The Winery Eastburn Vineyards of Chehalem Mountains of Oregon

On 11 April, 2022, cold temperatures, snow and frost arrived in the Willamette Valley. The pre-dawn hours of 15 April were particularly devastating, with numerous vineyards registering overnight lows of minus three to zero degrees Celsius. Gregory Jones, a research climatologist and CEO of Abacela Winery in Roseburg, Oregon, refers to the event as ‘February in April’ in his weather and climate newsletter. The frost’s timing was disastrous. Thanks to a warmer, drier Oregon winter, Chardonnay and ...

The deal includes 34.5ha under vine in the heart of the mountainous Bannockburn sub-region. It is mainly planted with Pinot Noir, but there are pockets of Chardonnay and Riesling too. Sir Clifford Skeggs, a Kiwi businesmman, and Lady Marie Skeggs purchased the land for Akarua in 1995, and planting began the following year. The first wines were bottled from the 1999 vintage. Akarua is now firmly established as one of the largest family-owned operations in Central Otago, and its 100% estate-grown ...

Stone will remain on board as a brand ambassador and adviser to the business he created back in 2012. The winemaking team, spearheaded by Thomas Savre and Burgundian consultant Dominique Lafon, is still in place too. ‘We’re all still there and we’re going to keep making great wine, but we will have better resources,’ Stone told Decanter.com. Stone, a Master Sommelier, purchased the 61 hectares Janzen Farm in Oregon’s Willamette Valley on December 31, 2012. He had been working at Evening Land’s a ...