"A winery steeped in invention...Lemelson Vineyards"

Back in the Spring of 2007, I took a trip to the Willamette Valley in Oregon to explore my new found love.  I had fallen head over heals for these delicious wines coming out of the Northwest.  These Pinot noirs tended to much softer and sexier than the heavier ladened Pinot noirs that seemed to be permeating the market in California at the time.  One of these wineries that had recently come onto my radar was Lemelson Vineyards.  The wine rep told me about a family that was full of invention and I wanted to see what they were all about first hand.

Eric Lemelson is the eldest son of noted inventor Jerome Lemelson.  He had moved to Oregon to attend Portland's Reed College.  Later he found himself attending law school at Lewis and Clark, studying of all things environmental law.  While in law school, Eric bought a farm in the hills on the eastern edge of Oregon wine county.  It had been his dream to live in the country.  During the early 90's he contacted several wine producers to learn about viticulture.  He discovered that his southwest facing slopes and volcanic soil were well-suited for winegrapes.  By 1995, he had planted two acres of Pinot noir and Pinot gris

With the help of his father Jerome, they built a state of the art winery that is 100% gravity flow.  This side profile of the winery shows on the left side where grapes are brought in and crushed.  From there the juice is then released to the next lowest platform for fermentation.  Once fermentation is complete, the wine is then released to the next lowest platform for transfer to barrel.  There are no pumps here to "bruise" the wine.  Everything flows with the help of gravity.

If you are a lover of great Pinot noirs, I would strongly suggest taking a trip the the Willamette.  The wines are spectacular and the landscape is equally as impressive.  Cheers to Eric and his amazing team for their efforts.