When our family settled in Gaston and planted grapevines in 1974, most people in the Willamette Valley thought my folks were crazy. At the time no one had heard of a (good) Oregon wine.
My parents were fiercely independent, but soon they realized that they couldn’t make Oregon wine succeed all by themselves. They needed a strong community. And they shared a vision of making world-class Pinot Noir with other back-to-the-landers like the Ponzis and the Sokol Blossers. Together, these families built a famously collaborative winemaking region, gaining international recognition for Oregon wines along the way.
Now in the second generation, Elk Cove, Ponzi and Sokol Blosser remain family-owned and true to our roots. We share a history, but we also share a vision of the future as we look to the third generation.
The 2GV team from left to right: Maria Ponzi, Luisa Ponzi, Alison Sokol Blosser, Alex Sokol Blosser, Anna Campbell & Adam Campbell
My brother and I, together with Luisa and Maria Ponzi, Alex and Alison Sokol Blosser, created the 2GV project to explore this shared history and to plan for our shared future. We’ve created a collaborative Pinot Noir, a fascinating “hand vs land” seminar, and we’ve also teamed up with a local travel company on a 6-day harvest adventure to Oregon!
Join us and get to know these Oregon Originals and the 2nd Generation Vintners project. Cheers!
Join 2GV, the 2nd Generation Vintners, for an informative wine tasting seminar.
We invite you to spend an afternoon with us in a tasting of “hand versus land” exploring the effects of vineyard site and winemaking style. Taste through the nine component wines and the final blend of the collaborative Pinot Noir made by the Elk Cove, Ponzi and Sokol Blosser siblings.
The collaborative winemaking team will guide you in this tasting while telling tales and answering your questions about growing up on the vineyard – and planning for the future of their Oregon original wineries.
$35 club, $50 general public
One tasting fee waived with a 2 bottle purchase
Echoing the same collaborative spirit of their parents, together we’ve blended the fruit of each original vineyard into one single expression of Pinot Noir, highlighting the unique sites and individual styles of the winemakers.
2GV Oregon Travel With Modern Adventure October 6-12, 2019
Modern Adventure teams up with Portland food and wine celebrities on their outbound trips… Now they’re doing a trip with a focus on our own backyard, featuring the Second Generation Vintners!
We’re featuring Tasting Room Lead Neil Frew’s favorite Elk Cove wine, our 2016 Mount Richmond Pinot Noir, all month in our tasting room. We’re also giving you $5 off per bottle through May 30, 2019. Cheers!
“Others have called Mt. Richmond the quintessential Yamhill-Carlton vineyard, and I’d have to agree. The marine sedimentary soils in this area provide the backdrop for amazingly rich and dark flavors unlike anywhere else on the Valley. Look for black cherry, blueberry, and violets on the nose. This is something special!
And my favorite part about Mt. Richmond is that despite the extra body and tannin, the texture is always silky and smooth. Pair with braised short ribs or seared duck breast, because this is a wine that deserves it.” – Neil Frew, Tasting Room Lead
We’re featuring Winery Chef Amy Griffith’s favorite Elk Cove wine, our 2016 Chardonnay, all month in our tasting room. We’re also giving you $5 off per bottle through April 30, 2019. Best of all, this deal can be combined with April’s Complimentary Case Shipping deal. Cheers!
RECIPE
Chef Amy’s steamed clams with white wine, cream & lemon sauce
INGREDIENTS:
3 tablespoons butter
4 cloves minced garlic
2 small shallots, minced
2 pounds fresh small clams, cleaned
¼ cup all purpose flour
1 cup heavy cream
Juice plus zest of one lemon
2 cups white wine (pairing hint- cook with the wine you’re serving for a perfect pairing!)
1 cup seafood or chicken stock
Salt and pepper to taste
Minced tarragon, parsley, and chives
DIRECTIONS:
To clean clams: place them in a large bowl of cold water. Add ¼ cup of flour and mix to combine. Wait for 30 minutes, then remove the clams and rinse them. The flour will cause the clams to release any grit inside them.
In a large Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium heat and add the shallot and garlic, sautéing until translucent. Add the clams and sauté for another 5 minutes. Add the wine and stock and cover the pot, steaming the clams at a low boil (medium high heat) until they open. Remove the clams to another dish and turn the heat up to high. Reduce the cooking liquid by about half, then add the lemon juice and zest, and the cream. Continue to reduce until the sauce is creamy and coats the back of the spoon. Add salt and pepper, then return the clams to the pot and stir to coat. Top with the minced herbs and serve with crusty toasted bread and plenty of cold Chardonnay. Cheers!
