Wine Etc: Stoller Family Estate Wines Are Never Pretentious
Sometimes you just want to love a wine because you like the people behind it. Sometimes the producers are like their wines: hospitable with personalities easy to navigate and never ever pretentious. That’s certainly the case with Bill Stoller and his wines from Willamette Valley’s Stoller Family Estate.
If Stoller’s towering figure isn’t enough to take control of a room, his quick laugh and engaging personality will wilt a boor like heat on ice. And, like him, his wine is not pretentious.
Stoller grew up on a turkey farm only a couple of miles down the road from his winery. A co-owner of Chehalem Wines, he and his late wife got the hankering to put his name behind his own label and in 1993 bought another turkey farm from his cousins.
Not everyone thought a turkey farm on rocky Jory soil could produce good wine, but Stoller was determined. Good advice and patience have reaped rewards from his 190 planted acres that range in elevation from 220 to 640 feet. About half the fruit picked from this largest vineyard in Dundee Hills is sold to other wineries. His first vintage in his current winery was 2005.
Before entering the wine industry, Stoller founded Express Employment Professionals, a franchise staffing company that has become one of the largest privately held staffing companies in the world.
Here are some of the current releases we liked:
Stoller 2020 Pinot Noir Ros
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This is a bright rose-gold color, with tart fruit flavors of pomegranate and white peach. Finished dry, it’s got a good snap to the acidity, and the peachy flavors linger refreshingly through an extended finish. Paul Gregutt
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All tastings reported in the Buying Guide are performed blind. Typically, products are tasted in peer-group flights of from 5-8 samples. Reviewers may know general information about a flight to provide contextvintage, variety or appellationbut never the producer or retail price of any given selection. When possible, products considered flawed or uncustomary are retasted.
Ratings reflect what our editors felt about a particular product. Beyond the rating, we encourage you to read the accompanying tasting note to learn about a products special characteristics.
ClassicThe pinnacle of quality
Very GoodOften good value well recommended
GoodSuitable for everyday consumption often good value
Th Anniversary Celebration Lunch
Then, we headed into the original tasting room which is now event space, and enjoyed even more wine and a delightful vineyard lunch prepared by Owner/Chef Nick Ferguson of McMinnville, Oregon’s Nick’s Italian Cafe.
Bill Stoller also generously shared some wines from his own personal cellar. My favorite was a 1985 RexHill Pinot Noir.
Stoller Family Estate is the first LEED® Gold certified winery in the world, and operations continue to expand to meet the vineyard’s growth. After our delicious lunch, we were invited to tour the brand new, massive winery building which houses a barrel room, tanks, and lab space.
The new building opened up just in time . . . as you can tell by these grapes photographed two weeks ago, harvest is happening much earlier this year than in previous years. It’s predicted that 2015, barring any unexpected drastic weather disasters, is going to be an excellent year for Oregon wines.
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Stollers Stewardship Continues To Evolve
Bill Stoller purchased the property for Stoller Family Estate in 1993 and began its transition from turkey farm into vineyard two years later.
In 1983, Stoller co-founded Express Employment Professionals, an employment company with headquarters in Oklahoma City, Okla., that has grown to 800 franchises throughout the U.S., Canada and South Africa.
Stoller was born on the property where he founded Stoller Family Estate, and he began to transition it from a turkey farm to grape vines two years after purchasing it from a cousin in 1993. The estate now spans 398 acres, with 190 acres planted primarily to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, making it the largest contiguous vineyard in the Dundee Hills AVA.
Stoller Family Estate began in 2001 when Peterson-Nedry helped launch the Dundee Hills winery for Bill Stoller, starting with a few hundred cases produced in nearby Newberg at Chehalem Winery. The winemaking of Melissa Burr prompted Wine Press Northwest magazine to name Stoller Family Estate as its Pacific Northwest Winery of the Year in 2014, the same year that the Washington state publication chose Chehalem as its Oregon Winery of the Year.
In 2006, Stoller built the worlds first LEED Gold Certified winery and is home to what is believed to be the first winery in the Pacific Northwest to produce solar energy. The 4,000-square-foot tasting room Stoller opened in 2014 operates on 100 percent on its own solar power.
