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Vineyard takes the risks Photo by Bob Pennell End of harvest - Traute and Don Moore stroll through the merlot vines in their Talent-area vineyard, where the 1998 grape harvest concluded this week. The 1996 Griffin Creek merlot, produced from the Moores' grapes under a cooperative agreement with Willamette Valley Vineyards, is proving popular with wine lovers. Griffin Creek debuts own label By DAVID PRESZLER For most vineyard owners, a wine's debut is more about ceremony than economics. As the growers of the grapes, they may swell with pride if the wine is lauded and cringe if it's not. Either way, the wine's success affects their reputation and ego more than their bottom line; the wineries, not the vineyards, usually carry the financial risk if sales lag and reap the rewards if the wine sells well. But this weekend's formal unveiling of Griffin Creek wines will tug at the pocketbooks and heartstrings of Rogue Valley vineyard owners Don and Traute Moore. "If the wine doesn't sell, we don't make much money," Don Moore says. The Moores, who tend 150 acres of grapevines in the Talent area and near Griffin Creek, have an unusual risk-sharing agreement with Oregon winery powerhouse Willamette Valley Vineyards on the new Griffin Creek line of Bordeaux-and Rhone-style wines. Most vineyard owners sell their grapes to wineries at a set by-the-ton or by-the-acre price. Wineries may pay more for grapes used in high-quality wines, but the financial interest of the vineyard owner ends when the grapes are delivered. The Moores, however, are set to receive a royalty of sorts for the Griffin Creek label wines, which are produced by Willamette Valley using only grapes grown by the Moores. Not only do the Moores get a basic, per-ton price for the grapes, they also stand to make money on a sliding scale that depends on how many bottles of Griffin Creek wine sell and for what price. "If the wine sells for what it's been selling for we make much more than the state average (for grapes alone)," Don Moore says. Indeed, the gamble seems to be paying off. The first two wines in the line, a 1996 merlot and a 1997 pinot gris, hit the market Nov. 1 and are selling well -- especially the merlot. They are available both in Oregon and in the other 38 states where Willamette Valley sells wine. At Willamette Valley's Salem-area tasting room, 600 bottles of the merlot sold in the first week at $35 each. The 9,000 bottles produced are expected to be gone by Christmas. Strong national reviews have spurred the merlot's success. Michael Schachner of Wine Enthusiast magazine gave the first-vintage merlot a rating of 90 out of 100 and said it is "simultaneously power-packed and supple." Willamette Valley winemaker Joe Dobbes, who has worked closely with the Moores for years, said the Rogue Valley's warmer climate is ideal for merlot. "The Rogue Valley is much more like the Napa Valley than the Willamette Valley ever thought of being," he said. While the merlot variety is a warm-climate grape, Dobbes and Don Moore praise this area's cooler nights. "We have some of the same heat Napa does but we have cooler nights," Dobbes says. "That allows us to make some high-end wines. They ripen but they don't sit out there and cook." The profit- and risk-sharing arrangement has been used before, elsewhere in the state, but Griffin Creek is believed to be the first Rogue Valley vineyard to try it. "I would like to see it done more," says Rich Hopkins, editor of Oregon Wine Newspaper. "The closer relationship between the winemaker and grower, the better." The Moores sell grapes to more than a half dozen other wineries but have the risk-sharing deal only with Willamette Valley. Likewise, Willamette Valley buys grapes from more than 25 vineyards but doesn't have a similar agreement with any others. The Moores and Dobbes say the relationship requires a tremendous amount of trust on both sides. "They have a lot of respect for my winemaking and I have a lot of respect for their growing," Dobbes says. "It's a real neat situation." The Moores sold grapes to Dobbes when he worked at Hinman Vineyards and followed him when he was hired at Willamette. "He consistently made outstanding wines from (our grapes)," Don Moore says. "Since we worked so well together in growing and making the wines, why not work in sharing the risk?" The Moores had no experience in the vineyard business before moving up from California in 1989. There were 6 acres of pinot noir grapes when they bought the place and they planted their first batch of merlot vines in 1990. They own or lease roughly 150 acres of actual plants. Geographically, there are five vineyard sites: about 41 acres of plants at the Moores' home, an area traditionally called Quail Run; 17 acres called Pleasantview near Talent Avenue; 25 acres called Morey Road near Wagner Creek Road; 27 acres called Griffin Creek right off Griffin Creek Road; and about 43 acres called Sundown near Griffin Creek Elementary School. Of those sites, all are producing now except Morey Road and Sundown, which were just planted last summer. Don Moore says the other vineyards are producing an average of about five tons of grapes per acre; that works out to 1,800 to 2,180 bottles per acre, depending on the type of wine. He estimates that 70-80 acres are devoted to merlot grapes, meaning future merlot releases will have much higher volumes than the 9,000 bottles of the 1996 merlot that were released this year. And, with the deal he made with Willamette, he's banking on more high-quality wines in the future. "Almost every single grape that's left here has gone into a reserve wine," he says, referring to wines generally priced at $25 or more. That track record has him ready to take on the risk. "It's not nerve-wracking," he says, "because we know what we've got." Merlot makes D.C. appearance Wines carrying the Griffin Creek label are set to make quite a splash this weekend. In addition to regional tastings in Portland and Jacksonville, the Rogue Valley-grown, Willamette Valley-produced wines will be poured in Washington, D.C. The wines are riding the coattails of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival's production of "The Magic Fire," which opens tonight in the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The festival is hosting a gala celebration in honor of the play Sunday at the Watergate Hotel. Two hundred and fifty guests are paying $250 a person to attend the event, which includes dinner and a production of the play. Searching for an Oregon wine to showcase, the OSF selected Griffin Creek wines; the Griffin Creek grapes are grown near Talent and the wine is made by Willamette Valley Vineyards. Anne Root, one of the OSF organizers for the dinner, suggested Griffin Creek and worked out the details; Willamette Valley donated 24 bottles of their 1996 merlot and 24 bottles of their 1997 pinot gris for the event. Root is a friend of the Moores and leases property to them that is used for vineyards. Root says 2nd Congressional District Rep.-elect Greg Walden will give the toast at the event. "It's good for the whole wine industry here," Don Moore says. "Up until very recently, no one outside of Oregon had heard of wine from Oregon." Locally, wine lovers will taste four varieties of Griffin Creek wines -- the 1996 merlot, a 1997 syrah, a 1997 pinot gris and a 1997 pinot noir -- at two events at the Jacksonville Inn. A Friday night dinner has been sold out, and a Sunday dinner event has nearly sold out; about 18 spaces remained Wednesday night. A reception open to the public will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday in the U.S. Hotel Ballroom adjacent to the Jacksonville Inn. The wine is available at numerous outlets in the Rogue Valley. A Portland reception for the four wines is slated for this afternoon at Laslow's Broadway Bistro. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford, Oregon USA