Winemaking

Our boutique winery on the vineyard practices minimal intervention in winemaking.  The processes are gentle and natural with gravity used whenever possible to avoid pumping - meaning a forklift is often required. Our style is not to make the big, fruit-forward wines that garner high marks with major wine publications so we no longer submit samples for review. Our Cellar Club and other customers feedback is what is most valued.

The grapes are picked by hand and delivered in small bins to the winery on the vineyard.  The fruit is generally very clean when it arrives but it is hand-sorted again before passing into the de-stemmer and 1 ½ ton fermentation tanks.  After an initial “cold soak” (below 60 degrees) for 3 to 5 days to extract color and flavor from Pinot Noir’s small, thin-skinned grapes, fermentation is allowed to occur spontaneously with indigenous yeasts.  The cap is punched down by hand, usually twice each day in the beginning and as needed thereafter.  After fermentation is complete (usually 7 to 10 days) the wine is allowed to settle for a few days before being moved into French oak barrels and then into the barrel room for aging and malolactic fermentation.

VIDON is one of the 30 Oregon wineries that are part of the Carbon Neutral Initiative.  The winery is insulated and is cooled and heated by an efficient heat pump system.  Plans are to install solar panels and become energy independent.
We produce only premium Pinot Noirs with between 800 and 1,000 cases annually with some fruit sold to a neighboring winery.