May 2026 - Oregon
Featuring:
Abbey Road Farm
May wine club writeup is written by Gillian Arca.
This month we are back in Oregon with a spotlight on Abbey Road Farm. This unique space is located between Carlton, Dundee and Lafayette. In addition to being a vineyard and working farm there is also a bed and breakfast, an event space and a tasting room on the property. We will go into all the lovely details around Abbey Road Farm later on but first let's talk a little more in depth about the Yamhill-Carlton AVA.
Yamhill-Carlton AVA
Established in 2004, Yamhill-Carlton is an Oregon AVA (American Viticulture Area) located in the northern Willamette Valley. There are 2,844 acres planted here as well as 127 vineyards. This AVA is a south facing horseshoe shape. The North Yamhill River flows through regulating temperatures in winter and summer. The Coast Range to the west creates a “rain shadow” over this region resulting in lower than average rainfall than other areas in the Willamette Valley. The Chehalem Mountains to the north and the Dundee Hills to the east also provide protection. The soil here is ancient marine sediment which has high alkalinity, excellent drainage, and poor nutrient availability. These factors are key in restricting vegetative growth on a vine thus resulting in available resources going to the development of fruit. Vineyards here are primarily planted on hillsides and ridges (up to 1000 feet above sea level) which result in a range of microclimates. Variety in microclimates can influence the ripening and development of a grape in a number of ways such as sugar ripeness (alcohol level), acidity levels, or tannin ripeness. At night the temperature drops due to the oceanic winds that travel inland along the Van Duzer Corridor; this influence results in grapes retaining acidity as well as achieving full ripeness due to the warmer temperatures during the day. The primary varieties grown here are Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, and Chardonnay. Pinot Noir accounts for about 80% of the total plantings.
Abbey Road Farm
Abbey Road Farm is an 82 acre working farm and winery, with 40 of those acres planted with vines. Daniel and Sandi Wilkens purchased the land in 2017. Today, they grow 16 varieties all organically with minimal intervention winemaking. The goal is to let the grapes and the terroir do the talking. Pinot Noir, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Gamay and Trousseau Noir are among their red varieties. Aligote, Chenin Blanc, Gruner Veltliner, Riesling are among their white varieties. Additionally, they produce a Blanc de Blanc sparkling wine from Chardonnay, as well as a sparkling rosé wine from Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. The geography of the land consists of gentle slopes which ensures maximum ripeness (sun exposure) while retaining acidity in the wines.
Abbey Road Farm, Blanc de Blanc, Yamhill-Carlton 2024
In celebration of the weather shifting, we have a sparkling Blanc de Blanc for the white in this month's wine club. This wine is made with 100% Chardonnay and the charmat method is used. The grapes are direct, whole-cluster pressed. This means that the full bunches are loaded into the press without destemming. This practice, now commonplace, was an important innovation (or return to past methods) in both sparkling and still wine to allow more gentle extraction of the grape must whilst utilizing the presence of stems to create channels for deeper juice extraction.
After racking from the initial settling tank, the wine is fermented to dryness and a still white wine base is made. The second fermentation occurs in large stainless steel pressurized tanks and when the wine is finished it is bottled under pressure. This particular wine is aged for 5 months in stainless steel vats. There are aromas of grapefruit, green apple and bread dough. It has a light body and crisp acidity with a lingering finish of citrus fruits. Ideal pairings for this wine would be briny seafood, goat cheese, vegetable risotto or a lemon herb roast chicken. The goal being that the high acidity cuts any creamy or richness in any food it is paired with.
Abbey Road Farm, Pinot Meunier, Yamhill-Carlton 2024
The red wine in this month's club selection is made from the grape Pinot Meunier. Pinot Meunier is a mutation of Pinot Noir, featuring a darker, more intense profile and known most famously for use in Champagne blends, particularly from the colder subregion, Vallée de la Marne. It is a hearty grape that tolerates cooler climates better than other red varieties, but prefers strong sunshine. It is also used to produce rosé wines in some parts of the Loire Valley in France. It is known to produce juicy perfumed red wines which you will see in this month's selection.
The grapes for this wine were grown at 300-340 feet of elevation on Willakenzie soil. Like all Abbey Road wines, farming practices are organic LIVE certified. Upon arrival at the winery, roughly 90% of the grapes were destemmed while the remaining 1/8th were added into the bin with clusters fully intact. The winery team carefully selects the clusters with the most lignified stems to add spice, complexity, and depth without any under-ripe green flavors. The wine spent 13 days on the skins before pressing off. It was aged in neutral French Oak for 10 months.
This particular Pinot Meunier has a medium body with bright acidity. The tannins are velvety and the dominant aromas are ripe cherry, raspberry, and a bit of earth. This wine pairs very well with light duck, turkey or chicken dishes as well as earthy vegetarian dishes such as mushroom or truffle pasta. Cheeses such as Brie or Gouda would also pair well.