Published October 9, 2025
This story first appeared in our subscriber email. View previous campaigns and join the list!
On Tuesday we finished harvesting our vineyard with 9.9 tons of Pinot noir from Block 10, the highest elevation section of our vineyard. The last few days of sunshine gave us ripe, rich flavors, and even on the first day after receiving the grapes, the juice is showing lots of color.
Each year there is a sense of relief and accomplishment when we finish harvesting our vineyards. It takes many people and lots of dedication throughout the year to tend our vines and bring healthy, delicious fruit to the winery. Oregon weather changes quickly, and equipment always seems to break down when you need it the most. We are fortunate to have the experience and knowledge of Luciano and Chris to help us work through the inevitable challenges of harvest time.
Working in the Winery
Today, we’ll take a moment to enjoy a meal together and celebrate a successful harvest. Emily has prepared her Cheddar Pull Apart Bread and I’ll pull some older wines out of the library to enjoy together.
Then we’ll get back to work! This afternoon we are pressing our Center Cut Pinot noir that we harvested back on September 22. We used more whole-cluster fruit than usual this year, and the wine has great density and spice. The Pinot gris and Rosé have almost finished fermenting in our two largest stainless steel tanks, and we are monitoring them closely to be sure we capture all of the delicious aromas and freshness that they have.
We look forward to sharing these wines with you in the coming years. Thank you for your continuing support of Winter’s Hill Estate!
