Jason and Karen's Winemaking Dream
My name is Jason and for the past 7 years I have been working in the wine industry, traveling the world and learning to make fine wine. In 2012, I met Karen Irizarry, a very beautiful girl in Western Australia who shared my common interests, mainly a passion for wine. We then traveled the world together, working vintages and honing our winemaking skills. We have finally decided to source some grapes and make the inaugural wines for our new wine label.
These wines will be produced by us, using techniques we have learned during our travels, from grapes from within the Willamette Valley in Oregon. Although exact details of grapes have yet to be decided, we plan on sourcing Pinot Noir, and either Riesling or Chardonnay.
Over the past 40 years Oregon's Willamette Valley has been forging a reputation as home to some of North America's finest cool climate wines. It is now widely recognized as one of the worlds premier Pinot Noir producing areas. The Valley runs North to South for over 300 miles, following the Willamette River and is shielded from Pacific Ocean storms by the Coast range. Soils of the valley are diverse and include red volcanic soils, windblown silt, loam, basalt and sandstone.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with our work backgrounds, I have worked 12 vintages in France, Germany, Australia and New Zealand, Portugal and South Africa. I have extensive winery and wine making experience, as well as experience in vineyard work and grape production. I am currently undertaking a viticulture and vineyard management traineeship at Stoller Vineyards in the Dundee Hills AVA of the Willamette Valley.
Karen is a Certified Sommelier and has worked in San Diego before traveling to Australia in 2011. There she trained with Penfolds in the Barossa Valley and has since worked vintages in Germany, New Zealand and France. She is currently the Tasting Room Supervisor at REX HILL/A to Z Wineworks.
Thank you in advance for your donations. Any amount will be a huge help!
Cheers!
Jason Kissane