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Self rooted and dry farmed Clone 777.
2016 Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley — $165 - SOLD OUT
Harvested 9/29/ 2016 — Brix = 26.25 and pH = 3.35
Pinot Noir is back! More details soon but the vineyard is located in the Yamhill – Carlton AVA of the Wilamette Valley. This AVA is home some of the most famous names Pinot Noir, including : Dick Shea, Ken Wright, and Lynn Penner-ash. The Pinots here are known to be darkest and most structured wines of the whole valley. Get yours!
The Ribbon Ridge AVA is Oregon’s smallest appellation — a narrow spine of land within the Chehalem Mountains, itself entirely inside the Willamette Valley. Dedicated almost exclusively to Pinot Noir, it is defined by its hallmark ancient marine sedimentary soils.
The Lichtenwalter Vineyard lies between 300–500 feet on a southeast-facing slope that encourages even ripening. It is LIVE Certified, Salmon-Safe, and organically farmed (though not formally certified), and sits among esteemed neighbors such as Beaux Frères, Patricia Green Cellars, and Trisaetum. Wines from these estates typically range from $40 to $150 per bottle, underscoring the prestige of Ribbon Ridge fruit.
What sets Ribbon Ridge apart is not only its reputation for producing high-scoring Pinot Noir, but its geology. The ridge is a distinct, eastward-tilted marine formation dating back 40–50 million years. Unlike the mixed soils of Chehalem Mountains and Yamhill-Carlton, Ribbon Ridge soils are entirely marine in origin — fine sandstone, siltstone, and mudstone. Over millennia, these materials have weathered into deep, finely structured soils that drain well yet hold just enough water. Nutrient levels are moderate, restraining vine vigor naturally while maintaining vine health, even without irrigation.
As RibbonRidgeAVA.org explains:
“Ribbon Ridge is a distinct, natural, geological formation… The soils generally exhibit good water-holding capability, but are not overly generous in nutrients, tending to restrain vine canopy vigor while maintaining good health, even in non-irrigated vineyards.”
This terroir produces Pinot Noir with exceptional aromatic intensity and balance: dark red and black fruits framed by bright acidity, often with a subtle seashell-like minerality that reflects its ancient oceanic past. Local winemakers highlight its darker fruit character, expressive spice notes, and structural backbone of acidity with soft, spicy, almost earthy tannins.
For a deeper dive into Ribbon Ridge and the voices of its winemakers, see Wine Enthusiast’s feature on the AVA.
Extremely limited. Singular to Ribbon Ridge.
The Ribbon Ridge AVA is Oregon’s smallest appellation — a narrow spine of land within the Chehalem Mountains, itself entirely inside the Willamette Valley. Dedicated almost exclusively to Pinot Noir, it is defined by its hallmark ancient marine sedimentary soils.
The Lichtenwalter Vineyard lies between 300–500 feet on a southeast-facing slope that encourages even ripening. It is LIVE Certified, Salmon-Safe, and organically farmed (though not formally certified), and sits among esteemed neighbors such as Beaux Frères, Patricia Green Cellars, and Trisaetum. Wines from these estates typically range from $40 to $150 per bottle, underscoring the prestige of Ribbon Ridge fruit.
What sets Ribbon Ridge apart is not only its reputation for producing high-scoring Pinot Noir, but its geology. The ridge is a distinct, eastward-tilted marine formation dating back 40–50 million years. Unlike the mixed soils of Chehalem Mountains and Yamhill-Carlton, Ribbon Ridge soils are entirely marine in origin — fine sandstone, siltstone, and mudstone. Over millennia, these materials have weathered into deep, finely structured soils that drain well yet hold just enough water. Nutrient levels are moderate, restraining vine vigor naturally while maintaining vine health, even without irrigation.
As RibbonRidgeAVA.org explains:
“Ribbon Ridge is a distinct, natural, geological formation… The soils generally exhibit good water-holding capability, but are not overly generous in nutrients, tending to restrain vine canopy vigor while maintaining good health, even in non-irrigated vineyards.”
This terroir produces Pinot Noir with exceptional aromatic intensity and balance: dark red and black fruits framed by bright acidity, often with a subtle seashell-like minerality that reflects its ancient oceanic past. Local winemakers highlight its darker fruit character, expressive spice notes, and structural backbone of acidity with soft, spicy, almost earthy tannins.
For a deeper dive into Ribbon Ridge and the voices of its winemakers, see Wine Enthusiast’s feature on the AVA.
