Erratic Oaks

One of the very best places in the world to grow premium Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wine grapes is in Northwestern Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Over the past five decades, this region has earned an international reputation for the exceptional quality of its grapes and it now produces some of the most admired and coveted Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines in the world.

Within this region, in the middle of the Willamette Valley’ western side, nestled up against the eastern edge of Oregon’s Coast Range, Erratic Oaks Vineyard was first planted in 2007 and has been producing grapes for us since 2009.  Three-quarters of the vineyard’s total 200 acres of gently rolling, south and southwest facing hillside are planted to Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and Riesling. This geographic orientation gives our grapes precious minutes of extra sunlight each day, as they grow to maturity. 

Additionally, Erratic Oaks Vineyard is fortunate to have all three major soil types for which the Willamette Valley is acclaimed:  Marine Sedimentary, Volcanic and Missoula Flood Sedimentary.  The granite erratics that we found attest to the youngest soils, as the closest out cropping of such rocks is in Northern Idaho and Montana about 500 miles away!  Our vineyard is to our knowledge the only one in the Willamette Valley to have such erratics.  

Erratic Oaks Vineyard is located 45 miles east from the Oregon Coast and the Pacific Ocean.  Between the coast and Erratic Oaks, the Coastal Range of mountains abruptly rise 3,000 feet to shield the Willamette Valley and moderate the cooling influence of the coast’s maritime climate, allowing for ample summertime warmth in the critical growing and fruit maturation seasons. 

The finest blocks of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay will become Citation wines, with the remaining sold to some of the most notable producers in Oregon.