Description:
Stoller Vineyards is a 373-acre parcel located
on the southern slopes of the Dundee Hills. This particular knoll is known fondly
as "Corton Hill" by local winegrowers, referencing its similarity to the famed
wraparound hillside in Burgundy. The vineyard parcel is home to owners Bill and
Cathy Stoller, who planted their first vines here nine years ago. The property
was purchased by Bill's father and uncle in the 1940s, when it was primarily used
to raise turkeys and cereal grains such as wheat, barley, and oats for feeding
the turkeys. Ironically, what was once considered marginal farmland has turned
out to be the ideal locale for the cultivation of wine grapes. Rocky, well-drained
Jory soils, a tight elevation band (300-650 feet,) and southerly-sloped hillsides
gave the Stollers a great head start toward realizing the potential for a world-class
vineyard.
Special
Notes:
During the late 1980s, Oregon wine growers began showing an interest
in new vineyard technologies such as high density planting, weather monitoring
systems, and the use of new clones and rootstock. When vineyard consultant Allen
Holstein began planting Stoller Vineyards in 1995, he was able to take advantage
of what he had learned from working with neighboring vineyard sites in the Willamette
Valley. The approach at Stoller Vineyards encompasses recent breakthroughs in
vineyard layout and viticulture techniques, combined with a respect for traditional
winegrowing methodology. It is their belief that by combining the best of both
worlds, the vineyard will yield more consistently ripened fruit from vintage to
vintage, leading to greater quality in the resulting wine.
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