Domaine Drouhin Oregon
The Drouhin Family's winemaking roots run deep, having taken hold in Burgundy's best vineyards more than a century ago. Through the years, there has been a very clear link, a continuum, that inhabits Maison Joseph Drouhin, and now Domaine Drouhin Oregon.
Our estate winery in the Dundee Hills creates elegant, fine Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines forged from our family's tradition of fine winemaking in France. For more than 25 years, the Drouhin Family has brought a wealth of hard-earned experience to their vineyards in the Willamette Valley, just southwest of Portland, Oregon.
"Skills get more refined, methods evolve, but what's important is what is transmitted from generation to generation: The search for excellence, the intellectual curiosity, the sense of values, passion, the respect for terroir." -- Robert J. Drouhin
Our Oregon estate was established in the late 1980s, but our winemaking roots were planted in Burgundy a century earlier, when Joseph Drouhin moved from Chablis to Beaune, and in 1880 founded Maison Joseph Drouhin. He was succeeded by his son, the brilliant Maurice Drouhin, who dedicated his life to making fine wine. In 1957, Robert Drouhin became the third generation to run the business. He first "discovered"
Oregon on a 1961 visit, and then again during the 1979 and '80 blind tastings in Paris and Burgundy (the latter of which Robert organized) that put Oregon wines on the world map. Robert recognized that it was Oregon, more so than California, whose soils and climate could unlock the complexities and potential of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in the United States.
In 1986, Robert's daughter Véronique came to Oregon after achieving a masters diploma in enology. She worked that harvest with three families, the Letts (Eyrie Vineyard), the Casteels (Bethel Heights) and the Adelsheims (Adelsheim Vineyards). That first impression was profound, and helped to form the bond between the Drouhins and some of the founding families of Oregon wine. It can be fairly said that Oregon's deep sense of community was a powerful magnet.
In 1987, Robert Drouhin was invited to participate in the first International Pinot Noir Celebration, and on that trip, he decided to purchase land in the Dundee Hills. Where there had only been Christmas trees and wheat, the Drouhin's began planting their first vineyards in Oregon. At the same time, Robert nominated Véronique to be the newly christened DDO winemaker, and her brother Philippe Drouhin took responsibility for viticulture. In 1988, DDO produced its first vintage, from purchased grapes, and in 1989 built the landmark, four-story gravity flow winery.
100% Estate Grown, Produced and Bottled
Our winemaking techniques are adapted from what the Drouhin family has learned in Burgundy since 1880. Our goal is to craft wines naturally with gentle treatment and minimal manipulation. It is our hope that our Pinot Noir and Chardonnay will be appreciated for their classic finesse, elegance and for the true reflection of their origin; their terroir.
Once the grapes have reached full maturity with a perfect balance between brix and acid, and fruit and tannin, they are hand-picked into small 25 pound totes, insuring the arrival of pristine, uncrushed fruit at our four-level gravity-flow winery. Everything we do in the winery is intended to preserve the unique qualities that nature provided for us in the vineyards.
Upon arrival at the first level of our winery, the crush pad, all of our Pinot Noir is hand-sorted, then gently de-stemmed into the fermentation tanks
and allowed to soak at cooler temperatures for 2 to 5 days prior to the beginning of fermentation. All fermentations use only indigenous yeasts to conduct a long, natural fermentation.
Active fermentations last 7-12 days, during which time the age-old Burgundian techniques of pigeage (punch-down) and remontage (pump-over) are used as means of gentle extraction. Fermentations are long and careful and once complete, the free-run juice is moved via gravity to the third level of our winery, the barrel cellar.
Our Pinot Noir is aged in both new (20%) and neutral French Oak barrels. Barrels are custom made for us in Burgundy, using oak from France's best forests, which we feel allows the character of the wine and vintage to show through. Once the secondary, malolactic, fermentation is complete, the wines are racked off their lees via gravity and back into barrel.
After 12-14 months in oak, Véronique selects barrels for each of our three cuvée's and the wines are then blended and allowed to rest for several months before moving to the final level of the winery, our bottle room. At this final stage, the wines again are moved via gravity into bottle and then allowed to mature 6 to 18 months before release.
