OUR STORY
Knudsen Vineyards is an iconic vineyard in the heart of the acclaimed Dundee Hills AVA overlooking the fertile Willamette Valley, majestic Mt. Hood and the North Cascade mountain range. Our family has grown grapes and made wine here for 50 years.
The vineyard was established in 1971 by our parents, Cal and Julia Lee Knudsen, true pioneers of Oregon’s wine industry.Mom and Dad loved this place and derived great pleasure from sharing our grapes and wine with friends and family. As second generation stewards of Knudsen Vineyards, we embrace our family’s legacy and honor our parents by making great wine reflecting the unique attributes of our land.
Our goal is to produce exceptional quality, distinctive Pinot noir and Chardonnay wines. The formula is straight-forward. We care for our land and vines by practicing sustainable viticulture. We cultivate to optimize fruit quality through diversity in vine age, clonal breadth, exposure and elevation. Our grapes possess a richness of flavor and complexity unique to our vines, Jory soil and location. Our winemaking is designed to capture this singularity and present elegant wines expressive of this terroir.
Please join us on our grape growing and winemaking journey and enjoy our wines for their pure expression of our land, fruit and family.
OUR HISTORY
In 1971, Cal and Julia Lee purchased a 200-acre former walnut orchard in the Dundee Hills with two gentle southeast-facing slopes, great soil and a vision for growing and making world-class still and sparkling wines.
By 1972, Knudsen Vineyard had 30 acres planted, making it the largest vineyard in the Willamette Valley and by 1975, with 60 acres planted, Knudsen Vineyard was the largest in Oregon. The entire family got involved in planting the first vines.
WINEMAKING PARTNERSHIP
In 1975, Cal and pioneering Oregon winemaker, Dick Erath, formed the Knudsen Erath Winery partnership. The partnership received a permit to operate Oregon Bonded Winery No. 52 on the Knudsen Vineyard site, the first commercial winery in the Dundee Hills. For a decade thereafter, Dick produced award-winning Knudsen Erath Winery wines, primarily with grapes from both Knudsen and Erath vineyards.
BUBBLES AND MORE
In 1987, Knudsen Vineyards entered into a long-term grape supply agreement with newly established Argyle Winery.
Cal had always wanted to make an Oregon sparkling wine and realized his vision was shared by Rollin Soles, founding Argyle winemaker, and Rollin’s partners in the winery. Knudsen Vineyard has remained a prime supplier of the highest quality fruit to Argyle for its production of Sparkling, Pinot noir and Chardonnay wines. Over the years, Argyle has won more awards for its wine, both still and sparkling, than any other winery in Oregon.
CONTINUING THE LEGACY
After Cal Knudsen’s passing in 2009, his children, each of whom had followed individual pursuits in business and finance, were compelled to return to the land Cal had loved. They immediately felt at home.
Recognizing the land as part of the Knudsen DNA, Cal and Julia Lee’s children were determined to continue the Knudsen legacy for their own children – and future grandchildren.
The legacy involved Argyle winemaker Nate Klostermann, with the assistance of Rollin Soles, to make wine for Knudsen’s first wine label in 25 years. In 2014, Knudsen released that wine, the 2012 Knudsen Vineyards Pinot noir, followed by the 2013 Knudsen Vineyards Chardonnay in 2015.
In June of 2020 we opened The Outlook at Knudsen Vineyards, a tasting room devoted exclusively to our estate grown wines.
