Alsea Vineyard The Alsea Vineyard (a.k.a. Honey Grove Farm) is near the small town of Alsea, Oregon, located on the west side of the coast range, about 22 miles as the crow flies from the Pacific Ocean. This south-facing cool-climate site at 550 feet elevation consists of Bellpine soil. On windy days when the breeze is right, you can smell the ocean. We believe the first step in good winemaking is good stewardship of the land. Our philosophy includes leaving nature to do its thing, while our role is to ensure balance and harmony. Alsea Vineyard is rich with a variety of wild plants and mushrooms. Wild clover, garlic, carrots, dill and various wildflowers grow throughout the field. We never till or plow, just mow—leaving all indigenous plants, even the weeds to be part of the natural ground cover. In the spring of 2011, we reintroduced a community of plants to build up the natural plant community. The varietals we selected complement each other to serve as nutrient accumulators. For example, we planted native yarrow, which acts as a vehicle for phosphorous, an important nutrient for healthy, woody growth of the vines. We added clover seeds to increase the clover population in our ground cover, which will add nitrogen into the top eight inches of the soil. Adding lime and other fertilizers to our soil could have been an easier route, but we knew growing certain plants would be more sustainable for the long term. This work is not to be confused with the practice of fertilizing soil. This project merely introduces secondary plants into the vineyard's natural microbiology. Our newest project this spring was bringing honey bees to the Alsea vineyard. We built two warré hives, which eventually should house more than 50,000 honeybees. So far they are doing well and building their honeycombs. Bees are essential to pollinating flowers and maintaining a healthy ecosystem. If all goes well, we will harvest honey next year. Alsea Vineyard is not certified organic, but our practices are similar to organic, sustainable and in the direction of biodynamic. We do not irrigate our vines and only use an organically approved spray program that consists of natural nutrients like sea kelp, whey, humix and stylet oil. We also experimented with adding crushed oyster shells to the soil at the base of each vine. Certified biodynamic preps are also used during certain times of the year.

We practice indigenous fermentation, which means we use the wild yeast from the vineyard. A week before harvest, we collect about a hundred pounds of fruit and start a yeast culture, allowing the natural yeast spores from the grapes to begin the primary fermentation. Then we add the active yeast start to the rest of the harvest, so that the indigenous yeast is dominant in the fermentation process. This is the only way we can assure that our wines will reflect the true flavors of the vineyard. Gisela Green, the owner of Alsea vineyard, opened the door to our dream of planting this vineyard. Her generosity and faith in our vision allowed this opportunity to come to fruition. Gisela has been a great supporter of our project and we thank her from the bottom of our hearts for all she has done for us.

Teutonic Wine Company  •  3546 NE Tillamook Street  •  Portland, Oregon 97212