The Eyrie Vineyards
United States – 
Oregon – 
McMinnville / Willamette Valley – 
McMinnville / Willamette Valley – 

THE COMPANY

It was early 1965 when David Lett, just 25 years old, moved to Oregon with 3,000 rootstocks: he was determined to prove that Pinot Noir could be successfully grown outside Burgundy. Thus was born the first Pinot Noir vineyard in Oregon and the first Pinot Grigio vineyard in America! In 1966, together with his wife Diana, he purchased in the Dundee Hills, 50 km from Portland, an iron-laden clay soil overlaid with a deep layer of rounded, eroded basalt pebbles. This combination gives The Eyrie’s soils special properties: the structure allows the valley’s constant winter rains to drain away easily, but in Oregon’s very dry summers, the subterranean pebbles retain enough water in their cracks and crevices to support the vines without the need for irrigation. In 1970 David and Diana bottled their first wine. It was in 1975, however, that Eyrie Vineyards made headlines, when it entered two major competitions in France, making Oregon wine known to the world. Since 2005, Jason Lett has been running the company, combining the spirit of innovation with respect for tradition. Agriculture and organically certified wines, 4 different vineyards Sisters, The Eyrie, Outcrop, Roland Green, consecrate Eyrie as one of the major wine interpreters in Oregon and the United States.

United States - 

Oregon

Willamette Valley

The discovery (or invention) of the Willamette Valley as a modern wine region dates back to the late 1970s in Dundee, near Lafayette, Yamhill County, by David Lett and his Eyrie Vineyards. If Lett had planted chardonnay and cabernet, fame would have been slow in coming. He turned instead to pinot noir and, in fact, since 1970 Oregon and pinot noir have been inextricably linked. Almost half of the Willamette Valley vineyards are reserved for this whimsical grape. The second most popular grape in Oregon, chardonnay, is now rapidly being supplanted by the white grape most similar to pinot noir, pinot grigio, and there is also growing interest in pinot blanc. At the same time, riesling and gewurztraminer are being explanted in response to market disinterest, a pity since especially in the north of the valley these varieties are much better suited than the pale relatives of pinot noir.

United States - 

Oregon

Willamette Valley

The discovery (or invention) of the Willamette Valley as a modern wine region dates back to the late 1970s in Dundee, near Lafayette, Yamhill County, by David Lett and his Eyrie Vineyards. If Lett had planted chardonnay and cabernet, fame would have been slow in coming. He turned instead to pinot noir and, in fact, since 1970 Oregon and pinot noir have been inextricably linked. Almost half of the Willamette Valley vineyards are reserved for this whimsical grape. The second most popular grape in Oregon, chardonnay, is now rapidly being supplanted by the white grape most similar to pinot noir, pinot grigio, and there is also growing interest in pinot blanc. At the same time, riesling and gewurztraminer are being explanted in response to market disinterest, a pity since especially in the north of the valley these varieties are much better suited than the pale relatives of pinot noir.