Our 2016Willamette Valley Pinot Noirhas been honored with a Gold Medal in the largest competition of American wines in the world!
After receiving more than 6,800 entries from 35 states across the country, the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition (SFCWC) has once again successfully narrowed thousands of wines down to an exclusive few.
A complete listing of the 2019 results, sort-able by price point and category, can be found at winejudging.com.
In the second week of January, over 60 skilled judges from a variety of fields including trade, education, media, retail and hospitality traveled to the Cloverdale Citrus Fairgrounds in Sonoma County to determine the best wines in the USA. Utilizing an extensive process that divides the varietals into several categories and subcategories, the event gave the panels the chance to rate entries as Bronze, Silver, Gold, “Double Gold” (equivalent to a unanimous rating by all panel members) or Best of Class. Learn more about the competition here.
Our 2016 Five Mountain Pinot Noir has been awarded a Gold Medal in the largest competition of American wines in the world!
After receiving more than 6,800 entries from 35 states across the country, the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition (SFCWC) has once again successfully narrowed thousands of wines down to an exclusive few.
A complete listing of the 2019 results, sort-able by price point and category, can be found at winejudging.com.
In the second week of January, over 60 skilled judges from a variety of fields including trade, education, media, retail and hospitality traveled to the Cloverdale Citrus Fairgrounds in Sonoma County to determine the best wines in the USA. Utilizing an extensive process that divides the varietals into several categories and subcategories, the event gave the panels the chance to rate entries as Bronze, Silver, Gold, “Double Gold” (equivalent to a unanimous rating by all panel members) or Best of Class. Learn more about the competition here.
Our 2017 Willamette Valley Pinot Gris has been honored as “Best of Class” in the largest competition of American wines in the world!
After receiving more than 6,800 entries from 35 states across the country, the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition (SFCWC) has once again successfully narrowed thousands of wines down to an exclusive few.
A complete listing of the 2019 results, sort-able by price point and category, can be found at winejudging.com.
In the second week of January, over 60 skilled judges from a variety of fields including trade, education, media, retail and hospitality traveled to the Cloverdale Citrus Fairgrounds in Sonoma County to determine the best wines in the USA. Utilizing an extensive process that divides the varietals into several categories and subcategories, the event gave the panels the chance to rate entries as Bronze, Silver, Gold, “Double Gold” (equivalent to a unanimous rating by all panel members) or Best of Class. Learn more about the competition here.
Wine Business Magazine has chosen Elk Cove as a “Hot Brand” for 2018!
“As a region, Oregon’s Willamette Valley had been producing outstanding Pinot Noir and Chardonnay for decades, and the Campbell family has been a steward of those grapes since the beginning.”
According to Wine Business Monthly, this means we’re doing a good job of representing the American wine industry. They’re featuring our 100% Pinot Noir Brut Rosé – read more when the full report comes out in February.
So are you drinking more Oregon bubbly? How do you think our 2015 Brut Rosé represents trends in American wine? We’d love to hear what you think. Email us at info@elkcove.com. Cheers!
The Wine Business Monthly is the nation’s leading publication for wineries and growers.
Our 2017 Pinot Gris received a gold medal and was named “Reserve Class Champion” in the 2019 Houston Rodeo Uncorked! wine competition.
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo hosts several events including an international wine competition, a food competition and wine auction. Guests can visit the “Champion Wine Garden” to enjoy the top wines from each year’s competition:
“Wines from around the world enter this elite, privately judged competition held in November. Winning wines can be tasted during the Roundup & Best Bites Competition and at the Champion Wine Garden.
The 2019 International Wine Competition judging included 3,156 entries from 18 different countries, including Argentina, Austria, Chile, France, Italy, Japan, Portugal and South Africa. Texas wineries represented 413 entries, and 370 entries came from this year’s featured region, California’s Central Coast.”
