Our story began in 1971 when my parents, Susan Sokol and Bill Blosser, planted their first vines in the Dundee Hills of Oregon.
As second generation winemakers, we are passionate about our family legacy of making world class wines.
Our wines are made from organically grown grapes and capture the distinctive flavours of our hillside vineyards in an environmentally sustainable way.
Our Dundee Hills Estate Pinot Noir embodies everything Sokol Blosser has experienced in over 51 years of winemaking in Oregon.
Crafted to faithfully express the terroir of the hillside vines and Joly soil, this wine is dry farmed and has low yields to preserve quality.
This wine has aromas of raspberry and cherry cola with a hint of toast.
The palate is bursting with red fruit characteristics, with hints of leather, forest floor and wet stone.
The finish features sweet tobacco and savory spices such as black pepper and clove.
After a dry winter, spring was marked by heavy rains.
It was the coldest and wettest April/May/June in 130 years.
Freezing temperatures on the mornings of April 14th and 15th pummeled the fragile new shoots, and in fact, until yield forecasts were made in late August, we thought there would be an overall yield loss of 50-60%.
What I learned this time is that you should never underestimate the power of grapes.
We've been growing grapes here in Dundee Hills for over 51 years and have never experienced a freeze during the growing season, so we had no idea what to expect.
However, after the primary buds froze and died, secondary buds sprouted, producing few but large bunches, and the vines made a miraculous recovery.
The coldest and wettest spring has given way to the second warmest and driest summer on record as we move into October.
Flowering was quite late so everything depended on the growing conditions (rainfall and temperature) in October.
Fortunately, the warmest October in Oregon history allowed the grapes to grow for a long time and the rain held off until the estate's entire berry harvest on Thursday, October 27th.
We are very happy with the wines that have come out of this vintage.
When Sokol Blosser first planted vines in 1971, the wine industry was virtually nonexistent in Oregon.
Today, with over 1,100 wineries and 18,000 hectares of vineyards, Oregon wine can be enjoyed anywhere in the world.
Sokol Blosser is a family-owned winery that has been a leader in sustainable grape growing and business practices since the beginning of winemaking in Oregon.
Sokol Blosser is committed to producing world-class wines that express the distinctive flavors of our hillside vineyards while respecting the environment and our health.
This commitment to world-class quality and environmental awareness are Sokol Blosser's core values, and they not only practice organic farming, but also produce wines that are kind to the environment and the people who work there.
This initiative has been ongoing since the winery was founded, and in the fall of 2005 it received the prestigious official organic certification from the United States Department of Agriculture.