It was a sun-soaked, beautifully crisp Oregon spring day early this year as the vines at Westmount’s estate vineyard were waking from their winter slumber. Laurent, Co-Founder and Winemaker, slowly walked the rows of Pinot Gris in block 3 checking on how the buds were enjoying their first consecutive days of sunshine. Spring in the vineyard is filled with anticipation for what this growing season will bring, and reflection on how we can improve upon past seasons. 2017 is Laurent’s 30th vintage in Oregon; a level of experience with the state’s finicky terroir that is unparalleled. The knowledge of grape-growing and winemaking is tactile and visceral; knowledge that can only be gained through experience.
Understanding the unknown and anticipating what is out of our control is what brings Laurent back to the vineyard every year. “Mother Nature is in charge out here,” he says with a slight smirk “the only thing that we can focus on is making the land better than it was the day before, and she (Mather Nature) will take care of us.” It is this philosophy of land stewardship that is at the foundation of Westmount Wine Company; invest in the land and it will reward you.
Grapes are not grown in a vacuum, we can not just focus on the vines, we must focus on the entire ecosystem of the vineyard from the soil, to the insects in the canopy and the birds that eat them. This is why Westmount’s one hundred acres in the heart of Oregon’s Willamette Valley is a dry-farmed, herbicide free and low-till vineyard.
The “land steward” mindset does not stop with the vineyard. The Westmount crew enjoys the bounty of the Great Pacific Northwest; from snow to waves to rocks to trails, we are out there enjoying what Mother Nature has for us. “We have to give back,” Co-Founder and GM Robert states with focused eyes, “experiencing wild and scenic places is what drove me west and we must protect that.” This is why Westmount Wine Company has pledged to give 3% of all sales back to two organizations that work to protect our wild spaces and the forces that govern them: The Access Fund and Protect Our Winters (POW). (Sales from May-June will go to the Access Fund and from October-April to POW.)
We ask you to join us in our stewardship. Day-in and day-out let’s make sure we are doing all that we can to make our land better. Let’s keep exploring all the mother nature has for us.