In the summer of 2000, Greg Sanders knocked on the door of an old farm house sitting at the top of the Dundee Hills in Oregon's Willamette Valley. The house was just up the gravel road from a few of Oregon's most notable wineries: Archery Summit, Domaine Drouhin Oregon and Domaine Serene. Surrounding the farm house was a small vineyard, self-rooted in 1980, that over the years had become known for the quality of its fruit. St. Innocent, Panther Creek and Torii Mor, had all purchased fruit from this site, bottling wines and designating them as "White Rose Vineyard". Having been an impassioned fan of pinot noir for many years, it was Greg's dream to own a vineyard from which he could produce artisanal, hand-made wines of outstanding quality. His search had led him to the top of this hill, and when he left, he took with him the deed to a dream.

Wines

The objective of our winemaking is to present the terroir of our vineyards in a pure, focused style, enabling an expression of elegance and clarity that only great vineyards can achieve. Aromatic complexity and depth of flavors that demonstrate
varietal typicality are the fundamental goals for all our wines.

 

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Vineyards

Planted in 1980 to own-rooted Pommard clone pinot noir, the 10-acre White Rose Vineyard is one of the oldest and most storied vineyards in Oregon. Planted on east-southeast facing slopes of volcanic Jory soils in the heart of the Dundee Hills, the vines consistently produce fruit of great character and complexity. The vineyard sits at the top of the hill at 870 feet elevation, overlooking much of the Willamette Valley. This hilltop location allows us to maximize "hang time", the length of the time the clusters are maturing on the plant, which results in greater flavor development while maintaing balanced sugars and acid.

 

In 2009, we acquired an additional 4 acres of vineyard immediately north of the original site. This vineyard, named Guillén Vineyard (after the Guillén family), was planted in 2001 to Dijon clone 115 pinot noir grafted to American rootstock.The site shows tremendous potential and is producing more substantial wines each year.

 

In addition to our own vineyards, we purchase fruit from of number of the Willamette Valley's top growers in the Yamhill-Carlton District AVA, Dundee Hills AVA and Chehalem Mountains AVA.

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People

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GREG SANDERS |  Owner

Greg grew up on the east coast and moved to Southern California when he finished college to start his career in manufacturing. After more than a decade of successfully building a company in the aerospace industry, Greg's penchant to learn something new and challenge himself in a new walk of life got the better of him. In 1995 he began taking courses at UC Davis in viticulture and enology with the hopes of someday owning a small vineyard. After several scouting trips to Oregon in search of land capable of producing world-class Pinot noir, Greg finally realized his dream in 2000. He purchased an existing 10-acre vineyard called White Rose Vineyard and started producing wine in 2001. While Greg remains very involved in the stylistic direction of the winery, he passed the torch of "Winemaker" and day-to-day winemaking operations to Jesus Guillen in 2008.

JESUS GUILLÉN |  Winemaker

Jesus began working with Greg in the vineyard in 2002. Because Greg frequently had to return to Southern California to spend time with his family and manage his other business, he relied on Jesus to manage the day-to-day winemaking procedures in his absence. It didn't take long for Greg to realize Jesus had a sharp palate and an intense desire to learn winemaking. Jesus enrolled in winemaking classes, read every book he could find on enology and viticulture and routinely picked the brains of the best winemakers in the valley. It did not take long for Jesus to move into a permanent role as Assistant Winemaker and Cellar Master. After several years of being an integral part of the winemaking team, Jesus was appointed Head Winemaker in 2008.

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{ Events }

Tasting Room Open Daily

11:00 am - 5:00 pm

 

6250 NE Hilltop Lane

Dayton, OR 97114

 

Tasting Experience: $45/person

(Reservations required)

 

 

Questions & Reservation Inquiries

503.864.2328 TELEPHONE

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it EMAIL

 

 

 

 

 

{ Press }

Burghound Issue #57 - January 2015, reviewed by Allen Meadows

-2012 "White Rose Vineyard" Pinot Noir, 92 points

-2012 "Lia's Vineyard" Pinot Noir, 92 points

-2012 "The Neo-Classical Objective" Pinot Noir, 91 points

-2012 "Winemaker's Cuvée" Pinot Noir, 91 points

 

Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar -  August 2014

-2012 "Winemaker's Cuvée" Pinot Noir, 94 points

-2012 "Anderson Family Vineyard" Pinot Noir, 93 points

-2012 "Guillén Vineyard" Pinot Noir, 93 points

-2012 "The Neo-Classical Objective" Pinot Noir, 93 points

 

Oregon's 50 Best Wines - October 2012, Portland Monthly Magazine

White Rose Estate takes FIRST and SECOND place for Pinot Noir in Oregon!

-2010 "Dundee Hills A.V.A." Pinot Noir, 98 points

-2010 "White Rose Vineyard" Pinot Noir, 98 points

Click here to read the full review


Wine Advocate Issue #197 - October 31, 2011, reviewed by Jay Miller

"Old vines, low yields, and a willingness to stretch the envelope have made White Rose Estate one of the premier producers of American Pinot Noir." - Jay Miller

The 2009 White Rose Vineyard "Whole Cluster" receives 96 Points, the top scoring Oregon wine of the vintage!

 

Wine Spectator Insider - January 19, 2011

White Rose 2008 "Dundee Hills" Appellation Series receives 91 points.

 

Wine Advocate Issue #191, October 31, 2010, reviewed by Jay Miller

"My first visit to White Rose was an eye opener," Jay Miller. White Rose receives two 94+ scores (2 of the top 5 Oregon pinots from the stellar 2008 vintage.)