About Eric Degerman
Stoller Family Estate Visit Rekindles Love Of Wine
Recently, I enjoyed sitting in the vineyards of Stoller Family Estates of Oregon. Being treated to lunch on the terrace overlooking the vineyards festooned in fall colors and tasting through some of the most exceptional wines of Oregon made for a much-needed reconnection to why I write about wines. Stoller Family Estates fulfills one of my favorite aspects of wine writing: beautiful well-made wines with a deep-rooted story in the region.
Stoller’s vineyards are established on what was once a quite successful turkey farm. Bill Stoller, owner of Stoller Family Estates reflected on the land where his family once raised about three-quarters of all turkeys growing in Oregon. Stoller’s father and uncle bought the land in the 1940s and raised turkeys on it for five decades. Stoller’s connection to the land was firmly established during his childhood when he worked on the farm.
When the family stopped its turkey operations in 1993, Stoller realized the potential and acquired the land with the vision of creating a legacy in the Oregon wine industry. He was well aware that the sloping, rocky terrain with its low yielding soil was the ideal terroir suited for planting of world-class vines.
The hills are planted mostly with pinot noir and chardonnay. These are the wines the estate is known, but the rosé is a gem in the Stoller portfolio.
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Limited Release: Cold Brew Barrel
A vintner, a roaster and a cold brewer walk into a bar…and voila! We aged some of our Arm In Arm whole bean green coffee in Syrah- soaked French Oak Barrels for a few weeks, allowing the beans to absorb delectable aromatic and flavor notes of oak, blackberry, and dark fruit. We are excited to share with you a very limited cold-brewed coffee release a collaboration with our friends, Stoller Family Estate and Thornton Family Coffee Roasters.
There are very limited quantities available. You can get bottles only at Newport Ave Market and find nitro cold brew barrel-aged coffee on tap only at Stoller Wine Bar and Stoller Family Estates.
Stoller Wines: What To Buy
I mentioned earlier how I’ve fallen in love with Stoller wines, and unlike other wineries, I have to say that it’s an adoration that has grown even more with each vintage. The 2014 Dundee Hills Chardonnay currently is my favorite Oregon Chardonnay. It is made 100% in stainless steel tanks, so you just get the pure, clean, fruit forward freshness in this Chardonnay. If you’re not a fan of big oaky Chardonnays , I think you will enjoy this one.
As for their Pinot Noir wines, it may sound non-committal, but it’s hard to go wrong with any of them, whether they are a Dundee Hills Pinot Noir, Reserve Pinot Noir, or one of the Legacy Pinot Noir wines. That said, the 2011 Reserve Pinot Noir is my personal favorite, and 92 points from The Wine Advocate backs up my vote. It’s barrel-aged in French Oak for 10 months prior to bottling, and is a sensuous red wine, bursting with dark fruit notes and a smooth finish.
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Stoller Wine Group Announces A National Sales Team Expansion And The Launch Of Chemistry Wine
The move will provide further growth for the family owned company
In a move to further strategic diversification across various price points and distribution models, the Stoller Wine Group announced the launch of its newest brand, Chemistry Wine, and the appointment of three new regional sales managers.
Chemistry is the first collaboration between the Stoller Family Estate and Chehalem winemaking teams, said Bill Stoller, owner and founder of the Stoller Wine Group. As our teams primarily craft estate-grown wines, the Chemistry brand allows for creative exploration of the Willamette Valley AVA and a chance to work with the outstanding quality of fruit grown here.
Identifying the opportunity to craft wines that reflect the depth and quality for which the Willamette Valley is known, Chemistry allows our winemaking teams to bond over the diverse vineyard sites across the region. Priced in the $14 $18 range, Chemistry wines are designed for the weekly wine drinker with the belief that everyone should have access to high-quality Willamette Valley wines.
As our company continues to grow, its my pleasure to announce the addition of allstar veterans to our national sales team, said Gary Mortensen, president of the Stoller Wine Group. Shannon Berndt, Pat Hiley and Bryan Schoen will join Director of National Brand Cory Davis to help grow our family of brands across the country under the leadership of Bill Hanson.
