Keepin' it fun!

THE VINEYARD

The 2008 Vineyard Expansion“Owning a vineyard is a good way to make a large fortune into a small one.”
Truer words have never been said and yet here we are, brother Dan and myself, in spring of 2008 planting another five acres of vines. Well, lets be clear about this: you talked us into this! If Carlton Hill Pinot Noirs had simply been good, every day wines, I would have been content to farm our original six acres. But, noooo!!! The response received from nearly every person who has purchased our wines compelled the planting of the remaining eastern slopes of our vineyard site.
And, while it might sound like an old cliché, when it comes to the making of great wine, it is all about the grapes and the dirt they are planted in. So, here we go again.

This time we elected to plant what is historically the very most tried and true Pinot Noir clones here in Oregon, namely Pommard and Wadensville. This planting, when combined with the existing 777 and 115Dijonclones, should contribute additional nuance and complexity to future Carlton Hill vintages. But I am getting ahead of myself. We still have three years of work ahead of us.

While genetically distinct from the vines in the existing vineyard, the new vines share the same eastern exposures and, like their older siblings, are spaced four feet apart in rows seven feet in width (at a density of about 1550 plants to the acre). In year three, the canes will be trained using the single-Guyot method, where one fruiting cane per vine is tied horizontally along the fruiting wire approximately two feet above the ground.

This year we also intend to seek LIVE and Salmon Safe certifications for both the new and old vineyard blocks. We have been farming this way for some time so it is time to make it official. We will keep you posted.

Owner: David Polite
Winemaker: David Polite
Phone: 503-852-7060
Email: carltonhillvine@aol.com
Website: www.carltonhillwines.com

2007 Pinot Noir Estate

Perhaps the most subtle and complex Carlton Hill vintage to date.

$34.00 / Bottle

2007 Pinot Noir Estate Reserve

Awarded a Gold Medal at the Oregon Wine Awards!

$50.00 / Bottle

2008 Pinot Noir Estate Reserve

Product description not available. Please contact winery for details.

$50.00 / Bottle

2009 Pinot Noir Estate

Buy a case and get 12 bottles for the price of 11!

$40.00 / Bottle