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| Workers tend to newly budding vines in Knutsen Vineyards. |
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Adam Beam, production worker, explains the heating and cooling
functions of the massive vats of wine awaiting barrels.
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Argyle Winery was founded in 1987 by Rollin Soles with the intent of making excellent sparkling wine. From humble beginnings in a single field in Dundee, Oregon, Argyle has now expanded to near a thousand acres across the Willamette Valley. Above and to the left is pictured Knutsen Vineyards, where Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes are grown on 124 acres of prime wine hills. One notable thing about Argyle is their appreciation and support of their employees. Recently, Argyle has set up a program allowing the people who work in the field with the grapes to design their own wine. This program, called "Ojo Brilloso," loosely translates to "good observation," gives room for everyone's ideas and inspirations. The fields aren't the only place Argyle makes space for inspiration; every year, three lucky artists are given a scholarship and the opportunity to design a wine bottle label. Argyle Winery not only makes world-class sparkling wine but does it with little waste and with care for its employees and the environment.  |
| Marge Conners fills barrels with fresh rosé. |
Once the grapes are at ideal ripeness, they are harvested and sent in heaping loads to the winery nearby, where the magic of winemaking begins. After the grapes are juiced, often done traditionally (by foot!), the juice is stored in large vats (seen above), and the skins are sent to compost the vineyards. Some of the vats are hot, and some are nearly freezing, depending on the type of wine being made. After cooling or heating, the juice is placed in barrels (left) to begin its fermentation process. These are not just any barrel. These barrels are custom made in France with rich French oak wood. The inside of the barrels is scorched at varying levels depending on the depth of flavor desired. After the juice and yeast are safely stored in its new home, it's time for it to sit. The barrels, pictured below, will be sitting for another 9 months before it's time for the bottling phase. Once 9 months is up, the now wine is bottled and capped to sit once again, this time with a bit of yeast and sugar added. This yeast is what gives Argyle wines its signature sparkle as the yeast feasts on the added sugars and sugars of the grapes creating delightful bubbles. 
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Maria de Jesus Quiroz-Guerrero feeds bottles of 2011
brut into the disgorging machine.
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After the wine is bottled, it sits in what they call tirage. The wines sit in tirage for 10 years, where it is very slowly rotated and finally sit upside down, letting the yeast settle in the cap. When it's time to cork the bottles, they must first be disgorged. Disgorging is the process of removing the glob of yeast that has settled into the cap. (Left ) Maria de Jesus Quiroz-Guerrero who has worked for Argyle Winery for over 20 years is one of three experts in this process. Maria and the other two experts, Carmela Reyes and Martha Acevedo, have coined themselves "Las Señoras", celebrating their Latina heritage and their vast knowledge of the bottling process. Once the caps are popped, wine comes exploding out, and with it, the yeast sediment. After this a bit more wine is added along with a bit more sugar to help the bottle maintain its bubbles. the bottles then zip down the conveyer belt to be corked and cleaned. Sparkling wine corks are extra-large to fit super snug and require a little wire cap, called a muselet, to ensure no accidental cork popping occurs.
At each stage of the winemaking process, it is crucial for the wine to be tested for both safety and ideal flavor. Mel Zeman (right) has been running tests on the 2011 batch of Brut that has just disgorged in their onsite lab. An important part of this process is, of course, sampling the product. After all tests are passed, the freshly corked 10-year-old wine sits for just a few more weeks to get extra bubbly before it is labeled and ready for sale.
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| Kimberly Fowler serves up a flight of Pinot Noirs. |
After their expansion 15 years ago, Argyle converted the original winery warehouse into a beautiful aery tasting room. The repurposed barn wood makes for an exquisite bar and rustic tables. Outside you can sit in the shade, sipping wine, in a chair creatively made of an out-of-commission wine barrel. Even wine is served on a bar made from repurposed wine barrels (below), showing their dedication to recycling and sustainability in every step of the way from vine to glass.
Additional resources:
https://www.oregonwinepress.com/celebrando-a-las-mujeres
https://argylewinery.com/about/winemaking/
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