folin
Even in the Willamette Valley, it’s possible to find a pinot-free winery. That winery is Cliff Creek Cellars. Once you understand that the winery’s fruit comes from its southern Oregon vineyard — Sam’s Vineyard outside Gold Hill — you’ll suspect that your visit will entail big reds, and you’d be right. Get ready for Bordeaux wines and syrah.
The wine is the culmination of a partnership between the proprietors of Cliff Creek Cellars, the Garvin family, and their winemaker, Joe Dobbes, Jr. The winery’s foundation, of course, is 60-acre Sam’s Vineyard, owned and managed by Vern and Dorothy Garvin. Amazingly only one and a half tons of grapes grow per acre. That’s only half of a typical harvest. The surviving fruit translates into red wines that can easily take on a grilled T-bone steak. A nominal tasting fee grants WineTrail trekkers access to syrah, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, merlot, and a Bordeaux-blend claret. To put your adventure into perspective, the San Francisco Chronicle rates Cliff Creek’s 2004 syrah as no. 1 of the Top 100 Wines of 2007. Small tasting room, big wines.
Another Garvin, Ruth Garvin, lives near Carlton and manages the operation. Her résumé includes ownership of Portland-based Papaccino’s Coffeehouse. However, Ruth gives credit for Cliff Creek Cellars’ success to the entire Garvin family. Their website and brochure literature uses an analogy to describe their family-owned and -managed winery. It notes, “Much like a family, each grape is growing individually in a cluster of grapes.… And, of course, you cannot make a great wine with just one grape, it is the cluster you need, with each unique and individual grape full of flavor and sweetness." From planting, harvesting, marketing, and tasting, three generations of the Garvin family have played vital roles in Cliff Creek Cellars’ amazing story.
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folin was featured in WineTrails of Oregon as part of the Carlton WineTrail on page !