Extremely limited. Singular to Ribbon Ridge.
Wine Grapes Direct is proud to offer pails from Brehm Vineyards. Peter Brehm has over 40 years experience selecting and freezing premium grapes for producing fine wines.
Each pail includes five gal. of grape must (juice, skins, seeds)
Las Brisas Vineyard, Carneros AVA, Sonoma County
Brix: 22.8 , pH: 3.37 , TA: 6.2 g/L , YAN: 345
“The Carneros AVA was an early pioneer in the production of Pinot Noir in California, with Francis Mahoney, proprietor of Mahoney Vineyards, an influential contributor to the study of Pinot Noir clones in the appellation. Mahoney’s 30 years of clonal trials, and work with UC Davis, has helped him to understand some of the hundreds of clonal variations, as well as develop his own stellar vineyards. Las Brisas Vineyard, part of the Mahoney Estate, translates to “the breezes” and sits on the Sonoma side of the appellation. It is named for the winds that drive morning fog from the vineyards and bring in cooling breezes in the late afternoon. The predominantly clay soils of Carneros are shallow, this combined with the influences of the nearby San Pablo Bay, yield remarkable fruit year after year.”
“Francis Mahoney and his outstanding viticulture team have provided us with Pinot Noir for more than 15 years. The Swan clone has been Peter’s favorite from the Carneros even longer. The combination of site, viticulturist and clone selection offers some of California’s best Pinot Noir fruit. Moderately priced in this market, these grapes have won gold at the San Francisco Chronicle wine competition. The clone’s namesake, Joe Swan had a vineyard winery in Sebastopol, and was an airline pilot. His Pinot Noir and Zinfandel were both top class.”
Each pail includes 5 gallons or 4.25 gallons of grape must (selection further below).
Notice: For the lowest shipping rates available, we recommend purchasing 4.25 gallon pails separately from 5 gallon pails.
Product will arrive partially frozen.
Eola-Amity Hills, Oregon
Brix: 22-24, pH: 3.2-3.4, TA: .7-.8
Harvested October 18th, 2022
“Oregon’s speciality is Pinot Noir, a delicate and temperamental grape considered by many to make the most sensual red wine in the world.” – Karen MacNeil, The Wine Bible
Like Burgundy in France, the Willamette Valley in Oregon is located on the 45th parallel. Both areas experience approximately the same number of degree days and an average rainfall of around 40 inches a year. Unlike Burgundy, however, Oregon receives almost all of its precipitation during the winter. This reduces the disease pressure Oregon growers face and also extends the growing season.
The property neighbors Domaine Serene 'Jerusalem Hill Vineyard ($102 per bottle) and Drew Bledsoe’s newly acquired Hopewell Vineyard. Other super premium producers such as Elton Vineyard abound nearby. The vineyard features a mixture of well draining Woodburn sedimentary soil (deposited during the Missoula Floods some 13,000 to 15,000 years ago) and volcanic Jory Clay soils. Jory Clay is much sought after for Pinot Noir.
"Pinot Noir from Jory soils are renowned for their bright red cherry and red-fruit flavour profile, with a high acidity and softer tannins.
The vines are 100% 114 Clone planted in the year 2000.
Each pail includes five gallons of grape must. Product will arrive partially frozen.
*Grapes had exposure to smoke. Hundreds of pails sold and no one has reported any smoke flavor. No refunds issued for any smoke issues.
Chehalem Mountains, Oregon
Brix: 23.5, pH:3.40, TA: 6.9 g/L,
Malic Acid: 2.77 g/L, Tartaric Acid: 6.6 g/L,
Glucose + Fructose: 244 g/L, Ammonia: 62 mg/L,
Alpha-Amino Compounds (as N): 132 mg/L
YAN: 183 mg/L (as N), Potassium: 1830 mg/L
Harvested October 2nd, 2020
Farmed Organically but not certified. The vineyard uses “Biodynamic” agriculture but these are not “Biodynamic” grapes. See the reason why in our blog post below:
“Oregon’s specialty is Pinot Noir, a delicate and temperamental grape considered by many to make the most sensual red wine in the world”. – Karen MacNeil, The Wine Bible
Like Burgundy in France, the Willlamette Valley in Oregon is located on the 45th parallel. Both areas experience approximately the same number of degree days and an average rainfall of around 40 inches a year. Unlike Burgundy, however, Oregon receives almost all of its precipitation during the winter. This reduces the disease pressure Oregon growers face and also extends the growing season.
