Bree & Chad Stock of Limited Addition Wines. Photo credit: www.limitedadditionwines.com
Wine and winemaking is intrinsically linked to the land grapes grow on, it is after all agriculture at the heart of the endeavor. In the modern world, outside of inheriting family vineyards or having the capital to purchase either planted vineyard or unplanted land, a winemaker wanting to make wine will have to rely on winegrowers to grow and supply the fruit. The simple romantic notion of owning a winery with a special, old vineyard is a distant dream for most winemakers outside of established multi-generational wine regions. The reality of the vineyard landscape consists of a combination of wineries with estate plantings, commercial growers who primarily supply larger wineries, and small growers with vineyards.
The economics of supplying wine to the broader market means most larger wineries (who also account for the bulk of grower fruit demand) only seek to purchase popular grape varieties which can be blended together into a consistent wine every year. This applies undue existential pressure on vineyards, even ones with beautiful old heritage vines, to replant with commercially lucrative and popular varieties and keep up with market fashion trends. Like the commercial apple industry, this is not the most sustainable way to farm.
We are proud to work with a bevy of new generation winemakers who seek out great grower sites, encourage growers to plant (or retain) more diverse grape varieties in their vineyards; and make a case for maintaining the bewildering tapestry of different grapes and great sites. People like Bree and Chad Stock of Limited Addition Wines, find sites with varieties like Mencía, Grenache and Cabernet Franc in the Eola-Amity Hills of Oregon’s Willamette Valley and give them a voice. They know the growers of the valley at a deep level, and celebrate the varied, secret pockets of the valley and support the farmers who share their desire to explore what is possible in the Willamette outside of what currently exists.
Amy Farnsworth of Amoise Wines - "Pruning gives me time to reflect, dream up this years wine labels & think about bottling some wine! photo credits @robincranfordphotography
In the Hawke’s Bay of New Zealand, Amy Farnsworth of Amoise Wines and Amy Hopkinson-Styles of Halcyon Days (with husband Ollie Styles) get even more involved, playing a hand in tending their growers' vines in the Two Terraces and Osawa vineyards respectively. Farnsworth camps out between the vines of the Pinot Gris vineyard which she harvests for her amber wine, rather than managing it remotely.
Come by and discover a few of the good people and good wines making a positive change to the broader world of wine. We have recently added wines from Limited Addition, Amoise, Halcyon Days and more!
Wines currently featured on Stompy from Limited Addition, Amoise, Halcyon Days
LIMITED ADDITION FIELD BLEND CABERNET FRANC 2020
