New Years News 23 Jan 2025, 4:54 pm

Back by POPular Demand – 2024 Three Feathers Pinot POP!

The 2024 version of our very POPular Pinot POP will be bottled in early February – just in time for Valentine’s Day.  We hope to line up our customer’s who have been waiting for this event and pre-sell a lot of POP. 

This year we have made plenty to satisfy demand.  In addition, for the first time, we are using glass that is made in the USA from locally sourced recycling manufacturers.  It has been our quest for several years to find glass that is not from overseas.  As Oregon recycles a record amount of our glass waste in this state it seemed ridiculous to be buying glass manufactured in China.  We feel that this is a real selling point in an effort to be more sustainable.

As pointed out by our source – glass is infinitely recyclable, unlike other wine containers.

What makes our POP so unique and delicious is that the red grapes are fermented in the normal way for still red wine and then aged in stainless steel instead of barrels.  The flavors are crisp, fruity, and lightly carbonated to achieve a wine that is extremely drinkable by itself or with any meal.  Plus, at our $24.00 retail it is immensely affordable for a sparkling wine.

We are bottling soon and will be delivering to our local vendors on February 8th!

2024 Pinot Gris

In March we will be bottling the 2024 Pinot Gris, also in glass made in the USA.  This year we have used native yeasts (yeast that occurs naturally in the vineyard) to create our super yummy Pinot Gris. The season was long and the fruit was perfect when it arrived at the winery.  The result of the local yeast combined with our Laurelwood soils and aspects unique to the vineyard is a wine found only at our Three Feathers Vineyard.

Pinot Gris has become more popular in recent years as the amount of Chardonnay produced in Oregon increased and the acres planted of Gris have dwindled.  People are rediscovering the dry minerality of our crisp and refreshing Oregon white wine.  All the fruit is aged in stainless so the fruit flavors come forward.

Look for an announcement of the release of this wine this spring – only $26.00 per bottle!

Lines on the Vines: Celebrating the End of the 2024 Season with Exciting New Three Feathers Vintages 12 Nov 2024, 8:00 pm

Exciting New Three Feathers Vintages in Celebration of the 2024 Growing Season

We will soon be presenting our exciting new Three Feathers Vintages that resulted from this beautiful year’s harvest. But first, it’s time to wrap up the 2024 season and summarize what happened during the year.

Oregon has two seasons; a wet season and a dry season.  How much wet and how much dry are usually the critical elements in the vineyard.  Without going month by month, I would say that we had normal rainfall in the winter and spring.  On March 1^st we had 8 inches of snow on the mountain and we were snowed in at home for several days.  Snow is always a good thing as the water is released slowly into the ground and nourishes the vines.

We recorded the buds beginning to swell on April 15th (read our previous article Awaiting Bud break: The Promise of a Thriving Vineyard Season) and by April 25th, the first buds opened up and the 2024 vineyard growing season was on it’s way. 

Dry Season and its Challenges

By early June, things started to dry out as we transitioned into the dry season.  We had no rain for three months and temperatures were mostly normal except for a few days of hot weather.  The interesting thing about all this is that the vines produced a lot of bloom and fruit set in the spring with the promise of an exceptional harvest in the fall.  However, the dryness, especially without irrigation, can be an issue for certain clones of Pinot Noir.  Plants were growing vigorously until the end of the season when certain blocks were showing stress.

It has been the fashion recently for vineyards to “dry farm”.  I am sure the principle is to intensify the flavors of the grapes and produce better wine.  In Europe no one irrigates (see recent article in Decanter about irrigation in a changing climate).  Irrigation is also expensive to install. Usually, it is only used for the first few years to get the vines started and farmers can provide temporary water by hand for those years and save the money.  At Three Feathers, our vineyard is fully irrigated so we have the flexibility to water if we need to.

Exciting New Three Feathers Vintages

Exactly five months after bud break we began to harvest, starting with the Precoce Pinot Noir on Sept 24th and the Pommard Block at Torio Vineyard.  These grapes combined will be the basis for our ever Popular sparkling red: Pinot POP.   As we have completely sold out of this wine, we hope to be bottling and releasing in February.   

