Wine Fauve Vineyard in Amity, Oregon

At Wine Fauve we try to keep our exuberance in check, but it is only natural that we brag about our vineyard and its location. Originally planted in 1971, once called Madrona Hill, our vineyard has some of the oldest Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Cabernet vines planted in Oregon.

We are in the hills above Amity, Oregon. The entire Yamhill Valley has the same west coast Mediterranean climate found in France. Our vineyard is in the Eola and Amity Hills appellation, but it is our actual location in the apppellation that makes our wines different and, according to some, better.

Our vineyard is between 200 and 600 feet above the Yamhill Valley floor, and directly across from the Van Duzer corridor. The Van Duzer corridor is a large break in the coast range that is perpendicular to the Yamhill Valley. It makes our vineyard cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.

The wind, storms, afternoon cool breezes, picturesque sunsets, and warm winter weather all come straight from the Ocean. The Van Duzer corridor is easily visible from the vineyard. In fact, when working in the vineyard, one can simply look across the valley for a weather report. Often we can see the storms coming across the valley. Sometimes the storms go up the south fork of the Yamhill River, or head toward McMinnville missing us entirely.

The Van Duzer corridor not only makes our wines unique, but it has a large beneficial effect on all life at Wine Fauve. If we were more pretentious we could say, "Vines planted in the vineyards that receive the winds from the Van Duzer Corridor flourish in the cool-weather growing conditions; where they develop a purity of fruit flavor, complexity and pleasing balance."