“From Parrett Mountain to the south, and running northwest across Bald Peak and Ribbon Ridge, the Chehalem Mountains were formed by uplifted sedimentary seabeds, lava flows, and wind-blown silt to create the highest elevations and most diverse soils in wine country. These distinctions make our winegrowing region famous for rich, elegant and complex wines including benchmark pinot noir.”
Each pail includes five gallons of grape must. Product will arrive partially frozen.
Dundee Hills of Willamette Valley, Oregon
Brix: 23.5, pH: 3.7, TA: 5.75
Harvested October 1st, 2019
“Oregon’s speciality is Pinot Noir, a delicate and temperamental grape considered by many to make the most sensual red wine in the world.” – Karen MacNeil, The Wine Bible
Like Burgundy in France, the Willamette Valley in Oregon is located on the 45th parallel. Both areas experience approximately the same number of degree days and an average rainfall of around 40 inches a year. Unlike Burgundy, however, Oregon receives almost all of its precipitation during the winter. This reduces the disease pressure Oregon growers face and also extends the growing season.
The Domingo Vineyard was planted at the foot of the Dundee Hills in 2012 by Jesús Guillén, the vineyard manager for White Rose Estate. The vines are 100% Pommard clone planted on rootstock 3309. Yields are typically 2 tons per acre.
Each pail includes five gallons of grape must. Product will arrive partially frozen.
Chehalem Mountains, Oregon
Brix: 24.7, pH:3.57, TA: .78
Harvested September 25th, 2018
“Oregon’s specialty is Pinot Noir, a delicate and temperamental grape considered by many to make the most sensual red wine in the world”. – Karen MacNeil, The Wine Bible
Like Burgundy in France, the Willlamette Valley in Oregon is located on the 45th parallel. Both areas experience approximately the same number of degree days and an average rainfall of around 40 inches a year. Unlike Burgundy, however, Oregon receives almost all of its precipitation during the winter. This reduces the disease pressure Oregon growers face and also extends the growing season.
“From Parrett Mountain to the south, and running northwest across Bald Peak and Ribbon Ridge, the Chehalem Mountains were formed by uplifted sedimentary seabeds, lava flows, and wind-blown silt to create the highest elevations and most diverse soils in wine country. These distinctions make our winegrowing region famous for rich, elegant and complex wines including benchmark pinot noir.”
Wine Grapes Direct is proud to offer pails from Brehm Vineyards. Peter Brehm has over 40 years experience selecting and freezing premium grapes for producing fine wines.
Campana Ranch, Russian River Valley
Brix: 24.7 , pH: 3.86 , TA: 4.3 g/L , YAN: 448, Malic: 2.7 g/L
Russian River Valley is a Sonoma County region known for rolling hills, cool climates, and wineries that produce some of the world’s best Pinot Noir. The nearby Pacific Ocean sends on-shore breezes and fog to cool the vineyards. The proximity to brisk water creates a cooling effect that results in wine textures from structured to silky. Fog cools vineyards and develops full flavor maturity of grapes. Russian River’s cool-climate Pinot Noir grapes are nurtured by seasonal fog, and a combination of fractured sandstone and sandy loam create Goldridge soil; the ideal soil for cool climate grapes.
Each pail includes five and quarter gallons of grape juice. Product will arrive partially frozen.
Willamette Valley, Dundee Oregon
Brix: 23.7, pH: 3.70
Harvested October 14th, 2022
“Oregon’s speciality is Pinot Noir, a delicate and temperamental grape considered by many to make the most sensual red wine in the world.” – Karen MacNeil, The Wine Bible
Like Burgundy in France, the Willamette Valley in Oregon is located on the 45th parallel. Both areas experience approximately the same number of degree days and an average rainfall of around 40 inches a year. Unlike Burgundy, however, Oregon receives almost all of its precipitation during the winter. This reduces the disease pressure Oregon growers face and also extends the growing season.
The Riverwood Ranch Vineyard was planted at the foot of the Dundee Hills in 2006 by Dale Smith (owner of Evergreen Aviation and the Spruce Goose Flying boat plane built by Howard Hughes). The vineyard lies at the confluence of the Willamette Valley and Yamhill Rivers over which flows a cool evening breeze each night to concentrate flavors. The vineyard features volcanic Jory Clay soils, which are much sought after for Pinot Noir.
"Pinot Noir from Jory soils are renowned for their bright red cherry and red-fruit flavour profile, with a high acidity and softer tannins.
