours.

Bud break at Elton Vineyard in Eola-Amity Hills AVA

A lady beetle at our Estate Vineyard in the Salem Hills

Spring is here and the vines have woken up from a winter rest.  During the rainy winter season, we saw record-breaking precipitation numbers from a strong El Nino event. From October 2015 to March 2016, the Willamette Valley recorded 39.58 inches of rainfall (1) and in December alone we recorded over 15 inches of rain! Very few days dipped below freezing and it was a warm El Nino winter.

After a mild Oregon winter, the vineyard staff is eager to begin the growing season early, yet again this year. For the 3rd year in a row, bud break is being reported throughout the Willamette Valley starting in late March and continuing through April. Now that the vines are starting to grow, we pay very close attention to the weather forecast for frost or hail events.

As the winter rains have slowed down it has cleared the way for a few warm and sunny days. As soon as the ground was dry enough to work, the vineyard staff began preparing the vines for the growing season. We still have rain occurring weekly, so many of the vineyard activities are done in short windows of opportunity when Mother Nature allows us the chance. Its hectic and busy time of year trying to prepare our existing vineyards for the coming year and prepare prime agriculture land for over 100 acres of new plantings.

Our experienced vineyard staff has pruned all the vines with excellent care, mulched last year’s canes to return organic matter back into the soil, and tilled alternate rows of cover crop to achieve the perfect balance of nutrition and vigor.  We have also begun soil sampling, weed, pest and insect scouting. Some insects like the lady beetle shown below are helpful additions to our Certified Sustainable vineyard program. This little lady bug is munching on mites that overwinter in the bark. 

If the current weather trends continue as forecasted we should be expecting another gorgeous Oregon vintage!