For its first ten years, J.K. Carriere operated from a rustic one-time hazelnut drying barn nestled on the grounds of the historic Springbrook Hazelnut Farm Bed and Breakfast in Yamhill County, Oregon. In November 2007, J.K. Carriere purchased 40 acres of grape-growing land on the southeast flank of Parrett Mountain, about three miles due east of its original location, in the Chehalem Mountains AVA.

Almost two years and countless hours toiling over building and planting details brings us to our new winery and estate vineyard, a completed-work-in-progress, in September 2009. View the photo gallery to experience our transformation.



Our winemaker came to winemaking through the cellars of eight great Pinot producers in Oregon, New Zealand, Australia and Burgundy and is guided by three principles. One, think about pinot as food and remain mindful of the acidity that allows the pairing. Two, from the vineyard to the bottle all decisions are made on taste and personal experience, as opposed to lab results or someone else's focus group. Three, the winemaking must be backed by hard science to ensure a clean, competent and ageable experience for our customers.

The wines are built at the knife-edge of maximum taste and balance utilizing wild yeast ferments, wild malo-lactic, no fining, no filtering. Blocks are kept separate and when stable, just as in Burgundy, we blend. Or more correctly, ponder it. If it's both complete and head-and-shoulders above, we consider single-vineyard status. Otherwise it's on to six weeks of rigorous blending trials and best vs. best comparisons whereby we strive for the ultimate net-sum-gain, our Willamette Valley Pinot Noir.