Of all elements, it was Fire... that dominated the parched growing season of 2003 in Oregon. In the mountains, wildfires with now infamous names like Bear Butte, Booth and Biscuit scorched tens of thousands of acres of pristine forest. The valleys sweltered. Temperatures reached record highs. An entire summer passed without a drop of rain. It is said that, more than any other grape, Pinot Noir mirrors its environment. I would swear there is both smoke and flame in the 2003¹s. A bright, powerful wine, the Estate Pinot Noir retains delicacy... a lovely addition to a groaning holiday table. By contrast, the ³Cuvee du Tonnelier² or (Cooper¹s Cuvee) smolders with tobacco, cinnamon, allspice and brooding dark fruit...forward, supple, and definitely not for the faint of heart. The 2003 Gamay Noir is especially opulent, boasting rich, black fruit laden with licorice fern root and anise. The '03 Chardonnay is as lean as a Hotshot on the fireline, focused on earth, minerals, and wet stones ...a cool stream amid a crackling hot vintage. ..DougTunnell

The winery at Brick House is open to the public Memorial Day and Thanksgiving weekends and by appointment the rest of the year. For Details Click Here

Surrounded by the fruit and hazelnut orchards above the Chehalem Valley, the rolling hills at Brick House compose just such a place. A New World site dedicated to Old World wisdom, and a way of growing grapes proven over a thousand years or more :

Plant them in shallow soils on a hillside and give them the morning sun, Don't plow too much. Don't hoe too little. Let them struggle. And don't ever forget that the world's finest fertilizer is the footprint of a winegrower... in the mud of March and the dust of September.

At Brick House, "organically grown" is more than just a phrase on the labels of our wines. It commits us to the old ways. From our first planting in May of 1990 until today, we have relied on basics. All our fruit is estate grown. All of it is certified organic. Elemental sprays like sulfur combat disease. Fundamental farming controls weeds and shapes the hillsides beneath our vines.

There are about 36,000 of them now ; a living army rooted around the old brick house on Ribbon Ridge. Pinot noir commands the lion's share of the farm: 19 acres of Pinot in all. Three low yielding clones whose ancestors hail from the vineyards of Morey St. Denis in Burgundy are planted to the east of the house and winery. Oregon's bread and butter Pinot clone, Pommard, constitutes our first planting -- ten acres along the vineyard's southern fence.

Then there is the Chardonnay; clones from the Dijon viticultural station were gathered from cuttings taken near Mersault in Burgundy. A mere three acres of Dijon Chardonnay are currently in production at Brick House. One more is on the way.

And finally, the Gamay noir; the standard bearer of Beaujolais, the black sheep of Burgundy. We've always loved its brilliant fruitiness and acidity. Reduce the yields, and on our soils these vines produce a rich dark wine.

All our wines are produced and bottled by hand on our 40 acre farm. We count on indigenous yeast fermentations. Rarely do we fine and never do we filter Brick House wines. When the vintage... or a part of it... merit special designation, we bottle the Cuvee du Tonnelier (or the Barrelmaker's Batch) as the finest expression of our estate's unique climate and terrain.

Outside of Oregon, Brick House wines are available in San Francisco, Seattle, Jackson, WY, Chicago, Washington D.C., Roanoke, VA , New York City and ...soon... in Boston. For details, see Sourcing.