Halloween in Wine Country = day after hangover! Cure? Oregon pinot, of course!! 50% OFF, amazing price, and a newcomer (to us, anyway) that we were unprepared for --- “Really? THIS good? This price…???!” An outrageous buy for a big flavor, silky Willamette pinot!!
Located directly atop the 45th parallel, halfway between the equator and the North Pole, at the same pinot-friendly latitude as Burgundy, Cherry Hill was just that, a cherry orchard, before being planted to pinot noir in the 90s by William Hill (of Napa fame).
We were simply not ready for how good this was going to be. Once we tasted it, and negotiated this price, we took every single bottle they would give us. On the elegant side, but just wonderfully balanced and loaded with black cherry, framboise and zippy anise and clove notes, just super easy-going and quite simply a pleasure to drink. Really, what else do you want in a wine, anyway?? At our price? We call it “case-worthy”! Killer Oregon pinot! Woo hoo! Where’s our glass? While it lasts…..
Cherry Hill Winery lies directly atop the 45th
parallel — halfway between the equator and the North Pole, at the same
Pinot-friendly latitude as Burgundy. The cool climate and rich soil combine to create
Pinot Noir fruit of deep color, complex aromas, and distinctively
concentrated flavors. We’re blessed to have a variety of soils, facings
and elevations to work with, and learning to ‘paint’ with this varied
palette is one of our most exciting prospects for the future. As Mike
Sweeney likes to say, “God was good to Cherry Hill.”
Technical Details
Country: United States
Region: Oregon
Appellation: Willamette Valley
Varietal: Pinot Noir
Winemaker: Ken Cook
About The Producer
The area has been known as Cherry Hill as far
back as the local lore runs in this young corner of America. Wild
cherries have always grown here, and much of our 150 acres were planted
in sweet Royal Anne cherries in the 1960s. Even earlier the hill was planted to prune trees,
which produced succulent fruit. Indeed, the entire Willamette Valley is
known for wonderful soil and a long, moderate growing season that is
just right for agriculture of all kinds. In the early 1990s the property was purchased by
the legendary William Hill, one of the early visionaries of the Napa
Valley. Hill’s special facility with hillside sites is famous: he
developed Atlas Peak, Diamond Mountain Ranch, Mount Veeder and other
distinctive appellations in the Napa region. That same ‘nose for slopes’ led him to the Eola
Hills. The undeveloped rural district had all the right ingredients for
world-class pinot noir: the right cool climate, southwestern slopes,
elevations between 250-500 feet, and the essential rich, well-drained
Jory soils. (In fact, Jory soil is named for nearby Jory Hill in
Oregon’s Marion County.) William Hill acquired a large tract of land here in
the Eola Hills early in the 1990s. He divided the property into three
separate parcels, all of which are now planted to pinot noir and one of
which was purchased in 1998 by our own Mike Sweeney. We at Cherry Hill
continue to pursue our own Holy Grail: producing a perfect Pinot Noir
from some of the best fruit acreage on the planet.
Pairing Suggestions
Entrees of fish, beef, wild game, and pastas.
