Sokol Blosser Wine Blog

Bill and Susan Sokol Blosser started with just 5 acres in the Dundee Hills and slowly bought additional parcels to make up the 80 acres we have today. The second generation, Alex and Alison, are spearheading efforts to add additional pieces of land, and the family just closed on their first land purchase in nearly 30 years - 20 acres off Breyman Orchards Road in the Dundee Hills. We're planting 12 acres this coming April and we need a name for the block.

Considering how uncreative we are in naming our vineyard blocks (i.e. Watershed Block is named after the neighboring Dayton Watershed, Old Vineyard Block because it's our oldest vines, Twelve Row Block because it was 12 rows, Peachtree because it used to have peach trees there, Red House Block because it's next to a red farm house, etc), we need your help!

Name our new block and you'll be the first to get a case of Pinot Noir made from those grapes. Our first vintage is estimated to be ready to drink in Fall 2012 or Fall 2013.

Alex and Alison Sokol Blosser stand proud in front of 20 new acres of vineyard land.

Here's the scoop on the property -
- Sokol Blosser family purchased the land in 2007
- 4 acres each of three clones (667, 777, and Pommard) will be planted in spring 2008; first crop will be in 2010
- Miller Creek runs through the edge of the property
- The property lies next to the Dayton Watershed and is all Jory soil
- The center of the property is approximately N45° 15'0.9" and W123° 03'28.8" and is at an elevation of 400 feet. It's very close to our Watershed Block.
- Cattle used to graze on the property about 20 years ago; since then, it's just been overgrown blackberries and poison oak
- There are gorgeous Oregon oak trees on the property which we hope to make into barrels
- Kalapooya Indians used to inhabit the area

Submit your name and idea via our blog or email to info@sokolblosser.com. The winning name(s) will be selected by Sept 1.

Posted by Kitri McGuire, Marketing Communications Manager at 12:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's finally acting like summer in the Sokol Blosser vineyard... warm days with soft breezes and temperate nights, perfect for our growing Pinot Noir vines. We have several blocks of Pinot Noir that we planted this Spring, and all are doing well. Our 1-year-old baby Pinot Gris vines in our Bluebird Block along the road to our Tasting Room are reaching for the sky.

A baby Pinot Noir cluster. We'll be harvesting these little guys in September!

All the other plants and flowers around the Vineyard are going crazy, too. These perimeter plantings of lavender, yarrow, rudbeckia and Russian Sage around the Vineyard provide habitat for beneficial insects and help create our Vineyard ecosystem, as well as adding color and beauty to the property. It looks like it's going to be another great Summer for our Vineyard!

Perimeter plantings near our underground LEED-certified barrel cellar.

Posted by Kitri McGuire, Marketing Communications Manager at 11:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The concept of sustainbility is more than environmentalism. Economic and social concerns also matter. Essentially sustainability takes traditional environmental concerns and seeks to balance them with the good of the economy and community. The goal is to create an economy and society that is sustainable over time - that does not continue the syystematic degradations of our planet's only life support systems (air, soil, and water). How to live without polluting our air and water and creating mountains of waste is the environmental challenge. How to do it keeping a viable economy and healthy community is the sustainable challenge. Sustainability is a huge concept, affecting every aspect of our lives.

To be truly sustainable from and environmental point of view, we would use natural resources no faster than the rate at which they are being renewed. Our energy needs, for example, would be supplied by wind and sun rahter than coal and oil. In addition, all products manufactured and assembled would be able to be disassembled and either remanufactured or decomposed as waste. These two tenets are the antithesis of our "throw away" consumer society that buys and discards everything, much of it made of plastic and metal. Our society is so environmentally extravagant that to live otherwise, to cut back on our extravagance, takes time, self-direction and courage.

An excellent description of the many facets of sustainaibility is on the website of The Natural Step, a scientifically based international organization that has taken the lead in defining the issues and the fix.

Posted by Susan Sokol Blosser at 03:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Did you know that our Tasting Room gives tours? Join us every Friday, Saturday and Sunday for our regularly scheduled Vineyard and Winery Tours at 11:30am and 2:30pm. Sip wine admidst the vines as you take a 20 minute turn about our certified organic Vineyards and LEED-certified barrel cellar and learn what makes Sokol Blosser unique.

Reservations are not required but are recommended, as we have limited space per tour. Don't forget that we also have delectable picnic items available in our Tasting Room as well, including a variety of olives, spreads, crackers and cheeses. Summer is a perfect time to bring some friends and relax on our deck or in our picnic grounds with a bottle of wine and some nibbles. We hope you'll join us!

Posted by Kitri McGuire, Marketing Communications Manager at 12:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Oh, my. These pictures and stories just keep getting stranger (see our entries from May 3 and May 7)... Matt Lauer, eat your heart out!

Oregonian single handedly saves leaning tower of Pisa

Posted by Kitri McGuire, Marketing Communications Manager at 01:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We noticed the beginning of bloom yesterday, June 5th, in our North Concert and Big Tree blocks. This is one of the earliest blooms we've had in recent memory. We've had unseasonably warm weather lately, which has made the vines shoot to life. However this week we're experiencing a bit of rain. Rain during bloom is not a good thing. This reminds me of 2005 when it rained during bloom, causing an uneven set and therefore a smaller crop than we wanted. We'll have to wait and see how much rain mother nature gives us these next few days. We're keeping our fingers crossed that the rain will be gentle and the sun will come out in between short rain showers.

The general rule of thumb is that harvest will be 100 days after bloom. This means we'll likely be starting to harvest around September 13, also a lot earlier than we'd like.

Here's a picture of Scott, our brand ambassador, and me in our Big Tree block when we first discovered bloom.

Cheers!

Posted by Alex Sokol Blosser at 09:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)