On Oct 9^th we harvested the Pinot Gris for our own production as well.  The grapes held well all that time and were luscious, so we anticipate a great vintage.

Stay tuned for announcements of the release of these two great wines for 2024.

Our New Creation: Savory BBQ Duck Breast with Currant & Cherry Pinot Noir Sauce 19 Sep 2024, 1:51 pm

Our New Creation: Savory BBQ Duck Breast with Currant & Cherry Pinot Noir Sauce

Summer is the season for fresh black cherries, currants, and picnics by the pond.

While we love our Weber grill and Victor’s recipe for smoked meats (see his Infallible Smoked Turkey recipe which also incredibly well with duck and beef), for or a quick cooking set-up we use our Hibachi grill! It’s portable, easy to start with charcoal and fast to break down for picnics, camping trips and the like.

Duck breasts are a great alternative to chicken or beef and quite simple to cook on the grill. For a medium-rare duck breast, make hash marks in fat-side and cook them fat-side down for 8 minutes. Then turn them over and cook 6 minutes on other side.

We conjured up a special sauce with our Three Feathers Pinot Noir, red currants and black cherries to accompany this delicious meal. Sides were sweet potato purée, grilled pak choi and Cynthia’s special Summer Succo-hash (recipe included below).

Duck Sauce for BBQ Duck Breast with Currants and Cherries

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon rendered Duck Fat
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced fine
• 1 Valencia orange; peel and set aside peels, then juice and set aside the juice
• 4 sprigs fresh Rosemary
• 1 cup chicken stock (or Duck stock if you have it)
• ¾ cup Three Feathers Estate 2016 Pinot Noir or 2017 Cuvée Virginia
• 2 cups whole fresh black cherries, pitted
• 2 cups fresh currants
• 5 tablespoons butter

Preparation:

• Render the fat of one duck breast in a small fry pan.  Remove the duck breast and set aside for later.

• Add the shallots and cook them until they are soft.  Add the garlic and let it soften as well.  Transfer the onion and garlic mixture to a small saucepan.  Add the Valencia orange peels and the rosemary sprigs.  Leave the sprigs on the branch so you can remove them later.

• Add the stock, the Pinot Noir, and the Valencia juice to the saucepan.  Simmer briefly then add the fruit to the pot.  Allow everything to simmer for about 5-10 minutes, or until the cherries have softened.

• Remove the cherries carefully from the pot and set aside.  Allow the liquid to cool sufficiently then add the butter.  Once the butter has melted into the sauce, transfer the liquid to a food processor and blend until smooth.

• Re-incorporate the puree to a ceramic bowl with the whole cherries and cover the bowl with foil or a glass lid.  Allow the sauce to cool in the fridge until ready to serve with the cooked duck breast.  Warm it up prior to cooking in a sauce pan; be careful not to overheat the sauce when you reheat it.

• Spoon the sauce and the whole cherries over the sliced duck and serve with Three Feathers Estate 2016 Pinot Noir, 2018 or 2021 Cuvée Virginia. 

Cynthia’s Summer “Succo-hash”

Ingredients:

• 4 ears of fresh corn
• 1 butternut squash
• 1 yellow onion
• 4 slices of bacon
• 1/8 cup minced fresh parsley

Preparation:

Cook the bacon and reserve the fat. Slice into small lardons.

Cook the corn for six minutes in boiling water. Cool and cut off the cob.

Peel and cube the squash into 1/2” dice. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and roast the squash in the bacon fat until golden brown and toasty.

Dice the onion very fine (1/8” dice). Put about 1TB of the reserved bacon fat in a stainless steel fry pan and heat it up. Add the onion. And sauté until soft and translucent.

Add the corn, squash, and parsley to the pan and fry together until warmed through.

Serve with just about anything.

A Sneak Peek into the Vines: Growing Season 2024 29 Jul 2024, 3:09 pm

A Sneak Peek into the Vines: Growing Season 2024

It’s almost August and I have been so busy that I have not had the time to post an update on the 2024 Vineyard Growing Season since before bud break in May!