Production
Site
The Drouhin Family's winemaking roots run deep, having taken hold in Burgundy's best vineyards more than a century ago. Through the years, there has been a very clear link, a continuum, that inhabits Maison Joseph Drouhin, and now Domaine Drouhin Oregon.
Our estate winery in the Dundee Hills creates elegant, fine Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines forged from our family's tradition of fine winemaking in France. For more than 25 years, the Drouhin Family has brought a wealth of hard-earned experience to their vineyards in the Willamette Valley, just southwest of Portland, Oregon.
"Skills get more refined, methods evolve, but what's important is what is transmitted from generation to generation: The search for excellence, the intellectual curiosity, the sense of values, passion, the respect for terroir." -- Robert J. Drouhin
Our Oregon estate was established in the late 1980s, but our winemaking roots were planted in Burgundy a century earlier, when Joseph Drouhin moved from Chablis to Beaune, and in 1880 founded Maison Joseph Drouhin. He was succeeded by his son, the brilliant Maurice Drouhin, who dedicated his life to making fine wine. In 1957, Robert Drouhin became the third generation to run the business. He first "discovered"
Oregon on a 1961 visit, and then again during the 1979 and '80 blind tastings in Paris and Burgundy (the latter of which Robert organized) that put Oregon wines on the world map. Robert recognized that it was Oregon, more so than California, whose soils and climate could unlock the complexities and potential of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in the United States.
In 1986, Robert's daughter Véronique came to Oregon after achieving a masters diploma in enology. She worked that harvest with three families, the Letts (Eyrie Vineyard), the Casteels (Bethel Heights) and the Adelsheims (Adelsheim Vineyards). That first impression was profound, and helped to form the bond between the Drouhins and some of the founding families of Oregon wine. It can be fairly said that Oregon's deep sense of community was a powerful magnet.
In 1987, Robert Drouhin was invited to participate in the first International Pinot Noir Celebration, and on that trip, he decided to purchase land in the Dundee Hills. Where there had only been Christmas trees and wheat, the Drouhin's began planting their first vineyards in Oregon. At the same time, Robert nominated Véronique to be the newly christened DDO winemaker, and her brother Philippe Drouhin took responsibility for viticulture. In 1988, DDO produced its first vintage, from purchased grapes, and in 1989 built the landmark, four-story gravity flow winery.
100% Estate Grown, Produced and Bottled
Our winemaking techniques are adapted from what the Drouhin family has learned in Burgundy since 1880. Our goal is to craft wines naturally with gentle treatment and minimal manipulation. It is our hope that our Pinot Noir and Chardonnay will be appreciated for their classic finesse, elegance and for the true reflection of their origin; their terroir.
Once the grapes have reached full maturity with a perfect balance between brix and acid, and fruit and tannin, they are hand-picked into small 25 pound totes, insuring the arrival of pristine, uncrushed fruit at our four-level gravity-flow winery. Everything we do in the winery is intended to preserve the unique qualities that nature provided for us in the vineyards.
Upon arrival at the first level of our winery, the crush pad, all of our Pinot Noir is hand-sorted, then gently de-stemmed into the fermentation tanks
and allowed to soak at cooler temperatures for 2 to 5 days prior to the beginning of fermentation. All fermentations use only indigenous yeasts to conduct a long, natural fermentation.
Active fermentations last 7-12 days, during which time the age-old Burgundian techniques of pigeage (punch-down) and remontage (pump-over) are used as means of gentle extraction. Fermentations are long and careful and once complete, the free-run juice is moved via gravity to the third level of our winery, the barrel cellar.
Our Pinot Noir is aged in both new (20%) and neutral French Oak barrels. Barrels are custom made for us in Burgundy, using oak from France's best forests, which we feel allows the character of the wine and vintage to show through. Once the secondary, malolactic, fermentation is complete, the wines are racked off their lees via gravity and back into barrel.
After 12-14 months in oak, Véronique selects barrels for each of our three cuvée's and the wines are then blended and allowed to rest for several months before moving to the final level of the winery, our bottle room. At this final stage, the wines again are moved via gravity into bottle and then allowed to mature 6 to 18 months before release.