About Stoller Wine Group
About Stoller Family Estate
Stoller Family Estate Takes Over Full Ownership Of Iconic Chehalem Winery
Harry Peterson-Nedry, founding winemaker for Chehalem Winery in Newberg, Ore., pours at the 2016 Riesling Rendezvous grand tasting in Woodinville, Wash.
DAYTON, Ore. A quarter of a century ago, Bill Stoller first made his mark in the Oregon wine industry when he became a co-owner of Chehalem Winery with founder and friend Harry Peterson-Nedry.
This week, Stoller, the founder and owner of Stoller Family Estate, announced he has taken full ownership Chehalem Winery, a 20,000-case brand thats one of Oregons most iconic and innovative wineries since its launch in 1990.
No one understands more how special the CHEHALEM brand is, how much passion and rigorous work it has taken, how much collaboration with other Willamette Valley pioneering wineries has gone on, than Bill, Peterson-Nedry said in a news release. I take comfort knowing he will respect its heritage in a way that no one else could.
Peterson-Nedry, 70, now plans to focus on his small-lot RR Winery, a brand he launched 16 years ago and inspired by his pioneering work in the Ribbon Ridge American Viticultural Area. He blazed the trail with Ridgecrest Vineyard in 1980, a site that stands at 55 acres planted and established a quarter of a century prior to the establishment of the AVA. Peterson-Nedry also intends to remain a leader and representative of the Oregon wine industry.
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Stoller Winery Celebrates 20 Years
I remember the first time I visited the Stoller Winery. It was a few years ago, with a group of girlfriends, and I instantly fell in love . . . first with the beautiful old oak tree standing proudly as the guardian of the vineyards.
I then fell in love with their 2011 Reserve Pinot Noir.
And then, all of their Pinot Noir wines. Soon, I discovered their Chardonnay.
Most recently, I grew an affection for the people behind the land, the wine, the experience that Stoller Family Estate Vineyard and Winery offers. As Stoller celebrates its 20th anniversary, I am honored to share the Stoller family story with you.
During a recent 20th anniversary celebration lunch with media, I was given an inside glimpse of the Stoller Winery property and its legacy. The Stoller family purchased the property in Oregon’s Dundee Hills in 1943. For 50 years, Bill Stoller’s father and uncle raised turkeys on the property and eventually grew the small family farm to one of the largest in Oregon. When Stoller shares stories of his childhood working on the farm, you can almost picture him as a young boy, windrowing rye grass for seed as he points and describes the land, you can imagine how vast and open the fields were before the vines were planted. Like many Oregonians, Stoller has a clear love of the land on which he grew up and which he now oversees as Owner of Stoller Family Estate Vineyard and Winery.
The Wine Is A Collaboration Between Stoller Family Estate And Chehalem Winery
Stoller Wine Group is launching a new brand, Chemistry Wine. A collaboration between Stoller Family Estate and Chehalem Wineryboth part of Stoller Wine GroupChemistrys initial lineup consists of a Pinot Gris , Pinot Noir , and Pinot Noir Rose , all made with fruit from Oregons Willamette Valley AVA. The wines are currently rolling out nationwide. For more information, visit Chemistrywine.com.
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Bill Stoller Acquires Unique Property In Mcminnville Oregon
The purchase includes land and buildings on the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum campus and the Wings & Waves Waterpark in a move that will protect and advance the long-term viability of the Yamhill County destination.
Dayton, Oregon native and local entrepreneur, wine industry veteran, and philanthropist, Bill Stoller, has agreed to acquire the land surrounding the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum home of the iconic Spruce Goose airplane and the Wings and Waves Waterpark. The acquisition includes the Space Museum building, which will be leased to the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum, a non-profit dedicated to preserving aviation history and inspiring students of all ages about science. Located in McMinnville, Oregon, 45-minutes southwest of Portland, the purchase further diversifies Stollers business holdings in Yamhill County.
Growing up in a small rural community, I have a deep desire to further the economic vitality of my hometown so that future generations have opportunities to thrive, said Bill Stoller. The Wings & Waves Waterpark and the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum are unique assets to Oregon, and Im pleased that we can continue their mission and advance the destination as a prime economic driver in Yamhill County.
About Bill Stoller
