Argyle Winery

Unquestionably, Argyle Winery is a required stop along the Dundee WineTrail. Why, you ask? Because in a sea of pinot, Argyle Winery offers something different — sparkling wine, and lots of it.

Using the méthode champenoise, winemaker and general manager of Argyle Winery Rollin Soles ferments bubbly in a bottle — one bottle at a time. It’s labor intensive and requires each bottle to age four to ten years. As you’re sampling Argyle’s mouthwatering Blanc de Blancs, Knudsen Vineyard Brut, Black Brut, or Brut Rosé, just imagine what foods to pair with these sparkling wonders. I had a clear vision of a Thanksgiving turkey when I tasted the Brut Rosé.

In between sips, you might hear the tasting-room staff use vernacular particular to the méthode champenoise world. Terms such as “disgorgement” (removal of frozen yeast from the bottle’s neck), “dosage” (the process of adding sweetened wine just prior to closure), or “riddling” (the rotating process used to get sediment into the bottles neck) may be mentioned as you watch the carbon dioxide bubbles float to the top of your flute glass.

Despite an annual production of 55,000 cases of sparkling and still wine, Argyle Winery’s no. 1 seller is pinot noir. The winery makes four different pinot noirs, which bear the names Reserve Pinot Noir, Nuthouse Pinot Noir, Spirithouse Pinot Noir, and Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. The name Nuthouse pays homage to the fact that the production facility originally was a site for drying hazelnuts. However, most intriguing is the name “Spirithouse,” which refers to the turn-of-the-century farmhouse that now serves as Argyle’s tasting room. Here, in the early 1900s, 25-year-old Lena Elsie Imus. Since then, various inhabitants of the building hear strange noises, smell unexplained flowery scents, and feel puffs of air ostensibly created by the ghost of Lena. She’s a friendly ghost and a welcome presence in the tasting room. Amongst other relatives’ tombstones, her Dundee gravestone reads, "Not Dead, But Gone Before." A little creepy, I would say.

If you like white wine, taste Argyle’s chardonnay or riesling. For those with a sweet tooth, check out its dessert wine with a captivating name of Minus Five. Like their red wine brothers, the white wines come standard with a screw cap for easy opening and storage. No corkage here! If, however, you do notice a puff of air, your bottle cap removed, and some of your wine missing, it wasn’t me, I swear.