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CapitalPress.com
Friday, September 10, 2021
Abeja Winery: More than a vineyard
sively to Abeja List members.
Dan and Amy met years ago at the Colum-
bia Crest Winery in Washington. “We had a
WALLA WALLA, Wash. — The Abeja big team there, and Amy was responsible for
Winery and The Inn at Abeja are on a restored the white wines and I was responsible for red
century-old farmstead in the foothills of the wines,” Dan said.
Blue Mountains four miles east of Walla
He left Columbia Crest to become head
Walla, Wash.
winemaker at Dunham Cellars in Walla Walla,
The 38-acre site is part of a property that and Amy started a new winery called Sinclair
was homesteaded in 1863. A new owner in Estate Vineyards.
1986 began restoring some of the old build-
“She custom-crushed her fruit at Dunham
ings and eventually opened the Mill Creek Inn. Cellars so we made our wine under her direc-
Abeja found-
tion and watchful
ers Ken and Ginger
eye,” he said.
Harrison came to
“We worked
Walla Walla in the
together and had
late 1990s looking
some
overlap-
for land suitable
ping vineyards and
for planting world
spent time in the
class
Cabernet
vineyards together.
Sauvignon grapes.
For sales, however,
While
search-
she’d be going
ing for an ideal
one direction and
vineyard
loca-
I another. It was
tion they discov-
always our dream
ered this historic
to make wine
farmstead that cap-
together from start
Courtesy of Abeja Winery to fi nish, under one
tured their hearts.
The property was Abeja winemakers Daniel and Amy Alva- roof and one label.
well-suited
for rez-Wampfl er.
We never imag-
grape growing and
ined we’d have
winemaking, and by
the opportunity to be
restoring more of the farmstead’s buildings, co-winemakers at Abeja!”
the Harrisons saw an opportunity to preserve
They started at Abeja in January 2016.
a rich heritage while creating a one-of-a-kind
“Ken Harrison brought us on board, which
wine country destination.
gave us the chance to create evolutionary
Today Abeja is the realization of the Harri- wines based on estate vineyards. Amy and I
sons’ vision. The name Abeja, which is Span- make all the winemaking decisions together—
ish for bee, was chosen in respect for the envi- from picking to blending to barrel choices,” he
ronment. The winery and The Inn at Abeja said. “We have a team of 37 full-time employ-
operate on the belief that each person can make ees which includes the vineyard crew, grounds
a diff erence in the world.
crew, and a crew to take care of the Inn, which
Winemakers Daniel Wampfler and can accommodate up to 28 people.”
Amy Alvarez-Wampfler together create
They also recently opened a high-end culi-
Abeja’s Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardon- nary dining experience and hired an executive
nay and Merlot as well as limited-release chef and a team to delight our guests with 5- or
estate and reserve wines, offered exclu- 7-course dinners, paired with the wines.
By HEATHER SMITH THOMAS
For the Capital Press
‘Wiking’ the Willamette
Valley’s vineyard trails
By GAIL OBERST
For the Capital Press
RICKREALL, Ore. —
Visitors who linger at a vine-
yard or winery are likely to
buy more wine. That market-
ing theory, touted by many
vineyard owners, heads the
list of reasons many Oregon
wineries have added hiking
trails.
The trend has given rise
to the term “wiking,” com-
bining Northwesterners’ love
of wine and hiking.
But marketing is not
the only reason some have
opened hiking trails around
their vineyards.
Bob Pfaff , whose fam-
ily in 2003 founded Left
Coast Winery west of Salem
in the Van Duzer corridor,
points to the 100 acres of oak
woodlands running through
the winery’s 500 acres,
and confesses: “When we
came here, we didn’t know
about oak. We evolved into
environmentalists.”
Very little of the Willa-
mette Valley’s original oak
woodlands and savannas are
left, Pfaff said. Part of the
Pfaff family’s hope in build-
ing the one-mile loop trail
through their oak stands is to
share with their visitors this
rare resource.
Forty miles south at
Tyee Wine Cellars, Dave
Buchanan, a former research
biologist, maintains his two-
mile trail for sentimental and
conservation reasons. He is
the fourth of fi ve generations
of his family to farm the 460
acres. Before his family put
250 acres into native woods
and a wetland preserve,
sheep had forged a trail past
ponds, oak woodlands and
ash swales. Buchanan turned
the sheep trail into an inter-
pretive loop.
Now, hikers can walk
through hazelnut groves,
view ancient farm tools, rest
at picnic tables, and pass
native trees, fl owers and
wildlife ranging from ducks
to foxes and elk.
Visitors can stop in at the
tasting room to get the inter-
pretive trail map. For majes-
tic views of the Willamette
Valley, walk any portion of
the two-mile perimeter of
Eola Hills’ Legacy Estate
Vineyard, eight miles west of
Salem on Oak Grove Road.
Tom Huggins, founder
of Eola Hills Winery, ges-
tures at the view from a pla-
teau near the top of the 162-
acre Legacy vineyard, part of
300 acres the winery owns in
the Willamette Valley. Cur-
rently winery hikers can skirt
two miles of gravel roads
and trails through the steep
hillside vineyards. Along
the shady forested bottom,
quaint bridges, grassy clear-
ings and camping sites attract
visitors for family reunions,
weddings and other events.
Established in 1983,
Yamhill Valley Vineyards’
150-acre estate west of
McMinnville invites hik-
ers to check into the tast-
ing room for a map of trails
through the vineyard. There
are two routes — one an
easy 1.5-mile walk through
the lower vineyards, and the
other a mile-long climb to
the hilltop, going from 200
to 600 feet. Both off er vis-
tas from the foothills of the
Coast Range across the Yam-
hill Valley and beyond. The
trail maps point out blocks of
Pinot noir, Pinot blanc, Ries-
ling, Chardonnay and Pinot
gris. Winery staff suggest
fi rst making a reservation for
wine-tasting before a hike.
Jenny Burger, general
manager at Yamhill Valley,
said they opened the trails
last summer to provide pan-
demic-weary visitors with an
outdoor relief.
“It felt like everyone
was cooped up and needed
space and a sense of free-
dom to move about amidst
the restrictions of the pan-
demic. So we opened up the
trails to give people a safe
way to get away from others,
be in nature, and experience
the growing vines and active
vineyards, something we
fi nd to be grounding, peace-
ful and beautiful,” she said.
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