Amity Vineyard
Myron Redford
Amity Vineyard
Their predecessors were often engineers (builder of ideas). Men like Erath, Ponzi, Peterson-Nedry and Joe Campbell MD. Only Myron Redford of Amity Vineyards is, that we know of, considered a displaced hippie.
Myron Redford arrived in Oregon a self-prescribed Pinot Noir “freak.” He met Jerry and Anne Preston, then owners of the Amity Vineyards site — planted in 1971 — through a friend. He befriended the couple and meanwhile experienced David Lett’s first Pinot Noir, 1970 Oregon Spring Wine. When the Prestons divorced in 1974, Myron jumped on the opportunity to buy their vineyard.
Lett’s first release, especially when he tasted it again a year later, greatly impacted Redford. He also had tried Richard Sommer’s wines and was impressed with his Pinot Noir and Rieslings. Focused on Pinot, he also made Riesling in 1976, his first production year. Surprisingly, it was Riesling that kept the doors open at Amity Vineyards, as Pinot Noir was a hard sell in the mid-’70s. Later, he added Gewürztraminer, Gamay Noir and Pinot Blanc to his repertoire. But like most of the early growers, Redford moved to the Willamette Valley for Pinot.
“Oregonians were not as enthusiastic about Pinot Noir then as they have become now,” he says. Redford recalls the story of Dr. Krimier, one of the owners of Hyland Vineyards, Oregon’s original “big vineyard,” who said it best at a meeting in the mid-1990s. “Will you wineries make up your damn minds? We planted Pinot and then you asked us to graft it to Riesling. Now you want it converted back to Pinot Noir?”
In his eloquent way, Redford describes the early days: “At the beginning it was all ‘a wing and a prayer.’ Except for Bill Fuller at Tualatin, none of the original group had been a winemaker, and we were there searching for the Holy Grail, not for profit.”
He speaks about the beauty of the camaraderie, how the sharing and the devotion to Pinot Noir as the long-term goal made the industry what it is today.
When looking to the future, Redford still roots for the underdog. “For me, the excitement is still with the cellar rats who are making a little wine on the side for their own brand. It’s these small guys that carry on the Oregon tradition and spirit.”
Amity Vineyards
Amity Vineyard
Their predecessors were often engineers (builder of ideas). Men like Erath, Ponzi, Peterson-Nedry and Joe Campbell MD. Only Myron Redford of Amity Vineyards is, that we know of, considered a displaced hippie.
Myron Redford arrived in Oregon a self-prescribed Pinot Noir “freak.” He met Jerry and Anne Preston, then owners of the Amity Vineyards site — planted in 1971 — through a friend. He befriended the couple and meanwhile experienced David Lett’s first Pinot Noir, 1970 Oregon Spring Wine. When the Prestons divorced in 1974, Myron jumped on the opportunity to buy their vineyard.
Lett’s first release, especially when he tasted it again a year later, greatly impacted Redford. He also had tried Richard Sommer’s wines and was impressed with his Pinot Noir and Rieslings. Focused on Pinot, he also made Riesling in 1976, his first production year. Surprisingly, it was Riesling that kept the doors open at Amity Vineyards, as Pinot Noir was a hard sell in the mid-’70s. Later, he added Gewürztraminer, Gamay Noir and Pinot Blanc to his repertoire. But like most of the early growers, Redford moved to the Willamette Valley for Pinot.
“Oregonians were not as enthusiastic about Pinot Noir then as they have become now,” he says. Redford recalls the story of Dr. Krimier, one of the owners of Hyland Vineyards, Oregon’s original “big vineyard,” who said it best at a meeting in the mid-1990s. “Will you wineries make up your damn minds? We planted Pinot and then you asked us to graft it to Riesling. Now you want it converted back to Pinot Noir?”
In his eloquent way, Redford describes the early days: “At the beginning it was all ‘a wing and a prayer.’ Except for Bill Fuller at Tualatin, none of the original group had been a winemaker, and we were there searching for the Holy Grail, not for profit.”
He speaks about the beauty of the camaraderie, how the sharing and the devotion to Pinot Noir as the long-term goal made the industry what it is today.
When looking to the future, Redford still roots for the underdog. “For me, the excitement is still with the cellar rats who are making a little wine on the side for their own brand. It’s these small guys that carry on the Oregon tradition and spirit.”
Amity Vineyards