Piglets frolic among the vines, cows graze on a neighboring pasture, the snow-covered summit of Mt. Hood floats in the distance; Hiyu Wine Farm surely delivers one of the most bucolic and Alpine sights to be found in the US. No wonder that Nate Ready, the estate’s co-founder, likens this area to the climate of European mountainous regions like Savoie, Valais or Val d’Aosta. Despite its rather low altitude, the proximity of the mountain can keep the vineyards covered in snow as late as May; on the other hand, this part of North Oregon also offers an unusual influence of the nearby deserts, causing the character of the vintages to swing from cool and acid-driven to warm and generous, depending on which natural forces prevail.  

The parcel is planted to heirloom California Wente Farm Chardonnay clone, small clusters clone cuttings taken from Celilo vineyard on Underwood, and smaller amounts of Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir that are grown on soil mixture of sandy loam and basalt. 80% of the blend is Chardonnay which is aged in solera. 

It is a wine that is many wines at once. It’s in one sense and wild, unfiltered orange wine, with all the textural and umami-laden elements that accompany this. But it is also like a white burgundy. The notes of honey and lavender remind one of the Chablis and the rich texture and reductive characteristics of a very luxurious and long-lived Meursault or Corton Charlemagne. Finally, the long aging in barrel on the lees of many different vintages creates similarities between Sherry and vintage Champagne. It has the salty, nutty, oxidative depth of the formal and the celestial bread and custard-like essences of the latter.