The vines are 100% 777 Clone. Previous vintages have been sold to Argyle Winery, and 12th and Maple Wine Co.
Each pail includes 5 gallons of grape must
Product will arrive frozen or partially frozen.
Croft Vineyard – Mount Pisgah, Polk County, Oregon AVA
Brix: 22.5 | pH: 3.10 | TA: 6.5 g/L | YAN: 115 mg/L | Glucose + Fructose: 232 g/L
Potential Alcohol: ~13.5–14.1% ABV based on measured fermentable sugar (glucose + fructose: 232 g/L). Most likely finished alcohol: ~13.8% ABV if fermented dry.
(Full ETS Lab Report in photos or CLICK HERE)
Harvested and destemmed: September 28th, 2026
A Tiny, Dry-Farmed Gamay Block from One of Oregon’s Longtime Organic Vineyards
This is one of the most distinctive lots we brought in for 2026: certified organic Gamay from a tiny 0.85-acre block at Croft Vineyard, planted in 2012 near the lower portion of the vineyard at approximately 350 feet elevation. Since the block was planted, Croft has kept this Gamay entirely within its own estate wine program. The 2026 harvest marks the first time fruit from this block has ever been offered outside the winery.
The block is almost entirely Bellpine soil, with a small vein of Jory running along its edge. Shallow groundwater allows the vineyard to be entirely dry-farmed, giving the vines access to natural moisture without irrigation.
Croft has farmed organically since 1983 and has been certified organic since the early 2000s. Its current Oregon Department of Agriculture certification shows an effective date of 2019 because the vineyard changed certifiers from Oregon Tilth to ODA that year. Croft remains USDA Organic certified, and Gamay is specifically included among the vineyard’s certified winegrape crops.
The Gamay occupies Block 3G — just 0.85 acres and 18 rows, planted in 2012. The exact clone is not currently known. The vines originated from the same Gamay material once planted by Al MacDonald at Seven Springs Vineyard, and the grower is still working to determine whether additional records survive identifying the clone.
What We Saw at Crush
We harvested and processed this fruit on Monday, September 28, and it was beautiful. The fruit came in exceptionally clean, with substantial skins and a field reading of approximately 23° Brix.
What immediately stood out was the flavor. The berries had an incredibly fresh, concentrated, almost grape-jam character — deeply fruity without tasting heavy or overripe. There was also a noticeably aromatic quality to the fruit, along with more skin structure than you might expect from Gamay.
It is intensely expressive raw material, with enough freshness to make a lively young wine but enough depth and skin structure to take in a considerably more serious direction.
The Grape Behind Beaujolais
Gamay is the traditional red grape of Beaujolais, where it can produce remarkably different styles depending on how the winemaker handles it.
On the fresh and youthful end of the spectrum, Gamay can make vibrant, highly aromatic wines built around its natural fruit character. A wine made in that spirit could be ready relatively quickly and would be a wonderful holiday wine — bright, fresh, and particularly well suited to charcuterie, cheeses, appetizers, and roast poultry.
But Gamay does not have to be simple or short-lived. More structured expressions can be given greater extraction and élevage, producing wines with considerably more depth and the ability to develop with bottle age. Given the substantial skins and concentration we saw while processing this fruit, there is plenty here for a winemaker who wants to pursue that more serious style as well.
The complete ETS analysis is available in the photos and report link above. Use these results to plan fermentation and any adjustments for your batch.
Highlights
Vineyard: Croft Vineyard
AVA: Mount Pisgah, Polk County, Oregon
Varietal: Gamay
Block: 3G
Block size: 0.85 acres / 18 rows
Planted: 2012
Elevation: Approximately 350 feet
Field Brix: Approximately 23°
Harvest date: September 28, 2026
Soils: Predominantly Bellpine with a small vein of Jory
Farming: USDA Certified Organic and entirely dry-farmed
At crush: Thick-skinned, exceptionally clean fruit with intense fresh grape-jam character and lifted aromatics
Winemaking potential: Fresh and fruit-driven or deeper, structured, and age-worthy
ETS analysis: Available in the photos and report link above
Farming Practices
Certified Organic
☑ USDA Certified Organic
☑ Completely dry-farmed
☑ Organically farmed since 1983
The vineyard’s current ODA certificate carries a 2019 effective date because Croft transitioned its certification from Oregon Tilth to the Oregon Department of Agriculture at that time.
Extremely limited. Just 0.85 acres of certified organic Gamay from a singular Oregon vineyard site.