About Benza Vineyards
Ron Benza and Trish Damkroger started looking for a vineyard in 2004, and were considering Sonoma and Livermore at the time. The search moved north when Trish took a role at Intel in Hillsboro. In 2017 they found an established planting in the Laurelwood District, released a first estate Pinot Noir from the 2018 vintage, and added a Cremant of Oregon the year after.
The estate runs to twenty-six hilltop acres at four hundred to four hundred and fifty feet, with around twelve planted to Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Pinot Meunier. Farming is organic and certified. A Syrah sourced from the Rocks District in eastern Oregon sits alongside the estate wines, and several bottlings have drawn scores in the mid-nineties.
Pinot Meunier is the detail worth noting: it is grown here mainly for the sparkling wines, and very few Willamette producers bother with it at all.
The tasting room is a converted stables, which the owners say suits winter, and in summer the tasting moves out onto a deck over the garden and vines. You are likely to be met by chickens, a cat named Atheno and the family dogs; visitors are welcome to bring their own on a leash, and children are fine too. The approach is a long driveway off Egger Road, with a mix of paved and gravel parking, and Ruby Vineyards is the next property along.
A vineyard search that started near Sonoma and ended when Intel moved the family to Oregon.
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Pinot Meunier in Oregon,grown here for the sparkling wines, and planted by very few Willamette producers.
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Certified organic,the estate carries organic certification, which remains a minority position in the valley.
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A converted stables,the indoor room is a former stable block, with a summer deck over the garden and vineyard.
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Genuinely animal-friendly,chickens, a resident cat and dogs on site, with visitors' leashed dogs and children both welcome.
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Close to Portland,roughly half an hour out, with Ruby Vineyards next door and several more within ten minutes.
"An organic hilltop estate with sparkling worth the trip and one of the friendlier welcomes in the valley."
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Current Releases
Wines change with each vintage
For an accurate list of current-release wines and library bottlings from Benza Vineyards, please check the winery'Willamette Valley producers typically rotate vintages and offerings seasonally.
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Benza Vineyards has not published a current tasting menu or pricing that we have been able to verify. Check the winery website for what is being poured and what it costs before you visit.
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