Élevée Winegrowers
Meeting with a great « Artisan Vigneron » of the Willamette Valley
Élevée Winegrowers is a family-owned and operated winery located in the Willamette Valley and more precisely in the Dundee Hills AVA. The vineyard includes 3.2 hectares divided between five vineyards (Madrona Hill Vineyard, Björnson Vineyard, Élevée Vineyard, Meredith Mitchell Vineyard, and Ridgecrest Vineyard), located in five different AVAs (American Viticultural
Areas), that deliver wines with very different identities.
Currently the winery produces 1,200 cases divided into 7 cuvées. The main part of production is Pinot Noir. However, they also produce a dry Riesling, a Blanc de Noir and a Rosé of Pinot noir. Let’s go to meet Tom and France Fitzpatrick, owners and vignerons of Élevée Winegrowers.
Why do you make wine? Tom and France Fitzpatrick: A lot of people would say it was a special bottle of wine they had that inspired them, but for me producing wine is something that connects me to the land and to nature. I’ve been making wine for 17 years. Prior to this I worked as an Analyst. My Wife, France, and I both grew up in Chicago. A love of the outdoors inspired us to move to the west coast in 1993. In 2006, I graduated from UC Davis with a Masters Degree in Viticulture & Enology. I have made wine in a variety of different places, including Washington State, Napa Valley, New Zealand, and Bourgogne France. My wife traveled and worked with me in all these locations. Élevée Winegrowers is a ‘Study In Terroir’ focused on exploring the distinct flavors of the Willamette Valley’s diverse Appellations. Our wines explore terroir and allow people to discover a wine’s many different personalities. Since the beginning my vision has always been focused on terroir.
Where does the name Élevée come from ? T.&F.F.: It is a French word that means ‘elevated’. We chose this as our name because of it’s reference to Willamette Valley terroir. All the very best vineyard sites in the Willamette Valley are planted on ‘elevated’ slopes, a necessity in our cool climate. In addition, it was an interest in Mountaineering and a love of the mountains that brought my wife and me to the west coast. You might say there is an ‘elevation’ theme in our lives.
Could you describe in a few words what wine means to you ?
T.&F.F.: To me a wine is the flavor of a place and every place has it’s own unique flavor. I know this is essentially the definition of terroir, but I love this idea that a place can have it’s own unique personaility and that the land can create something so beautiful...
What is the signature of your wines? How do you recognize your wine in a blind tasting?
T.&F.F.: The focus with all of my wines is to capture ‘purity of flavor’, I really want my wines to showcase the place they come from. I believe a wine should be able to show the place where they are born. Although my wines highlight the unique flavor profile and subtlties of each different site, I believe they all have an elegance and deliver ‘purity’, ‘precision’, and ‘focus’.
What make your three terroirs so specific ?
T.&F.F.: Our Élevée Vineyard is located in the Dundee Hills AVA which is a slightly warmer spot. It’s South Slope, 540ft Elevation, and Jory (Volcanic) soils deliver a graceful and elegantly composed wine, displaying raspberries, fading violet petals, and silk. Björnson Vineyard is located in the Eola-Amity Hills AVA, which is a slightly cooler and windier spot. It’s Southwest Slope, 530ft Elevation, and Nekia (Volcanic) soils deliver an exotic wine, displaying cherries, hints of peach, pine needles, and velvet. Madrona Hill Vineyard is located in the Chehalem Mountains AVA, which is a slightly cooler spot. It’s East slope, 600ft Elevation, and Laurelwood (Loess) soils deliver a powerful wine, displaying blackcherries, Italian spice, and plush velvet.
Do any future projects?
T.&F.F.: We have begun working with a new property called Meredith Mitchell Vineyard. It is located in the Willamette Valley’s McMinnville AVA and is Demeter Certifed Biodynamic. This vineyard is located directly in front of the Van Duzer Corridor, which is a corridor that cuts through the Coast Mountain Range, allowing Marine influence into the Valley. This creates a very unique meso-climate that is much cooler and windier than our other vineyard sites. These conditions, combined with some very shallow Yamhill (Volcanic) soils, generate small grape clusters with tiny berries. The wines are intensely colored, concentrated, and structured, with boysenberry fruit and savory herb aromas.
• Élevée Winegrowers 9653 NE Keyes Lane Dundee, Oregon 97115 (U.S.A.) www.eleveewines.com