Rodeo Hills Estate Vineyard.
In Oregon’s Dundee Hills, Jared Etzel has found a way to translate memory, place, and restraint into wine. His 7-acre estate may be modest in scale, but it carries a sense of calm conviction and is the product of a winemaker who values observation over intervention.
Etzel’s surname is a familiar one in Oregon wine. His father, Michael Etzel, co-founded Beaux Frères, a name that helped define modern American Pinot Noir. But Rodeo Hills isn’t a continuation of that legacy, it’s a reflection of Jared’s own curiosity and discipline. “My dad’s work taught me to respect the vineyard before the winery,” he says. “That’s where everything starts.”
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Michael Etzel.
By any measure, Michael Etzel’s impact on Oregon wine is indelible. The founding force behind Beaux Frères, one of the most respected Pinot Noir producers in the Willamette Valley and a winery that helped put Oregon on the global fine wine map, Etzel is the sort of restless visionary who can’t quite sit still, even in “retirement.”
Now, with his son Mikey at the helm of Beaux Frères and another son, Jared, forging his own impressive path with Rodeo Hill and other projects, Michael and his wife Carey have turned their energy toward a deeply personal endeavor: Sequitur Wines, a 12-acre biodynamically farmed vineyard and boutique winery on their serene Chehalem Valley property known as Etzel Farm.
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Fall at Folly of Man vineyard.
When Tracy and Aaron Kendall purchased their vineyard in 2023, they did so with characteristic humility and a healthy dose of disbelief. They hadn’t set out to start their own winery. As accomplished winemakers already deeply embedded in Oregon’s Willamette Valley community —Tracy formerly as associate winemaker at Nicolas-Jay, and Aaron as assistant winemaker at Beaux Frères and now winemaker at Compris—their work spoke for itself. But when the right piece of land came along, it was impossible to resist.
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RMS sparkling wine.
When you think of sparkling wine, your mind likely drifts to the rolling hills of Champagne or perhaps the crisp fizz of northern Italy. Oregon? It’s probably not the first place that pops into your head. But spend a little time among the misty vineyards of the Willamette Valley, and you’ll discover a quiet revolution in the glass.
Here, where cool mornings meet volcanic soils and Pinot Noir reigns supreme, a new generation of winemakers is crafting sparkling wines that don’t just whisper elegance—they sing with it. I’ve tasted bubbles from around the world, but Oregon’s are among the few that have made me pause, smile, and reach for a second glass.
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On a sunny morning in July, we drove up to the beautiful winery and tasting room at Nicolas-Jay, one of the most highly regarded wineries in Oregon.
The tasting room patio.
Nicolas-Jay was putting on a breakfast that was paired with 5 of their delicious wines–an event we were very much looking forward to.
We have written about this winery and its beautiful setting several times before. But each time we visit, we continue to be struck by the beauty of the site. The winery and tasting room sit at the bottom of a bowl-like structure of hillsides in the Dundee Hills AVA, most of which are now planted to grape vines. At the top of the vineyards stand Oregon forests (oak and Douglas Fir) which appear like sentinels watching over and protecting the vines.
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