Budbreak occurred in both vineyards roughly May 25.  After budbreak the plants grow rapidly.  

The vines bloomed a month later in June and after two weeks of bloom they begin to set their fruit.

During these three months until the fruit starts to color up and ripen the vines are keeping everyone busy controlling growth into the “canopy”, and keeping the plants healthy with spraying nutrients and fungicide.  In between, we have to control weeds with mowing.

Now we have a break while the fruit swells and starts to ripen.  Growth will slow down and we will begin to look for color in the fruit.

We have experienced what I would call typical Oregon weather this year.  Adequate moisture in the winter and spring.  Cool nights and warm days starting in July.  There were a couple of days of intense heat but the vines reacted to that by growing even faster.

All the damage that we experienced last year in the vines has, for the most part, been reversed.  The crop is heavy, healthy and vigorous.  

Winding down our Growing Season and looking forward to Harvest

I anticipate harvest in early to mid-October, right on schedule and I predict record crops all over the valley. Just as the birds are making their nests in our vines and watching over their babies, we continue to closely monitor the plants and will give you another report soon.

In the meantime, follow our tasting schedule which is updated regularly for scheduled wine pours in the Portland area. We continue to meet and greet the public during this fun events and share our wines with you!

Fennel Salad with Citrus and Humboldt Fog Goat Cheese 9 Jul 2024, 2:33 pm

Three Feathers Fennel Salad with Citrus Fruits and Humboldt Fog Goat Cheese

The Three Feathers Chefs love to experiment with Fennel bulbs, otherwise known as Florence Fennel or in Italian, finocchio. Fennel is indigenous to the Mediterranean and therefore a much appreciated vegetable in Italian cooking. Along with it’s unique fresh anise flavor, fennel can be cooked in many ways – sautéed, stewed, braised, roasted, grilled, or eaten raw.

While we enjoy fennel thinly sliced with olive oil, a bit of sea salt and lemon juice, there are a myriad of fennel recipes including grilled calamari and fennel salad and this fennel and goat cheese combination. Designed by Cynthia, this beautiful savory salad is simple to prepare and pairs well with duck, lamb and fish.

A word about Humboldt Fog Goat Cheese by Cypress Grove – this award winning cheese is made with buttermilk and cream with a middle layer of vegetable ash. The addition of Humboldt Fog Goat Cheese in this salad adds a round, creamy citrus note which complements the orange and grapefruit supremes. Fabulous!

Fennel Salad with Citrus Fruits and Humboldt Fog Goat Cheese – the recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 large fennel bulb, sliced very thin (use Cuisinart or mandolin)
• Baby arugula, 6 oz or 8oz package
• Scallions, about 4-6 stalks chopped fine
• 1 Valencia orange, supremes and juice
• 1/2 grapefruit, supremes and juice
• Fennel fronds, lightly chopped
• Extra virgin olive oil
• White wine Tarragon vinegar
• Humboldt Fog Goat Cheese by Cypress Grove, crumbled

Preparation:

• Cut orange supremes and grapefruit supremes. Juice the remainders and set aside. (Throw away the skins)

• Shave the Fennel either using a mandolin or a Cuisinart food processor set to about 2mm.

• In a large bowl toss the fennel with the citrus juice. You can save the supremes for topping the salad or toss with the fennel. As you like.

• Next get you serving bowl ready. In the bottom place the baby arugula. Then the sliced scallions, then the fennel mix. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and white wine tarragon vinegar.

• Finally, crumble the goat cheese on top.

At this point you should chill the salad in the fridge and let it marinate. You want the fennel to be soft. The arugula can also stand up to the acid so this is a good thing to make ahead of time. We were having a picnic so we covered the bowl and let it come to ambient temperature, which is great for the cheese.

Toss well before serving with a fresh bottle of 2022 Three Feathers Pinot Gris. The ladies of Three Feathers are particularly partial to goat cheese with white wine! Our Pinot Gris has just the right acidity and fruit forward punch to enhance these flavors.

