The Wine

A pilot by necessity, in pursuit of excellent vineyards in different regions, Ehren Jordan’s passion led him to take flight. The four vineyards represented in equal quantities in this barrel selection convinced him that Oregon was the right place to land—the highest-quality farming and mature vines seen both from a pilot’s-eye view and with two vigneron’s feet in these remarkable soils. His minimalist approach to winemaking allows terroir to be the ultimate navigator.  

Highly acclaimed Seven Springs Vineyard, established by Al Macdonald in 1984, is an east-facing rocky volcanic site located in the heart of the Eola-Amity Hills AVA. The Pacific influence of the Van Duzer Corridor cools and regulates our Pinot block, which sits at 600 feet in elevation. It is dry-farmed biodynamically.

Chehalem Mountain Vineyard is oriented at the southeastern corner of the Chehalem Mountains AVA perched east of the Ribbon Ridge. A narrow valley, less than 300 feet wide, separates the two areas. In 1968, Oregon wine industry pioneer Dick Erath hand selected this site and planted the first vitis vinifera here. Our block sits at 500 ft. elevation.

Björnson Vineyard, established in 2006, is positioned in the heart of the Eola-Amity hills. Situated at 450-560 ft. elevation with a mix of Nekkia and Jory soils, this rocky, windblown outcrop hosts tiny clusters, ripe stems and dense tannins.

Eola Springs Vineyard was originally planted in 1972 by Carl Stevens in the Eola-Amity Hills AVA.  The vineyard’s position in the throat of the Van Duzer corridor provides ample ventilation to temper the vines throughout the growing season and intensifies the diurnal effect of the site with its cool nights and warm to hot days. This beautiful vineyard ranges from 450-600ft.

The Winery

Failla began in 1998, born of opportunity to make expressive wines from single-vineyard locations across California's western Sonoma Coast. Ehren has expanded the portfolio to over 30 wines as we celebrate our 20-year anniversary. In 2001, we sourced fruit from famous Goldschmidt Vineyard; however, logistics proved challenging and we only made one vintage. Several years and plane trips later, we were offered Pinot from legendary Seven Springs Vineyard. In 2016, we made six wines in the Willamette Valley and have plans for developing an 80-acre vineyard in Dallas, Oregon, located southwest of our tasting room off Zena Road in Salem.  

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