View from the Left Coast Cellars crush pad

Perhaps there was a time early in the spring, with snowflakes were falling in April, when we were a bit worried about the growing season.  The beautiful blue skies outside my office window, right now, tell me that the worry was for nothing.  The 2008 harvest has hand delivered some of the most stunning grapes that I have ever seen from the estate vines to the crush pad.  For the better part of the last week, the Left Coast Cellars vineyard crew has been picking some to the finest Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Chardonnay in the entire Willamette Valley.  Inside the winery, Winemaker/Viticulturist, Luke McCollom has been guiding the winery staff through small lot fermentations, seeking to express the unique profile of each vineyard.  No matter how many harvests I see go by, the amount a tireless effort and unwaivering dedication that it takes to turn grapes into wine, well suffice it to say, it never ceases to inspire me.

As if the excitement of harvest was not all consuming enough, we have been delighted to watch the installation of the first arrays for a solar panel project that will provided virtually all of our electrical needs here at the estate.  Having received the largest USDA grant in the state of Oregon for this project, we are honored to take a leadership role in the green energy arena.  Additionally, we are partnering with Oregon State University and Willamette Bio-Mass, in planting an oilseed crop called camelina throughout the vineyards for bio-diesel production.  These projects, along with our commitment to sustainable farming and preservation of the natural surrondings, are a token of appreciation to the land that provides so much for Left Coast Cellars.  -Devon McMillen, Consumer Sales Manager