MONTINORE - Montinore is a 585 acre estate at the northern end of the Willamette Valley appellation (AVA). The vineyard enjoys Cornelius and Laurelwood soils, which is windblown loess-glacial lake sediment.
'We finally did it!' says Montinore Estate. 'After 3 years of hard work, we are so proud to announce that we earned our Demeter Biodynamic® Certification! We are now one of only about 7 certified Biodynamic vineyards in Oregon, and are most definitely one of the largest as our entire 230 acres are certified.
Oregon's Beloved Biodynamic Mentor
We are often asked what exactly Biodynamic farming is. Biodynamic farming is based the teachings of Rudolf Steine and is the most natural form of farming known. It can be quite difficult to explain, so let me know if you would like this further explained...
Their tasting menu features six wines for $15 and changes with the seasons.
Refunded with 1 bottle purchased for tour groups.
...Let me start by describing organic farming.
As most of us know, organic farming does not allow for the use of synthetic fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides, instead we use naturally occurring substances for disease control.
Biodynamic farming utilizes organic practices but takes a further step by using certain amendments and sprays that are also naturally occurring; many of them can be made with flowers and minerals taken directly from the estate. These sprays work with the ecosystem in our vineyard to help promote health in the vines, soil, bugs and animals that live here. By encouraging health in the vines and ecosystem, the vines are stronger and less sensitive to disease or other issues that may arise. In the end we have healthy, happy vines producing high quality fruit which helps us make our tasty wine.'
More on Biodynamic farming.
More from Montinore (redefining the Bio-dynamic concept) - see below.
Montinore Vineyards
For groups of eight people or larger and tours, please call 503.359.5012 x 106 to check availability and make a reservation.
'We finally did it!' says Montinore Estate. 'After 3 years of hard work, we are so proud to announce that we earned our Demeter Biodynamic® Certification! We are now one of only about 7 certified Biodynamic vineyards in Oregon, and are most definitely one of the largest as our entire 230 acres are certified.
Oregon's Beloved Biodynamic Mentor
We are often asked what exactly Biodynamic farming is. Biodynamic farming is based the teachings of Rudolf Steine and is the most natural form of farming known. It can be quite difficult to explain, so let me know if you would like this further explained...
Their tasting menu features six wines for $15 and changes with the seasons.
Refunded with 1 bottle purchased for tour groups.
...Let me start by describing organic farming.
As most of us know, organic farming does not allow for the use of synthetic fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides, instead we use naturally occurring substances for disease control.
Biodynamic farming utilizes organic practices but takes a further step by using certain amendments and sprays that are also naturally occurring; many of them can be made with flowers and minerals taken directly from the estate. These sprays work with the ecosystem in our vineyard to help promote health in the vines, soil, bugs and animals that live here. By encouraging health in the vines and ecosystem, the vines are stronger and less sensitive to disease or other issues that may arise. In the end we have healthy, happy vines producing high quality fruit which helps us make our tasty wine.'
More on Biodynamic farming.
More from Montinore (redefining the Bio-dynamic concept) - see below.
Montinore Vineyards
For groups of eight people or larger and tours, please call 503.359.5012 x 106 to check availability and make a reservation.
