Sineann

Sineann is a small, fiercely independent Oregon winery founded in 1994 by Peter Rosback, a former engineer from Indiana who fell into winemaking after moving west and helping out at Elk Cove. There he met David O’Reilly, and together they launched Sineann, named for Ireland’s Shannon River. O’Reilly later left to start Owen Roe, while Rosback stayed the course, quietly building Sineann into one of the Pacific Northwest’s most sought-after cult labels.

Rosback keeps the operation tiny and the focus squarely on the wine, working from a combination lab and barrel-room tasting space out in the rolling countryside near St. Paul, in the northern Willamette Valley. Almost everything is single-vineyard designated, made from hand-selected fruit at deliberately low crop levels. The result is a distinctive, unapologetically bold house style: dense, richly flavored, and built to age.

While Pinot Noir remains the heart of the range, Sineann is unusually far-reaching. Rosback sources fruit from across the region and beyond, making Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer from the Willamette Valley and Columbia Gorge, and Cabernet, Merlot, and Zinfandel from Washington’s Columbia Valley and Horse Heaven Hills, alongside the occasional wine from further afield. Few small producers cover so much ground so well.

Visits are by appointment and refreshingly low-key, a throwback to an era of unpretentious, conversation-driven tasting. For travelers willing to seek it out, Sineann is one of the Willamette Valley’s genuine hidden treasures, a chance to taste serious wine with the person who made it.