Event

Every Thursday from 4:00 until 8:00 pm we open a special bottle of wine and offer to you at a highly discounted price.
The wines are typically 90 points or better and are discounted 20-40%. Sometimes even more! when we can get special pricing from our vendors , we pass the savings along to you!!
Come in on Thursday and sample. If you can't make it, call us and we can put some aside for you!! 
(All purchases must be accompanied by a credit card.)

Willamette Valley
2015

It's not our usual protocol to choose a bottle for our Thursday evening focus that hasn't been thoroughly vetted by a number of reliable critics. I have found over the past few years though, that oftentimes my palate and my understanding of what our patrons enjoy, can be more instructive than scores.

When I tasted this wine for the first time last week, I was more than just mildly impressed with the quality and drinkability. As I did further research and began to understand the recognition that has been accorded this wine from the likes of Dorothy Gaiter (the critic for the wall Street Journal for many years) and Savor Northwest (the group of winemakers and owners who know the wines of the Great Northwest best), I was convinced that it was a wine that we couldn't pass up.

I think you will be in agreement once you taste this Pinot Noir. - Mike
 

98 points!! 
Double Gold Medal Savor NorthWest 
  "This is a beautiful pure expression of Oregon Pinot Noir that showcases red fruit while showing subtle earthy complexity and a nicely defined acidic structure. On the nose are the fruit, spice and toasted notes of raspberry cobbler mixing with fragrant rose, Allspice with a hint of dried basil. Bright pie cherries and red plum are upfront on the palate with secondary notes of tea leaves and a touch of graphite before a bright, long and dry finish hinting at pomegranate and cranberry.
This would make an ideal pairing with roasted fowl, pan-seared salmon or duck breast."

88 points The Wine Enthusiast, Paul Gregutt
"Cherry cola accents this bright pretty wine. Fruit flavors emphasize fresh raspberries, backed with tangy acidity and modest tannins. Drink now through 2022.."

The Winemaker's Thoughts ......... 

Regularly $24.99
Special Sale Price 
 $20.00 a bottle

$102.00 for a six! ($17.00 per bottle!)

Call us to order

703-668-WINE(9463)

Matthew Compton and Spindrift Cellars.....

"Strikingly Original."
"the little winery that could...."

Matthew Compton grows and makes wine for his Spindrift Cellars brand in Philomoth, Ore., west of Corvallis, but he manages several vineyards under his West Vine Farms operation and tapped into 10 small sites in the Willamette Valley for this flagship Pinot Noir. The former vineyard manager of Benton-Lane Winery continues to enjoy success with this approachable fruit-forward style for several vintages pulling from the dry-farmed sites such as BoVine, Croft, Deerhaven, Esterling and Mary’s Peak.

Spindrift Cellars® is a small family-owned boutique winery located in Philomath, Oregon, owned and operated by Matthew and Tabitha Compton. From the first vintage of 2003 the Comptons have dedicated their careers to producing sustainable Oregon Pinot Noir, Oregon Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, and Syrah. They make wines that are true to the varietal character of the grape, made with fruit from vineyards they manage, using sustainable wine grape growing practices.

Spindrift wines have garnered many awards and recognitions, including ratings of 90 and above; selection as Best Buy and Top 100 Wines of the World by Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast magazines; and Best of Show and many gold medals at Oregon wine festivals.

Compton, 42 (photo below left), is a farmer originally from Flemington, New Jersey, a member of the eighth generation of the family to live in that area. When he was little, his father, Dennis, moved the family to Wisconsin where he’d bought a dairy farm. Matt found that he enjoyed farming immensely. However, with a downturn in the economy, the dairy farm failed. After working at other Wisconsin farms, the elder Compton moved the family back to New Jersey.
Following high school, Matt took a cross-country road trip and fell in love with Corvallis, where a friend was doing graduate study at Oregon State University. There, Compton got a job working at the university’s laboratory vineyard, Woodhall Vineyard, and taking classes when he could. Professors taught him how to graft vines and he helped them plant apples at another of the university’s research farms. Winemakers mentored him. He made his first wine as a home winemaker in 1996, a Pinot Noir, and developed a reputation for his farming expertise.

When the university hired him to be assistant vineyard manager at Woodhall, he told me, “I got the job because I knew how to farm, not because I knew Pinot Noir.”  Compton is an accomplished chef who bakes bread to relax, and Tabitha, 42, director of sales and marketing for Spindrift, is a former equestrian instructor and sailing enthusiast.