Rudy Marchesi greeted us after we pulled off a bucolic road in northern Willamette Valley onto his 210-acre Demeter Certified Biodynamic and Stellar Certified Organic estate: Montinore. I had sold more bottles of Montinore Borealis than I could count, an aromatic blend of Gewürztraminer, Muller-Thurgau, Riesling, Pinot Gris... I was thrilled to finally meet the winemaker. Rudy started us down the dirt road towards the vineyards and discussed how he first arrived to this beautiful estate, via New Jersey! The Marchesi story of wine starts long before Rudy, when Rudy’s Italian grandparents arrived from a tiny village in Italy to New York City and promptly planted grapevines in their backyard. Years later, Rudy would take after his grandparents and plant his own grapevines with his first commercial vineyard... in New Jersey. It was trial by fire, because everything that can go wrong in viticulture does go wrong on the Eastern seaboard. A more hospitable region was waiting for him when he first arrived to Oregon, initially on a visit to his daughter in college in Portland in 1992. He discovered Montinore and started a long journey with them, first as wholesale distributor, then wine grower, winemaker, and in 2005 became owner of this world class property. As we walked the vineyard, Rudy passionately and expertly discussed Biodynamic practices at work at Montinore Estate. Montinore’s vineyards enjoy great health due to biodynamic preparations, sprays that heal and protect the immune system of the vineyard. These preparations are actually standardized, and came about after World War I. After recognizing that war chemicals and aggressive fertilizers were wreaking havoc on soil and livestock, a group of farmers sought help from intellectual Rudolf Steiner. He developed and codified Biodynamic agriculture. Today, there are nine biodynamic preparations, all referred to by number, some of which are used successfully by Rudy at Montinore. Rudy makes his own preps... for prep 501, he buries a quartz power packed cow horn, then later digs it up, adds the quartz to water and sprays the ‘dynamized’ water over the full estate. The proof is in the pudding, and the health of Montinore’s vineyards and the quality of their wines cannot be argued. Their plots of Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer, Riesling, Müller-Thurgau, Teroldego and Lagrein make an amazing repertoire. The 2014 Pinot Noir, in particular, is ripe with cherries and pomegranate, bright tannins, and with the Hungarian and French oak regimen leads to soft tannins.
More about Biodynamics...
"Biodynamic® agriculture is a philosophy and methodology that views a farm as a self-sustaining ecosystem entirely responsible for creating and maintaining its individual health and vitality without any external and unnatural additions. The standards for a Demeter Certified Biodynamic farm are quite rigorous, including the organic certification prohibitions against the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, and going much further to include a biodiversity set aside of 10% of total land, on-farm fertility and pest control, rigorous processing standards that emphasize minimal product manipulation, and most importantly whole farm certification (versus a particular crop or area allowed in organic certification). It is one of the most sustainable forms of agriculture, creating healthier food for healthier people and a healthier planet." -- Demeter USA.
Why It Matters
Our vineyards and our wines are a reflection of our culture and ethics. We produce wine to be enjoyed around the dinner table, with good food, family and friends. We believe certification matters and is important to our customers, and earned our Demeter Biodynamic certification in Summer 2008. We are committed to producing finely crafted wines that express "a taste of the earth,” and we believe nothing achieves that with more clarity and purity than farming our wine grapes Biodynamically. This means instead of applying chemical pesticides and herbicides, you might find us spraying chamomile or diluted milk on our grapes. And to make sure our vines have the richest, healthiest soil possible, we interplant them with nitrogen rich cover crops and return our skins, seeds and clippings to the soil each spring as compost.
Yep, sounds crazy, but it consistently produces some of the best fruit we’ve tasted… and in the end, that translates into a wine crafted with intent, showcasing lively flavors that is immediately pleasurable at the dinner table. And that is what matters most for us and for you.
"Biodynamic® agriculture is a philosophy and methodology that views a farm as a self-sustaining ecosystem entirely responsible for creating and maintaining its individual health and vitality without any external and unnatural additions. The standards for a Demeter Certified Biodynamic farm are quite rigorous, including the organic certification prohibitions against the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, and going much further to include a biodiversity set aside of 10% of total land, on-farm fertility and pest control, rigorous processing standards that emphasize minimal product manipulation, and most importantly whole farm certification (versus a particular crop or area allowed in organic certification). It is one of the most sustainable forms of agriculture, creating healthier food for healthier people and a healthier planet." -- Demeter USA.
Why It Matters
Our vineyards and our wines are a reflection of our culture and ethics. We produce wine to be enjoyed around the dinner table, with good food, family and friends. We believe certification matters and is important to our customers, and earned our Demeter Biodynamic certification in Summer 2008. We are committed to producing finely crafted wines that express "a taste of the earth,” and we believe nothing achieves that with more clarity and purity than farming our wine grapes Biodynamically. This means instead of applying chemical pesticides and herbicides, you might find us spraying chamomile or diluted milk on our grapes. And to make sure our vines have the richest, healthiest soil possible, we interplant them with nitrogen rich cover crops and return our skins, seeds and clippings to the soil each spring as compost.
Yep, sounds crazy, but it consistently produces some of the best fruit we’ve tasted… and in the end, that translates into a wine crafted with intent, showcasing lively flavors that is immediately pleasurable at the dinner table. And that is what matters most for us and for you.