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We are Marion and Tom Vail. We moved to Amity, Oregon in July of
2004. We bought a small home with a beautiful view (north Willamette Valley, Mount Hood, Mount Jefferson, Mount St. Helens,
Mount Adams). We purchased our home in March of '04 and had a few months to think about it and what we wanted to do with the
property. Neither of us had ever lived: 1. In a true rural/agricultural community; 2. In a home without a sidewalk in front;
3. In a place of such beauty that we wake up in the morning feeling we are in a park; 4. In a place that we did not cover every
corner with landscaping.
We knew that we could not landscape 5 acres. We also knew that the mixed wood lot planted by the previous owner and builder of
our house was not what we wanted for the land. We wanted to be good stewards of our land and use it for something to which it was
well suited. As we studied about the area where we would live, we learned that our land was covered with Jory Soil, renowned for
growing some of Oregon's finest wine grapes, especially Pinot Noir. The thought of planting a vineyard started to take shape.
Had you asked us prior to about 2003 if we would end up in Oregon's premier wine region growing grapes and making Pinot Noir and
Pinot Gris, we would have wondered what was in your water. If you ask us today if we like what we are doing, you better have a
half an hour to spare because that will just get us warmed to the topic.
We are truly blessed to have found such a wonderful place and both think we must have been closet farmers all along just waiting
for this opportunity. |
We are Marion and Tom Vail. We moved to Amity, Oregon in July of
2004. We bought a small home with a beautiful view (north Willamette Valley, Mount Hood, Mount Jefferson, Mount St. Helens,
Mount Adams). We purchased our home in March of '04 and had a few months to think about it and what we wanted to do with the
property. Neither of us had ever lived: 1. In a true rural/agricultural community; 2. In a home without a sidewalk in front;
3. In a place of such beauty that we wake up in the morning feeling we are in a park; 4. In a place that we did not cover every
corner with landscaping.
We knew that we could not landscape 5 acres. We also knew that the mixed wood lot planted by the previous owner and builder of
our house was not what we wanted for the land. We wanted to be good stewards of our land and use it for something to which it was
well suited. As we studied about the area where we would live, we learned that our land was covered with Jory Soil, renowned for
growing some of Oregon's finest wine grapes, especially Pinot Noir. The thought of planting a vineyard started to take shape.
Had you asked us prior to about 2003 if we would end up in Oregon's premier wine region growing grapes and making Pinot Noir and
Pinot Gris, we would have wondered what was in your water. If you ask us today if we like what we are doing, you better have a
half an hour to spare because that will just get us warmed to the topic.
We are truly blessed to have found such a wonderful place and both think we must have been closet farmers all along just waiting
for this opportunity. |
The vineyard is located in the Eola Hills-Amity AVA of Oregon's Yamhill
County. It is at an elevation of 500-530 and is at the north end of the Amity Hills. This puts it in the Van Duzer Corridor, the
lowest elevation pass in the Coast Range between the Columbia River and California. The moderating breezes from the Pacific that pass
through the Corridor have a profound effect on the climate and are one key reason for the success of Pinot production in Oregon's North
Willamette Valley.
Calamity Hill is among the smallest vineyards producing wine for sale in Oregon. It is composed of 1410 pinot noir vines and 390 pinot
gris vines. Others talk of planted acres. We talk of plants. The vineyard covers just over 1.5 acres of land, if you are curious.
The pinot noir vines consist of five combinations of rootstock and clones. Pommard and 777 clones were planted on 3309 and 101-14
rootstocks. The 115 clone was grafted on Riparia Gliore rootstock. The Pinot Gris is all 152 clone on 101-14 rootstock. Rows are
planted north-south and the property slopes gently to the North and East. The vineyard is planted on very deep (15+ feet) Jory Soils.
All planting of grape vines was done in May of 2005. Planting was done by Luis Hernandez of Amity, and his crew. Luis also acts as
vineyard manager and consultant. He owns a farm labor contracting business and is the vineyard manager at Sokol Blosser Vineyards in
Dayton, Oregon. Luis also provides services to Domaine Coteau, Toluca Lane, and other area vineyards.
Our first harvest was in the Fall of 2007. About 425 pounds of Pinot Gris were harvested on Friday, September 28. On September 29,
1,224 pounds of Pinot Noir were harvested. This first harvest occurred in the third leaf of our vines. The fourth leaf should produce
about 3 times as much fruit and by the 5th leaf, we will be at full production which should average about 50 cases of Pinot Gris and about
150 cases of Pinot Noir.
Our first ever pinot gris was taken to August Cellars in Newberg where Geoffrey Crowther made the wine. Geoffrey and his wife, Lane, are
the owners/winemakers at Toluca Lane and Three Trees Lane. Ten cases of Calamity Hill Pinot Gris were bottled on January 13, 2008. The
wine was produced as home winemaking and is therefore not for sale.
Our first harvest of Pinot Noir was taken to Panther Creek Cellars in McMinnville, where the wine is being made by Michael Stevenson, Panther
Creek's winemaker. Michael also makes fine Pinot Noir under his own label, Stevenson-Barrie. Approximately 35 cases will be bottled in
September, 2008. It will be made available for distribution and should be released for sale in November of 2008. |
In the Summer of 2006, plans were made to clear the bottom acre of the farm
for olives. The planting was done on July 1 of 2007. A high density planting (10 feet between rows and 5 foot spacing between plants with
a two wire trellis) was chosen with the intent of growing exclusively for oil. Half of the trees are Arbosana and half are Arbequina.
These two Spanish Varietals have shown cold tolerance that we believe will give us the best chance for regular crops in spite of our cold
winter weather. Our intent is to bottle single variety oils and a blend.
Much like our grapes, we can expect a small crop in the third leaf after planting. Our first harvest could be as early as November of 2009
but will more than likely wait until 2010. Once harvested, we will need to mill and bottle the oil. Today, there are no olive mills in
the state of Oregon. Without a mill nearby, our only option is to ship olives to California for milling.
The pioneer olive growers in the Willamette Valley are Ken and Penny Durant (Red Ridge Farms and Durant Vineyards). They are also in the
process of installing the first modern Olive Mill in Oregon. With a mill in the area, we will be able to produce gourmet olive oils that
are fresher than anything known in the Northwest. |
We are currently working on all the applications to become licensed to sell
our wines. We are building or tasting room and wine storage. It is our hope to release our first (Legal) wine in November of 2008, just
after our second harvest. Watch this space for future announcements. We hope to have a special celebration of our first offering over
Thanksgiving Weekend, 2008. |
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