Discover Exquisite Flavors: Announcing our Memorial Weekend Open House 1 May 2024, 7:47 pm

Discover Exquisite Flavors: Announcing our 7th Annual Memorial Weekend Wine Tasting Open House

Sunday, May 26, 2024 from 12 noon to 5 pm | Tasting fee $35 (free for Club Members)

19569 SW Finnigan Hill Road
Hillsboro, OR 97123

Christine | 503-536-3083 | christine@threefeathersestate.com
Sandra | 503-701-5467 | sandra@threefeathersestate.com

Memorial Weekend Fun starts at Three Feathers!

This is your invitation to the most enjoyable wine tasting afternoon in the entire Willamette Valley. Good wine, good food, good company and no reservation needed for the most comfortable seating. Come early and spend the day, share the gardens, the vineyard vistas and meet the family.

Garden Party Open House – Featured Wines

This year we are featuring the 2022 vintages of our Pinot POP and Pinot Gris, as well as the 2021 Pinot Madeleine and 2018 Reserve 667.  The ever popular lightly sparkling Three Feathers Pinot POP is a festive addition to any table, as it marries well with savory and sweet. 

If you have not yet tried our 2022 vintage Pinot Gris, this is an excellent opportunity – floral and elegant, with citrus notes.

The 2021 Pinot Madeleine – awarded 90 points by James Suckling, is a monoclonal expression of our rare Précoce grape. It is aging beautifully in the bottle.  Enjoy it with our Open House buffet!

2021 Madeleine – Notes of cherries and dried strawberries with ground-spice and moist-earth undertones. Medium-bodied, juicy and sleek with red-fruit character and a flavorful finish.

JamesSuckling.com

Finally, don’t miss out on the tasting of our exceptional 2018 Reserve 667.  Only 48 cases were made of this special vintage, aged 18 months in neutral oak. 

Enjoy Three Feathers Wines in a Beautiful Setting

All of our wines are made from 100% Pinot Noir grapes grown on our two high-elevation Chehalem Mountains sites. The mineral flavors and bright acidity are preserved and enhanced by aging in Neutral Oak.

This event is a rare opportunity to sample delicious Burgundy-style Pinots and to taste and purchase our wines which are exclusively available online and at select locations.

Enjoy an intimate tasting experience with the family and friends of Three Feathers Vineyard. We will be savoring a light buffet accompanied by select wines from our Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir production. Relax in the gardens and enjoy the fabulous views.

Be sure to contact us and confirm your reservation for the Buffet Lunch

We look forward to sharing our production with you! 

Where are we located?

Annual Memorial Weekend Wine Tasting Event

Directions to 19569 SW Finnigan Hill Road
From Hillsboro
219 South to SW Bald Peak Road.  Turn right onto Bald Peak Road.  Drive approximately 6 miles, pass Bald Peak Park on your right.  Turn left onto Finnigan Hill Road (gravel road) about 1 mile past the park.  Address is the second driveway on the left on Finnigan Hill.

From Beaverton
Take Route 10, Farmington Road, south to 219.  Turn left onto 219 and take the first right turn onto Bald Peak Road.  Drive approximately 6 miles, pass Bald Peak Park on your right.  Turn left onto Finnigan Hill Road (gravel road) about 1 mile past the park.  Address is the second driveway on the left on Finnigan Hill.

From Newberg
Go North on 219 out of downtown Newberg approximately 2 miles.  Turn left onto Bald Peak Road.  Drive approximately 4 miles on Bald Peak Road.  Continue on Bald Peak Road past the blinking red light about half a mile.  Turn right onto Finnigan Hill Road (gravel road).  Address is the second driveway on the left on Finnigan Hill.

About Three Feathers

Three Feathers wines are the product of our unique location, soil, elevation and micro-climate. These elements combined make our wines different from any other. Every vine is nurtured on wind blown soil high in the Chehalem Mountains.

We produce handcrafted, small-lot wines using 100% Estate Grown Grapes. Tending the vines can often be intimidating but there is nothing more rewarding than seeing the efforts we make produce succulent clusters of grapes that with the magic of wine making become the “Nectar of the Gods”.

