The aspect is south- and west-facing — a notable distinction in the Eola-Amity Hills, where the celebrated vineyards have historically looked east. Until recently, our slopes were considered the wrong side of the hills. As the climate has warmed, those same slopes have come into focus as the region’s new sweet spot: warm afternoons cut by the dependable cooling that pours through the Van Duzer Corridor each evening.
The result is a growing season that is at once warm and cool, generous and disciplined — exactly the conditions every cool-climate winemaker hopes to wake up to. Hot days build phenolic ripeness and color; cool nights preserve acidity and aromatics. The wind tightens the cluster, thickens the skin, and writes a particular kind of wine: focused, structured, alive.
AVA
Eola-Amity Hills
Willamette Valley
Total Acreage
117 acres
Planted Acreage
55 acres (planted 2020)
Aspect
South- and west-facing, looking toward the Van Duzer Corridor
Elevation
330–715 feet
Varieties Planted
Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier
Farming
LIVE Certified
First Vintage Released
2024
Windfall was planted in 2020 to three varieties — Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier — the classical trio of Method Oregon sparkling wine, with the depth and aromatic range to produce compelling still wines as well. Across 43 acres and 27 blocks, the vineyard is anchored by 20 acres each of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, with 3 acres of Pinot Meunier woven into the site.
From the beginning, the vineyard was conceived with a site-first philosophy. Each block was carefully matched to its clone, rootstock, aspect, and exposure — not to impose a style, but to reveal one. Two rootstocks, 3309 and 101-14, were selected for their long-standing success in the Eola-Amity Hills, while the orientation of each block was designed to draw out subtle differences in clonal expression.
What emerges is a vineyard built for nuance and range. Clones ripen along different arcs, carry distinct aromatic signatures, and contribute their own structural elements, creating a dynamic palette each vintage. One Chardonnay may lean toward bright citrus and precision, while another offers breadth and orchard fruit; one Pinot Noir lifts with red-toned energy, while another grounds the blend with depth and structure.
At the heart of Windfall are two 5-acre Mélange blocks — quiet tributes to the field blends of Burgundy. One brings together every Chardonnay clone on the property, the other every Pinot Noir. Planted side by side and farmed as a whole, they capture the vineyard not as a collection of parts, but as a single, living composition.
Pommard & Wädenswil
Dijon 113, 114, 115, 667, 777, 828
A complementary suite of Dijon 76, 95, 96, 548 and heritage selections, positioned where exposure and soil reward each clone’s particular strength.
Reserved for the sparkling program, where its red-fruit lift and natural acidity round out the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir backbone of our cuvées.
Windfall’s most compelling geological fact is not what lies beneath the vineyard — it is that two fundamentally different soil stories converge here, in the same 55 acres, on the same slopes.
Along the western edge of the Eola-Amity Hills, marine sedimentary soils and volcanic soils meet. This is not incidental. A natural convergence of ancient ocean-floor sediments pushed eastward by tectonic uplift and volcanic material carried westward from the Cascade Range by the Columbia River Basalt flows has made this one of Oregon’s most geologically dynamic winegrowing sites. Windfall sits squarely along the seam — and the wines are a direct expression of both sides.
The marine sedimentary soils — the Willakenzie, Hazelair, and Chehulpum series — are deep, fine-grained, and silky, weathered from sandstone and siltstone parent materials. In places, fossilized remnants embedded in the rock serve as a quiet record of the ocean that once covered this ground. These soils don’t starve the vine — they collaborate. Their deeper profiles allow roots to access water more consistently, extending the growing season and encouraging steady, even ripening. The result is fruit with aromatic nuance and textural breadth: flavors develop gradually, and the wines lean toward suppleness and perfume. In our experience, marine sedimentary soils give Pinot Noir its floral lift and red-fruited precision, and give Chardonnay its orchard-fruit generosity and layered texture.
The volcanic soils — the Nekia series and its close relatives — are the opposite in almost every respect: shallow, well-drained, iron-rich, and unyielding, laid over fractured basalt. This is soil that asks more of the vine. With limited depth and water-holding capacity, roots push deeper and work harder. Vines respond with smaller clusters, thicker skins, and more concentrated fruit. The resulting wines carry structure and tension — darker fruit in Pinot Noir, a firmer frame and savory edge; in Chardonnay, a more linear profile with a distinct stony cut.
Neither soil type alone accounts for what Windfall produces. The marine sedimentary soils are the voice — perfume, texture, generosity. The volcanic soils are the backbone — concentration, structure, mineral drive. Between them, shaped by slope, elevation, and aspect across Windfall’s series of ridges, the vineyard finds its full range. The wines that emerge carry both signatures, often within the same block: power and finesse, precision and warmth, the ancient ocean and the ancient fire, still in conversation.
Chehulpum soils are shallow, with weathered siltstone encountered at depths of 10 to 20 inches beneath a relatively thick, dark surface horizon. Limited soil depth and water-holding capacity make these sites prone to drought stress in the absence of irrigation. In contrast to the deeper, more moisture-retentive loamy soils on the property, Chehulpum soils naturally restrict vine growth, resulting in low vigor and small, concentrated berries. These blocks are planted to drought-tolerant rootstocks, aligning vine capacity with site limitations and supporting balanced ripening under dry conditions.
Hazelair soils are moderately well drained, very clayey, and moderately deep to siltstone, occurring primarily in the western and southern portions of the vineyard. The subsoil is dominated by smectitic clays with a high shrink–swell capacity, causing the soils to expand during the rainy season and contract in summer, when they harden and develop pronounced surface cracking. These properties can restrict root penetration and seasonal water movement, often leading to variable vine access to moisture and contributing to moderate vine vigor and site-specific variability in fruit development.
Willakenzie soils are moderately deep, well-drained loamy soils underlain by weathered sedimentary rock at approximately 30 inches. Formed from colluvium derived from sedimentary parent material, they provide balanced water retention and drainage, supporting steady, moderate vine vigor. In contrast to the heavier, shrink–swell Hazelair soils, they allow for more consistent root development and water uptake, resulting in more uniform ripening and a reliable expression of fruit quality across vintages.