The David Hill Vineyard is a 40-acre contiguous southeast, south and southwest facing hillside nestled within our 140 acre property in the Northern Willamette Valley.  Situated between 360′ and 625′ in elevation on Laurelwood soil, this estate vineyard is a special place with a unique and mysterious history – a story still being revealed. The older plantings of self-rooted Pinot Noir,  Pinot Blanc, Chasselas, Muscat, Sylvaner, Sémillon, Riesling and Gewürztraminer are 50+ years old.  The older vines take advantage of the Laurelwood soil,  whose roots have reached the basalt layers and allow the wine from these older vines to express their true sense of place (terroir). The newer plantings have allowed the property to complement its current varietal and clonal plantings with Pinot Gris, Chardonnay from Dijon clones 76 and 96, as well as Dijon Pinot Noir clones 115, 114, 667 and 777.

 Upon completion of the most recent planting, the property now farms seven clones of Pinot Noir. The blocks are kept separate until blending and the diversity of the clonal selection, combined with our Laurelwood soil, produces Pinot Noir wines that are a balance between complexity and elegance.

To compliment the heritage of our estate vineyard, David Hill purchased The Wirtz Vineyard. Spanning 24 acres, the property was planted with 14 acres worth of heirloom clonal material sold both by the Coury nursery and other pioneering vineyards. Many vines fill the acreage, including old vine varietals of Pinot Gris, Gamay Boujelois, heirloom Pinot Noir clones, and Draper clone Chardonnay. Echoing similarities from our estate vineyard which is located no more than two miles away, the Wirtz vineyard is both self-rooted and planted in Laurelwood soil. With vines planted in 1974 by David Wirtz, the vineyard is nearing its 50th year.

The ownership and management of David Hill feel it is an important part of our stewardship to better understand the history and plant material from our plantings. We plan to partner with both Oregon’s wine and scientific communities to help us piece together that story.