Terroir – what defines us.

Awaiting Bud break: The Promise of a Thriving Vineyard Season 19 Apr 2024, 3:02 pm

Awaiting Bud break: The Promise of a Thriving Vineyard Season

Spring has arrived on Chehalem Mountains in all its glory and bud break in the vineyards is imminent!

We have had our share of winter weather; snow, ice, fog, rain. The usual midwinter break of clement weather in February enabled workers all over the valley to prune vines.

Now we are finally getting some sunny days, not too many, but enough to do outside chores such as tending the vines and gardens. Temperatures have been cool but not cold, therefore extending the bloom for daffodils and tulips. Even the flowers on the ornamental pear trees at the end of the garden held on for an extended period.

From Dormancy to Life: The Excitement of Bud break in the Vineyards

In the vineyards, we are awaiting bud break. Our average bud break here on Chehalem Mountains is May 1st and it seems as though this year we will be right on target. The vines usually come out of dormancy about mid-March. Gradually the buds swell and burst open, pushing out the new leaves and grapes for the season. This process is called “bud break” and all of the consequent calendar of growth for the season is determined from this event.

Because of our altitude (800-1,200 feet), our vineyard growing season is 2 – 3 weeks later than of the valley. The lag continues all the way to harvest. Consequently we rarely have a vintage where our fruit is overly ripe. This contributes to the character of Three Feathers wines; bright fruit flavors, mildly acidic with notes of herbs and minerals.

Three Feathers Wines Sales are on the Rise

Our wine sales continue to grow. In May, Three Feathers Pinot POP will be featured by local specialty grocery – Market of Choice – with eleven stores throughout Oregon.

We were once again present at the Vinexpo in Paris this February where Elise and Francois met with buyers from around the world. Our 2021 Pinot Gris was highlighted by Konstantin Baum in a Masterclass at the trade show.

We are pleased to be representative of the Oregon Wine tradition; small production vineyards, locally owned and operated. We still do our own marketing, distribution and deliveries! Tastings at the property are a very personal affair.

Over the past 10 years the quality of the wines here in Oregon have attracted attention from around the world. As more and more large producers buy up local vineyards we are losing this Personal Touch. The effect is felt throughout. Even the tasting rooms are becoming impersonal.

We focus on Direct-to-Consumer sales. Our faithful Sales Associate, Sandra Hogan, and team member Stacey Slack make the rounds of our local vendors for wine tasting demonstrations. As growers and winemakers, we enjoy sharing our story and experiences with the general public over a glass. The wine sells itself!

Join us at our 7th Annual Memorial Weekend Wine Tasting Open House

It’s not easy to do it all ourselves, however for our customers and club members the result of this care and attention creates a memorable experience. Please join us at our Memorial Weekend Open House on Sunday, May 26th from 12 noon to 5 pm when we open our home, gardens and vineyard to you.

From Vineyard to Vinexpo: Three Feather’s Big Moment in Paris 2024 17 Apr 2024, 3:14 pm

From Vineyard to Vinexpo: Three Feather’s Big Moment in Paris 2024

Elise and François had a fabulous time in 2023 at the Vinexpo trade show in Paris Porte de Versailles so they decided to attend again this year. Porte de Versailles has a homey feel to it that attracts buyers and tasters from around the world. Paris is such a lovely city to visit so people often combine business with pleasure.

The Oregon Wine Board (OWB) is diligent in spreading the word worldwide about Oregon Wine and this encourages us to participate. It was a happy bunch of exhibitors, ranging from well-known Stoller and Cristom to smaller brands such as ourselves, that set up stand this year in Paris to welcome importers, distributors, WSET students, wine shop owners, etc.

Alongside the California Wine Institute, other wine producing states were present including Virginia, for the first time, and New York.

We presented Three Feathers 2021 and 2022 wines to a steady stream of visitors. It was a pleasure to share ideas and stories with professionals from around the world. We also met fellow exhibitors and tried their wines.

We were also graced with a visit from the US Ambassador to France, Denise Campbell Bauer. Elise has met Ambassador Bauer at several occasions and was pleased to pose for a photo with her and Agricultural Counselor David Leishman.

