Perkins Harter - Pinot Noir Bracken Vineyard Eola-Amity Hills 750mL 2022 (13.2% ABV)
Shelby ".....hails from upstate New York. Shelby went on to Skidmore College intending to study studio art but instead fell in love with the historical geology class she took for a science requirement - ending up with degrees in business, geology, and environmental studies. Always drawn to the outdoors, Perkins became a river guide and water testing lab assistant in Bend, Oregon after graduation. After a couple of years in the Northwest skiing, boarding, floating and climbing, she studied environmental law at Vermont Law School, eventually earning two law degrees — a Juris Doctor and Master of Studies in Environmental Law — along with a Certificate in European Union Law at the University of Amsterdam. Shelby worked as a nuclear weapons waste cleanup policy assistant and later a nuclear waste attorney-advisor for the U.S. Department of Energy. After traveling to Antarctica in 2006, Shelby was inspired to follow a more creative and peaceful path and found wine amidst the scurry of Washington, D.C. lobbying events and dinners. Wine was a life raft out of conversations about intellectual property and campaign finance. The sommeliers of D.C. threw her a lifejacket and pulled her aboard…so she got paddling. After several stints in the wine cellars of Napa and Sonoma and making a vintages of Old Vine Zinfandel from the R. Teldeschi Vineyard planted in 1889, Shelby dropped out of the MW program and changed course one final time. She flew to Oregon to make Chardonnay from Johan Vineyard after Dan Rinke responded to her “want ad” for biodynamic Chardonnay. In 2018, she founded the Bracken Vineyard in the Eola-Amity Hills with her husband, Peter Harter. Now focused on growing Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Aligoté and Pinot Meunier, the couple looks forward to many years exploring their place in the Eola Hills through the wines they grow."
Bracken VY: cool maritime climate, Van Duzer wind currents, volcanic Witzel & Nekia soil, 642-736 feet elevation, west/south/eastfacing, mostly Pommard clone, mostly 3309 root stock
harvested Oct 13, 2022
very small production, female winemaker, Shelby Perkins, the labels always depict the art of her friends
200 cases
lifted, precise, alive, high acidity, classic Oregon Pinot nose of shaved dark cocoa nibs, black coffee ground, chopped up Portobello mushrooms, forest floor, medium bodied, improves with some air
an old world-styled beauty that perfectly showcases the potential of this site
region: Willamette Valley, Oregon
varietal: Pinot Noir
style: red
farming/cellar: organic and biodynamic, ambient fermentation, Aged for 11 months 25% new and 75% experienced French oak before bottling under Diam Origine cork, unfiltered
pairing: