ArborBrook Vineyards

ArborBrook is the creation of Dave and Mary Hansen, both of whom dreamed of one day producing premium wines. Located near Adelsheim in the northern Willamette Valley in the foothills of the Chehalem Mountains, ArborBrook is the home for their pinot noir vines and Mary’s Arabian horses. The property is also the site of the Hansens’ charming 1910 farmhouse, as well as the 1940s-era walnut-drying barn, which now serves as ArborBrook’s tasting room. Although Dave and Mary make pinot gris and semillon, make no mistake: Their focus is on producing excellent pinot noir. Dave keeps his day job as a banker, but invests his spare time in overseeing more than 11 acres of pinot noir (Dijon clones 777, 115 and Pommard). He understands that great wine can only come from superb grapes.

Like other artisanal producers of fine wine in the Willamette Valley, Dave and Mary turned to Laurent Montalieu as their consulting winemaker. In addition, they rely on the state-of-the-art production facilities of McMinnville-based NW Wine Company to make their wine. ArborBrook currently produces about 2,500 cases of wine annually.

Here’s what Jay Miller of online guide eRobertParker.com had to say about the Hansens’ 2005 ArborBrook Vineyards Pinot Noir Estate 777 Block: “It has a lovely perfume of damp earth, saddle leather, cherry cola, black raspberry, and blackberry liqueur. This leads to a velvety-textured wine with a solid core of sweet fruit with all components nicely integrated. The finish lasts for 45+ seconds. This fine example of the 2005 vintage may well evolve for 5-7 years, but why take a chance?” For a winery with such a short history, I’m sure Dave and Mary loved that review!