We are thrilled to have been featured in the Vinexpo Paris Masterclass entitled Oregon Uncorked: A Journey Through the State’s Top Terroirs. Konstantin Baum, Master of Wine, took us on a fascinating visit of the styles and structures of Oregon wines. His presentation included a fascinating topography of Chehalem Mountains wines, including our Three Feathers 2021 Pinot Gris!

Exclusive Look: Partner Elise Prudhomme’s New Photography Exhibition 6 Apr 2024, 3:11 pm

Exclusive Look: Three Feathers Partner Elise Prudhomme’s New Photography Exhibition at Château des Ravalet, Cotentin, France

Before heading to Oregon for her biannual visit, Three Feather partner Elise Prudhomme is exhibiting a new body of photographic work entitled Coast-in-tint, Portrait of a Landscape.

The City of Cherbourg gave her the freedom of choice with regards to subject matter and exhibition venue. Elise chose to exhibit her landscapes of the North Cotentin at the celebrated Château des Ravalet in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, France. This beautifully proportioned castle boasts a botanical garden, greenhouse and arboretum that bear the French label of excellence “Jardin Remarquable”, or Remarkable Garden. It is particularly poignant that Elise’s exhibition be shown here, as Remarkable Gardens are a favorite theme of hers.

This unique exhibition offers a new look at the landscapes of North Cotentin.

The exhibition “Coast-in-tint | Portrait of a Landscape” at the Château des Ravalet, brings together the photographic works of Élise Prudhomme. It presents around fifty prints from artisanal methods to illustrate the multiple facets of the landscapes of North Cotentin. Noble metals (gold, silver, palladium) give varied tones to the images – sepia, Prussian blue, deep warm black – which complement handmade color prints in order to highlight a “new picturesque”.

How to photograph the quest for exoticism and renewal that characterizes this stretch of coastline?

The results of the technical prowess of a few passionate scholars in the adaptation of numerous plant species from diverse biotopes, such as that of the Canary Islands, have spread to gardens and coastal areas where they consume the landscape with appetite. They offer a new aesthetic in these places preserved from urbanization and rub shoulders with artifacts from the Second World War and Neolithic remains.

However, there is a resilience of nature which allows an attractive continuity of the landscape. The granite and monolithic coastal strip is an impassable border where man cannot leave his mark. Both a vector of transformation and a protected target, the Cotentin coastline still remains desirable.

Elise has been working with alternative photographic printing processes for several years now, including cyanotype, kallitype and platinotype. She is currently working with a four-color printing process in a wet darkroom which involves multiple layers of color suspended in gum arabic on watercolor paper. An example of this quad-chrome printing process is shown below.

Elise explores Historic Photographic Processes with a Modern Vision

From documenting natural and artificial landscapes to exploring ideas of place, Elise Prudhomme’s work focuses on our evolving relationship with the environment. The themes of territory, human intervention and transformation guide her in the search for unpredictable and intriguing scenes, bordering on the iconic.

Using large format film cameras, chamber and pinhole, she creates unique visual pieces like her panoramic photographs, whose multiple points of view anchor the emotions felt in the memory. The spirit of the place takes precedence over visual perception, evoking encounters, events experienced, and the lights that compose it.

It is in her photographic laboratory that Elise Prudhomme highlights these landscapes and experiments with ancient processes which, like the efforts of botanists, are the fruit of a long continuum of learning.

Three Feathers Wine Pour at New Seasons Market (Cedar Hills – Beaverton) for a Women in Wine Special 12 Mar 2024, 4:34 pm

Three Feathers Wine Pour at New Seasons Market (Cedar Hills – Beaverton) for a Women in Wine Special

Join us for a Three Feathers Wine Pour at New Seasons Market (Cedar Hills) – Beaverton during their Women in Wine Tasting on Saturday, March 16th from 3 – 6 pm.

These complimentary tastings are great opportunity to try and purchase a selection of Three Feathers Wines, such as our 2021 Pinot Gris and 2020 Pinot Madeleine.