Pearlstad

The Terroir:

Pearlstad Vineyard - Chardonnay

The Eola-Amity Hills is situated to the immediate east of the Van Duzer Corridor—the "air-conditioning" pathway through the Coast Range where ocean air enters from the west and cools the Willamette Valley. In the direct path of the breeze sits Pearlstad Vineyard, a sloping ridge where ancient landslides have exposed marine layers and fossil rocks with striking clarity. The soils are well drained and provide balanced but significant stress to the vines. This induces restrained leaf canopy growth and a limited crop of small clusters with good sunlight exposure and air flow reaching the berries and thicking their skins. those thick skins lead to textural complexity in the wine, as does a mixed planting of multiple clonal selections. I am delighted by the distinct saline/salty/mineral expression evident in the wines and the purity and delicacy of fruit resulting from the windy, cool climate.