Watermill Winery

The orchards around Milton-Freewater produce some of the best apples in the world. Over the last several decades, the Brown family has developed a reputation for producing some of the highest-quality fruit in the region. And their Blue Mountain Cider Company is renowned for its hard ciders.  Andrew Brown is the second-generation winemaker (and cidermaker) leading the way. Whether it’s the classic

Bordeaux blends or single-varietal wines like Mourvèdre and Petit Verdot, Watermill’s wines are a showcase for the Milton-Freewater area.

Watermill Winery
2011 Mourvèdre
Columbia Valley

Don Carlo Vineyard

Lori Kennedy grew up making wine with her grandfather, Carlo. An Italian immigrant in

Seattle, Carlo had grapes sent by train every year from Lodi, California. With young Lori beside him, he made wine to last the family all year long.  Named in honor of Lori’s grandfather, Don Carlo wines are among the finest examples of what we’re going to get from the new Rocks AVA.

Don Carlo Vineyard
2012 Estate Chardonnay
Walla Walla Valley

Bradley Vineyards

Elkton is a small town (population: 194) at the north end of the Umpqua Valley. Situated between Eugene and the Oregon Coast, it’s colder and wetter than much of the Umpqua.  And it’s for that reason that, in 2013, the Elkton AVA was recognized.

John Bradley planted his first grapes in 1983 but didn’t produce his own wine until 2003, when a winery refused to take delivery of a truckload of Pinot Noir. Bradley called the winemakers at River’s Edge (for whom he had managed the vineyard) and they collaborated right then to make the first Bradley Pinot Noir.  Last year, John passed away unexpectedly at age 65. Today, the Bradley label is still going strong, producing wines under the leadership of his wife, Bonnie, and their two adult children, Tyler and Rachel.

Bradley Vineyards
2010 Pinot Noir
Elkton

Viento Wines

Winemaker Rich Cushman is a Hood River native, and after studying viticulture at UC

Davis and apprenticing in Germany, he decided that he was “a Hood River boy” and turned down job offers that would take him out of Oregon.

While in Germany, Cushman fell in love with Riesling and in 1981, he planted his first vines – still growing strong right next door to the Viento tasting room. As he says, “The vines are now getting old and gnarly but are producing wonderful quality fruit.” And that makes Viento Wines an excellent sample of what you’ll find in and around Hood River.

Viento Wines
2011 Dry Riesling
Columbia Gorge