OREGON CERTIFIED SUSTAINABLE WINERIES/VINEYARDS

Oregon's Organic Wine

When it comes to the winery scene, Oregon's wineries are already globally recognized for its sustainability practices. Another trend putting this region in the spotlight is the production of organic wine. Although Oregon has only about 13,000 acres of wine grapes compared to California's 450,000-plus acres, it's estimated that nearly 50 percent of Oregon's vineyards are sustainable or organic compared to California's one percent. Twenty-three percent of its vineyards have met very stringent certification guidelines and are LIVE-certified sustainable or organic, or Demeter-certified biodynamic. (LIVE--Low Input Viticulture & Enology--is just one of two sustainable certification agencies in the United States, established in 1997, that recognizes farms and vineyards for sustainable agricultural practices. Demeter is an international certification body.)

The goals of organic wine production are to reduce reliance on synthetic chemicals and fertilizers with the purpose of protecting the farmer and the environment, and ensure land protection by maintaining natural, chemical-free soil fertility. Perhaps the biggest hindrance in producing organic wine is preserving the wine with a sulfite-free preservative. Wines require long periods of storage so standardized methods of preserving wines includes adding sulfites. Even though yeast naturally produces sulfites during fermentation, adding sulfites goes against certification standards.

People with allergies, including sulfite sensitivities, often seek out organic wines. The FDA requires warning labels for wines with sulfites more than 10 parts per million (ppm). Most red wines contain approximately 40 ppm sulfite. There's also the term "no detectable sulfite" which means that wine constitutes less than one milligram per liter. Many wineries create wine made from organic grapes and label it as such, so long as the detectable sulfite level remains below 100 ppm.

100% certified organic wine labels are still uncommon as the preservation and storage challenges remain in conflict with the strict certification requirements. However, many of the wineries in Portland's neighboring communities of Yamhill and Washington counties are turning new soil on best practices for farming and cultivating some of the most respected wines in the industry.

