Tag Archives: Pinot

Consumer Tasting with the Dusschee Family

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Here are the details of the upcoming Freedom Hill Vineyard Consumer Tasting with the Dusschee Family:

Freedom Hill “Terroir Tasting”

March 12th, 2015 @ The Ace Hotel – Cleaners Event Space 6-8pm

In the years since the first vines were planted in 1965, Willamette Valley wines have wowed critics, lured tourists and inspired many. With 50 years of vine growing and winemaking under our belt, certain vineyards have cultivated reputations and emerge as the best. Freedom Hill Vineyard, planted in 1981 by the Dusschee Family, is just one of those sites. Winemakers have long waited patiently for an opportunity to buy grapes from this exceptional piece of land, often waiting years for the chance.

Join us this March to celebrate one of the iconic vineyards of the Willamette Valley and the people behind the fruit, the Dusschee Family. Eight leading wineries will come together to define the terroir of Freedom Hill Vineyard, bringing light to the exceptional fruit that has long been coveted by many in the Oregon wine community.

We invite you to join us for a rare tasting of Freedom Hill Vineyard wines on March 12th, 2015 from 6:00 – 8:00 pm with Abeja, Ken Wright, Lange Estate, Patricia Green, Purple Hands, St. Innocent, Stevenson-Barrie & Walter Scott serving their wines alongside hors d’oeuvres provided by Clyde Common. Tickets are limited, so reserve your ticket now!

Tickets are $40.00 per person

To purchase a ticket, visit our EventBrite page

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/freedom-hill-vineyard-terroir-tasting-tickets-15749467080

Harvest Update from Dan

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Harvest sunrise
Harvest sunrise
Sorting some Pinot
Sorting some Pinot
Carlos
Carlos

Harvest is nearing it’s end and we are all ready for it to be done.  In terms of weather harvest was a continuation of the entire growing season, we began picking September 11 a full two weeks earlier than ever before in hot and dusty conditions.  As we watched the fruit ripen there was a concern that with higher than normal temperatures the sugar would rise too quickly, the acid would fall out, pH would rise and winemakers would have their heads explode.  From a simple wine drinkers point of view I thought we might have high alcohol wines that had a “hole” in the middle palate.  However, the flavors developed in the grapes and it appears the winemakers heads will remain intact as they are all predicting wonderful wines.  Generally speaking , yields within the industry were higher than normal.  At FHV most of our pinot came in at 3-3.25 tons per acre perhaps slightly more than normal, but we believe the wines will reflect the intensity of color and character commonly found in FHV wines.  Total tons harvested will be about 235 down slightly from 2013.  We were fortunate to have our daughter McKenzie and daughter in law, Katie join us at harvest along with two new grandchildren.  The harvest crew managed by Dustin and Carlos did a fantastic job and we were able to get out of the vineyard by late morning or early afternoon, thereby by preserving low fruit temperature which is desirable in the initial fermentation process.  I hope you all enjoy the vintage, it should be exceptional. Dan

 

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Cadence is all over the quality control
Buddy is hard at work keeping watch
Buddy is hard at work keeping watch
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Helen and Dustin pulling leaves and dumping buckets

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Harvest to Present

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harvest 2013 058
Dustin and Katie awaiting buckets of grapes

Thought I would write a few notes about the season at Freedom Hill Vineyard, the website and maybe some random thoughts. I’m grateful to the efforts of Helen and McKenzie along with the professional guidance of Elizabeth Schrader Design in updating our website and creating a platform that is more current and interesting. From time to time I am liable to enter an update offering perspective from an old grape grower’s point of view.

The harvest of 2013 was unlike any I remember. It was a beautiful growing season and then the Valley received over 6” of rain during the last weekend of September with only a few tons in the fermenter. This event changed the intensity levels of the wine maybe producing wines similar to 1997, although I defer to our winemakers for future comparisons. We ended up harvesting 225 tons from 71 acres with the fruit being in sound condition.

A misty harvest morning
A misty harvest morning

The winter was marked by the famous “Polar Vortex” that brought two incidents of unusually low temperatures to the area. In both instances Helen and I had the good fortune to be on vacation leaving Dustin to cope with broken pipes and baby grape plants awaiting planting. He performed well and we were able to plant 6.25 acres of Pinot Noir this spring with plans in 2015 for 8 more acres divided between Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

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The February “Polar Vortex”

Bud break and bloom were early and it appears harvest should commence the third or fourth week in September. The crop is large and within two weeks we will have the data available, cluster counts and weights, to make informed decisions regarding how many clusters to remove to target the final crop load of the winemakers. Typically, we aim for a yield of approximately three tons per acre.

Hope you find our postings of interest and they help you connect with the remarkable wines produced by the talented winemakers we are honored to work with.