Pfeiffer Vineyards

Years ago, San Diego–based TV and radio personality Danuta Rylko placed this ad in the personals column of a local paper, “WF, 45, educated, attractive, author, conversationalist, skier, cyclist, likes Merlot, Mozart, rivers, cabin, books, seeking WM, 35-55, who knows how to spell.” That ad fetched Robin Pfeiffer, a wine grower from Oregon who evidently submitted a correctly spelled response.

Robin succeeded in transplanting Danuta to the wine-growing world of the Willamette Valley west of Junction City. He had developed a vineyard on the family sheep farm following a tip from some French visitors who were scouting the area for land to buy to grow grapes. Robin convinced his family to sell off the herd of sheep and replace the land with what would become a 70-acre vineyard. Not a baaaaad move.

The fact that Robin didn’t know a lick about growing grapes (other than the fact that raisins came from them) didn’t deter this former high school Spanish teacher from laying down undulating “S”-shaped rows of grapes and unevenly spaced vines. The result is outstanding fruit benefiting from strict organic practices. The sun not only nurtures the vines, but the winery as well with its installation of solar panels.

Produced in limited quantities, Pfeiffer Vineyards wines are sold only at the winery’s Tuscan-villa-style tasting room or online via the winery’s website. Inside the cavernous yet intimate tasting room, visitors experience premium wines: primarily pinot noir and pinot gris, along with select white wines and rosé. You will notice that the reserve pinot noir bears the name “Blue Dot,” which is a reference to Robin’s early winemaking years when he would mark bottles with a blue dot. These were the wines that his friends, with lip-smacking adoration, rated the highest. The winery’s tasting fee covers wine samples, a delectable cheese torte, and a Riedel wine glass. It’s all part of the “wow” factor you experience at Pfeiffer Vineyards.

The special relationship that Robin and Danuta share carries through to their “Villa Evenings” winemaker dinners. During Danuta’s TV and radio career, she met a number of famous chefs and collected amazing recipes along the way. These recipes frame the menus for Villa Evenings dinners, which, of course, are complemented with Pfeiffer wines. As a bonus, Robin educates guests in the art of wine tasting, winning hearts and minds in the process. After all, he is a retired teacher who succeeded in winning the heart of Danuta many years ago.

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  Pfeiffer Vineyards was featured in WineTrails of Oregon as part of the Lane County WineTrail on page !