Sokol Blosser ~ LEED-ing by Example

This week I had the good pleasure of spending a day with Ms. Alison Sokol Blosser of Sokol Blosser Winery from the Willamette Valley in Oregon.  
After catching up on some shared old friends amongst the Willamette Valley, Alison and I spent a great day discussing the progress of Sokol Blosser’s vineyard estates and unique organic/sustainable farming techniques.  Working for Archery Summit, just up the hill from Sokol Blosser, and spending many years within the Willamette Valley, I was reminded of missing the very cool ‘farming’ talk that Alison and I had the oppportunity to catch up on.  Soaking up the traditionalism and the passion in which Alison spoke of her family’s vineyards, I was inspired this Saturday morning to delve deep back into a few of my wine books and read up on some of this industry’s most passionate vineyard specialists and worldwide organic/biodynamic estates.  There are many within the world of wine that set the bar for what we do today within the United States in the way of vineyard practice, but strictly looking at what we do here on a national level, I want to share just a bit about some of Sokol Blosser’s innovation practices.
With 85 acres to look over and a whole family of Pinotphiles, the Sokol Blossers have made a great impact on Pacific NW wine culture.  Susan, Alison’s mother and founder of the winery, was one of the first in her industry to make way for great Pinot in her area.  Today, she continues to make exemplary strides and leads by example for her industry with her farming/winery techniques.  Sokol Blosser, first in the country to become LEED certified with their barrel cellar, certified organic within their vineyard estates and producing as green as possible through the use of biodiesel tractors and post consumer waste recycled paper within their labels, the winery has certainly set the standards for many amongst the great Dundee Hills Appelation in Oregon.  The richness of the Willamette’s Jory soil and the rich earth driven vines are apparent in the nose, palate and color in each of the wines that Alison and I tasted from their portfolio.  Of course, the Sokol Blosser Willamette Valley Pinot Noir is one of the best examples when it comes to expressing the soils of its origin, but I did find that all the way down to their white blend, Evolution, and Pinot Noir based red blend, Mediterina, the essence of Oregon floated from the nose of every wine we tasted. From the nose to the palate, there is nothing that can compare to this rich region of Pinot.
Alison, just as passionate as her mother, in an industry that is always needing more pioneering women, was a real treat to hang out with giving me the urge to make a quick trip out to see some old pals within the valley.  With a similar passion to Pinot, I find myself  having that urge to dig into my cellar for a glass of Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. Delish!
For more information regarding Sokol Blosser and their wonderful line up of wines visit:  www.sokolblosser.com
Cheers!