OREGON CERTIFIED SUSTAINABLE VINEYARD/WINERY LIST

Oregon Tilth CERTIFIED ORGANIC	Acres	Low Input Viticulture & Enology (LIVE) SUSTAINABLE	Acres	Low Input Viticulture & Enology (LIVE) SUSTAINABLE	Acres
Cattrall Brothers Vineyards	22	Brigadoon Vineyards	10	Methven Family Vineyards	31
Columbia Blossom Orchards	1	Burnt Tree Vineyard	10.6	Mineral Springs Vineyard	32
Cooper Mountain Vineyards	110	Cardwell Hill Vineyards	36	NW Viti Cntr. (Chemeketa)	8
Cornucopia Vineyards LLC	134.7	Carpenter Hill Vineyard	16	Octave Vineyard	18.5
Croft Vineyards	96.9	Carter Vineyard	22	Old School Vineyards	19
Ecological Farms	4.5	Chehalem	69.7	Palmer Creek Vineyard	15
Epyllion Vineyard	5	Cherry Grove Vineyard	17.6	Patton Valley Vineyard	23
Evesham Wood Vineyard & Winery, Inc.	12.6	Cockburn Vineyard	36	Pearl Vineyard	5
Idiot's Grace	7	Crannell Farms	14	Pheasant Hill Vineyard	18.5
JMD Vineyard	4.8	Crawford Beck Vineyard	14.3	Ponzi Vineyards Estate	12
King Estate Winery, LP	465	Cristom Vineyards	52.1	Popcorn Hill, LLC	40
Meadows Vineyard	4	Dad's Highway 11	3.5	Rainbow Ridge Vineyard	25
Pheasant Valley Orchard, Inc.	16	Deerhaven Vineyards	8.5	Rainbow's End	12
Redford/Wetle Farms	8	Deux Vert Vineyard	16	Redman Vineyard	21
Sokol Blosser Vineyards	82.8	Dion Vineyard	56.1	Rex Hill Vineyard	17.8
Starview Farm	0.5	Doe Ridge Vineyard	40	River's Edge Vineyard	11.5
Stater Vineyard	8	Domaine Drouhin	85	ROCO Wits' End Vineyard	5
Upper Five Vineyard	4.2	Domaine Serene Vineyard	63.4	Seven Hills Vineyard	145.2
Willamette Valley Vineyards	24.4	Durant Vineyards	49.1	Seven Hills West	45.9
Western Oregon Organic Farms	8	Dussin Vineyard	15	Seven Springs Vineyard	24
		Dylan's Run Vineyard	15	Simonds/Dell'Uccello	19
TOTAL ORGANIC	1010.9	Eagle Crest	38	Sims Vineyard	7.5
		Elton Vineyards	60	Stafford Vineyard	10
Demeter CERTIFIED BIODYNAMIC	Acres	Equinox Vineyard	12	Stoller Vineyard	125
Bergstrom	23.5	Esterling Vineyards	3	Sunnyside Vineyard	9
Brick House Vineyard	27.5	Firdale Vineyard	20	Three Angels Vineyard	3
Cooper Mountain Vineyard	all	Firesteed	37	Tualatin Estates	150
also certified Organic		Firesteed Estate	84	Tukwilla Vineyard	16
Cowhorn Vineyard & Garden	117	Gemini Vineyards	6.65	Van Duzer Vineyards	80
Momtazi Vineyard (Maysara)	230	Gibson Ridge, LLC	40	Venture Vineyards, Inc.	13.5
Montinore Estate	220	Gold Vineyard	18	Waliser Vineyard	7.5
Resonance Vineyard	20	Goodrich Road, LLC	16	Walnut Ridge Vineyard	19.5
Rex Hill	12	Gran Moraine	190	Wells' Landing	4.0
		Heather Hill	17.4	White Space Vineyard	3.0
TOTAL BIODYNAMIC	650	Helmick Hill Vineyard	30	Willakenzie Estate	103
		Holstein Vineyard	8	Willakia Vineyard	121
Low Input Viticulture & Enology (LIVE)		Hoy Vineyard	16.2	Willamette Valley Vineyards	50
CERTIFIED SUSTAINABLE	Acres	Illahe Vineyard	35.1	Wilson Vineyard	12
Adelsheim	139.4	Irish Bend	2	Winderlea Vineyard	16.5
Airlie/Dunn Forest Vineyard	28	Jacob Hart Vineyard	27.8	Wine Sap Vineyard	10
Alloro Vineyard	22	Jerusalem Hill Vineyards	56.4	Winery Hill Vineyard	24.7
Amity Vineyards	15	Knudsen Vineyard	120	Winter's Hill Vineyard	40
Anindor Vineyard	12	Kramer Vineyards	20.7	Witness Tree Vineyard	48
Anna Marie Vineyard	20.3	La Colina Vineyards	39.9	Wooldridge Creek Vineyard	56
Anne Amie Estate	37.7	Lachini Vineyards	24	XL Vineyard	3.4
Apolloni Vineyards	19	Lange Vineyard	30	Youngberg Hill Vineyards	17
Aurora Vineyard	43	Lazy River Vineyard	37	Zena Crown (East)	44
Avellana	19	LeVineyard	2	Zena Heights	39
BeckenRidge Vineyard	10.9	Lonestar Vineyard	110	Zenith Vineyard	80.9
Bella Vida Vineyard	23	Luminous Hills Vineyard	11.2
Bellpine Vineyards	15	Margaret's Vineyard	14.3	TOTAL LIVE	4031.7
Bethel Heights	71	Markham Vineyard	9.5
Bishop Creek Farms	12.5	Mars Hills Vineyard	9.5
Black Family Vineyard	55	McClellan Estates	9.2

Total Oregon Certified Vineyard Acres (February 2009): 5,693
Total Oregon Planted Vineyard Acres (2008 Agricultural Statistics) = 19,300
Oregon Certified Vineyard Acres = 29% of Total Planted Vineyard Acres