“Plenty of bright, fleshy red cherries on offer here with the beginnings of very detailed, complex style. The tannins are succulently delivered with a very powerful draw and release on the palate. Expansive finish and elegant power. Drink or hold” – James Suckling
JamesSuckling.com uses a 100-point scale, with 90 points or more being outstanding. “It’s a wine I want to drink a glass of and is an outstanding purchase.” – James Suckling
“Lime leaf and honeysuckle with bright, fresh peaches and some bready notes. The palate has a supple and even-paced core of fresh pears and melon with a gently toasty edge to the finish. Drink now.” – James Suckling
JamesSuckling.com uses a 100-point scale, with 90 points or more being outstanding. “It’s a wine I want to drink a glass of and is an outstanding purchase.” – James Suckling
“There’s a beautifully fresh array of violets, ripe red and blue cherries, raspberries and red plums on the nose of this pristine, youthful pinot. The palate continues the pristine theme with ebullient, round and fleshy cherries and red plums in abundance. Drink or hold.” – James Suckling
JamesSuckling.com uses a 100-point scale, with 90 points or more being outstanding. “It’s a wine I want to drink a glass of and is an outstanding purchase.” – James Suckling
“A complex, youthful pinot that has plenty of spicy red cherries and a smooth, succulent palate that delivers a very engagingly detailed ride to the fresh, flavorful finish. Drink or hold.” – James Suckling
JamesSuckling.com uses a 100-point scale, with 90 points or more being outstanding.”It’s a wine I want to drink a glass of and is an outstanding purchase.” – James Suckling
Our 2016 Five Mountain Pinot Noir received an outstanding 93 points in The Tasting Panel’s Blue Reviews:
“Silky, succulent, and refreshing with cherry and savory notes, this is a testament to what Oregon can accomplish in the hands of a fine winemaking tradition at a great winery.” –Anthony Dias Blue
This review posted in the November 2018 issue of The Tasting Panel Magazine and at tastingpanelmag.com.
For each issue, Anthony Dias Blue selects the best wines among hundreds sampled. The wines are rated according to a 100 point scale:
95-100: Classic
90-94: Outstanding
85-89: Very Good
Our 2017 Pinot Blanc is #5 in Wine Enthusiast Magazine’s Top 100 Wines of 2018!
“Wine Enthusiast’s tasting panel reviewed more than 24,000 wines from around the globe, exploring a multitude of regions, styles and price points.”
– Wine Enthusiast Magazine
Out of all these wines, our Pinot Blanc came in #5. What great news for this unusual varietal we like to call the “mineral sister” to Pinot Gris. Here’s the original review posted in Wine Enthusiast in October:
“This sophisticated effort is highlighted by bright, polished fruit flavors of apple, melon and white peach. It’s long and focused, fresh and immaculate, with no apparent new oak. 92 points.” – Paul Gregutt
How do we make our Pinot Blanc? It helps that we have 30 years of experience with Blanc’s sister varietal, Pinot Gris, and a diversity of estate-grown vineyards. We farm our Pinot Blanc vines on three different sites representing diverse soils, elevations and microclimates well-suited to growing this aromatic white wine.
With an accolade this high, our 2017 Pinot Blanc will sell out. Purchase soon before it does. Cheers!
“This is Elk Cove’s second vintage of a sparkling rosé, made with fruit from some of the oldest vines on the property. It starts off with a soft and elegant mousse and a whiff of lees and plum juice. The flavors are juicy and linear, with plenty of acidity to balance the fruit. It’s ripe and seductive, with a mildly earthy finish.” – Patrick J. Comiskey
Read the full article – along with 14 other ratings of top Oregon sparkling wines – in the August 2019 Issue of Wine & Spirits magazine. Cheers!
We’re excited to announce our 2017 Pinot Blanc was awarded Double Gold in the 2018 Six Nations Wine Challenge! It was not only the highest rated Pinot Blanc, but also a top wine of its class.
Since 2003, Six Nations Wine Challenge invites prominent wine experts from each of the leading New World wine countries: USA, Canada, Chile, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. The experts nominate their top 100 wines to be included in the competition. At a week-long convention in Sydney Australia, the judges blind taste hundreds of nominated wines.
“Because the wines are all selected by each of the judges the standard of wine quality must surely be higher than any competition of this size in the world” – Bob Campbell, New Zealand Master of Wine
“The richest and most extracted of the three Elk Cove Pinots and a wine that delivers a full measure of concentrated, very insistent fruit, the winery’s Mount Richmond bottling is a weighty, well-structured offering that commends cellaring if it is to grow into its best. It admittedly impresses presently with its considerable depth, but it deserves to be set aside for several more years, and patience is certain to bring appreciable reward.”
This review posts in their November 2018 issue and at www.cgcw.com.
We’re excited to announce our 2016 Mount Richmond Pinot Noir received a Gold medal in the 2018 Six Nations Wine Challenge!
Since 2003, Six Nations Wine Challenge invites prominent wine experts from each of the leading New World wine countries: USA, Canada, Chile, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. The experts nominate their top 100 wines to be included in the competition. At a week-long convention in Sydney Australia, the judges blind taste hundreds of nominated wines.
“Because the wines are all selected by each of the judges the standard of wine quality must surely be higher than any competition of this size in the world” – Bob Campbell, New Zealand Master of Wine
Welcome to the Harvest 2018 report! Each year we document the vintage with a photo gallery. Scroll down for notes on the progression of the most exciting season here in wine country. Read More
