The Farm
Farming is in our blood. The dream started with the land. From the moment we set our roots into this soil, we became stewards of this place, our terroir. Our vineyard is dry-farmed and skillfully hand-tended, located within the Tualatin Hills AVA, a sub-appellation of the larger Willamette Valley AVA. We are dedicated to producing superb quality fruit that is transformed into excellent wines. We planted a total of 2.3 acres of vines, with 1.5 acres of Pinot Noir (70% Pommard clone and 30% 777 clone) and 0.8 acres of Pinot Gris. Both varieties are grafted onto Phylloxera-resistant rootstock 44-53. We use a VSP trellis system with a 5 x 7 foot vine row spacing. The Pinot Noir is planted in the Laurelwood-associated soils known as Cornelius and Kinton silt loam soil with 7-12 % slopes and the Pinot Gris is planted in Helvetia silt loam with 2-7 percent slope. The vineyard resides at approximately 350-400 feet elevation. The fruit was first planted in 2014 and our first vintage in production was 2016. We transform our fruit into accessible, unfussy, intensely regional wines available for sale to all who appreciate fine wine from this slice of heaven we call the Willamette Valley.
Tualatin Hills AVA
Map courtesy of Explore Tualatin Valley Oregon
QUICK FACTS
Established: June 3, 2020
Wineries: 10
Tasting Rooms: 12
Vineyards: 41
Total Area: 144,000 acres
Planted Area: 1,009 acres
Most common grape varieties: Pinot noir, Pinot gris, Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer
Our vineyard resides entirely within the Tualatin Hills AVA (American Viticultural Area), a sub-appellation of the larger Willamette Valley AVA designated in 2020, creating a unique terroir amongst Willamette Valley wines. The Tualatin Hills AVA is the northernmost appellation in the Willamette Valley and is a horseshoe-shaped geographical area located north and west of Portland encompassing 144,000 acres. It's boundaries are defined by the Tualatin River watershed with elevations between 200 and 1000 feet. These elevations place the Tualatin Hills AVA within the rain shadow of the Coast Range mountains creating lower rainfall totals with cooler Springs and warmer Falls. A defining characteristic of the Tualatin Hills AVA is the soil. The AVA contains Laurelwood and associated soils (including the Cornelius and Kinton soils in which our vines reside) that are unique to this northwestern corner of the Willamette Valley. These soils are formed from weathered volcanic basalt combined with windblown silt, known as loess. The soils are fine, silty soils with no rocks and have low levels of organic material and a high clay content. Due to this soil type, irrigation is rarely needed, and Shumaker Vineyards is, thus, dry-farmed. Grapes grown in Laurelwood and associated soils lead to Burgundian style Pinot Noir with elegant structure and texture, brighter acidity and distinctive bright red fruit and white pepper and other spice profiles. The AVA contains 12 tasting rooms, 21 estate wineries and 33 commercially productive vineyards.
Quality wines begin in the vineyard.
Farming the highest quality fruit possible has always been our overarching goal. Every decision is made with this in mind.