Bud Break 2009

April 24, 2009

Two of my favorite things about spring are watching the vines wake up and seeing the mustard in the vineyard.

Every fall we plant a cover crop in the vineyard. It is a mixture of mustard, legumes, clover and grass. This does four things for us. First, it holds the ground in place during our rainy season. We don’t want our beautiful soil eroding away! Second, it helps feed the plants. The legumes and clover actually enrich the soil with nitrogen, which in turn gives the vines much of the food they need to grow. Third, the cover crop is a terrific haven for beneficial insects such as ladybugs. It also provides a wonderful meal for the bees when it flowers – although bees have little role in the production of grapes. Did you know that grape plants self-fertilize, and don’t need the help of bees or other pollenators to set fruit? We really like the idea of natural fertilization and beneficial insects – it allows us to farm in a much more sustainable manner, with far fewer inputs to the vineyard – and that is good for the environment and good for the wine! Lastly, the mustard has beautiful flowers in the spring. Looking out over the vineyard when every row is a mass of yellow is just a stunning sight. It is the first thing I notice as I arrive every morning, and it continues to look beautiful for weeks.

As spring progresses, we eventually have to mow down our cover crop. Mowing the crop helps us deal with frost (by allowing air to move through the vineyard), and also allows the crop to return to the soil and feed the plants. We had to mow our mustard down yesterday, as there was a light frost predicted for last night, and we needed to gain that extra protection from the cold for our just waking vines.

More next time on watching the vines wake up. In the meantime, click here to see a photo essay of bud break at Troon Vineyard.

Troon Vineyard Tasting in Carlton, OR

One of the things that I am most proud of when I talk about Troon Vineyard is the ability to share how we "enjoy sharing the winery lifestyle".

I like to speak about not only "living" the winery lifestyle, but "promoting" it. Having toured and tasted at an incredible number of wineries throughout the world's wine regions, this vision resonates with me intensely. Many have asked me, "how do you do that?" I like to describe the process by explaining the process, you "live a life dedicated to the land and the crop, add to that a masterful winemaker who can transcend and elevate the result to a work of art. That's the foundation." I then add that "you build on the past and honor the legacy of those who came before by striving to continually improve in consistently producing fine wines, regardless of what Mother Nature sends your way." This is my conclusion: "you listen to those who understand what you are trying to do and preach to those who don't, even as your winemaker and the staff are on the brink of exhaustion, you continue to push. Once things start to feel like you have accomplished something special, you open up the paradise that you've built, so that others can share it and become a part of it."


Since then our extended family of supporters has grown at an exponential rate. Many of you in the Salem to Portland area made sacrifices time and again to drive the 4-5 hours to join us at events and "share in our winery lifestyle". Recently, I decided to start looking for the right location closer to our northern brethren. I looked in several areas in northeastern Oregon but each trip brought me back disappointed, until I found Carlton through our friend Ruth. I drove the roads around Carlton and felt like I could have been in the Applegate Valley at times. I loved the many wineries within a short drive and I loved that they weren't on top of one another (having recently come back from other wine regions). So I called a friend who knew the area and Jennifer found us this awesome space that was once the Carlton Art Gallery, right next door to Domaine Coteau.

Sometimes when things are meant to be, everything just falls into place. Another new friend (& insomnia fiend) Steve, our new Carlton land lord and artist extraordinaire, whose assistance and guidance have helped us transform the space into a true showroom to the legacy which is Troon Vineyard. Thank you Steve, for your talents...if it weren't for you we could not have done it.

Please let me personally invite you to come out and visit!

The Stuff That Matters

At a recent meeting with Team Troon, we took on the task of identifying the values that we adhere to. In a sense, what are the things we stand for? What are our core set of guiding values and principles? Let me share with you what we came up with.

At Troon Vineyard We Value:

Our Community
-buy local
-support our neighbors
-work together
-give back

Environmental Stewardship
-farm responsibly
-reuse and recycle
-conserve
-act sustainably

Our Regions Legacy
-honor our founders
-maintain standards of excellence
-work together to improve regional quality

Our Customer's Experience
-sharing the winery lifestyle
-exceeding all expectations
-provide a quality product
-provide a warm welcome, magic moment & a fond farewell
-enthusiastic education

The Adventure of Winemaking
-honor the unique expressions of the vintage & appellation
-explore the potential of new varieties and styles
-innovate and adapt
-maximize our potential
-be emotionally invested in everything that we make

We plan to post this list in our tasting room and hope that you, as our core group of supporters, feel that we are succeeding in making these values reality.

Thank you for your continued support and we look forward to seeing you soon,
Chris Martin, Vintner

The Legacy of Dick Troon

The following email was submitted on our website on June 12th, 2008.

Dear Mr. Dick Troon,

I hope you will receive this message. This evening we prepared bar-b-qued Ahi served on spinach salad. Our wine was your 2007 Viognier, which we bought at Harry & David in Medford as we passed through yesterday. The wine is excellent!

About 6 or 7 years ago I visited your winery with my late father. When we arrived at your gate it was closed, but my father was anxious to meet you so he boldly opened the gate, we drove down the driveway to where you were standing, I got out and said there was someone with me that wanted to meet you. After a couple of questions on your part, you were extremely gracious to give Mr. McCaw a tour and samples of your wine. I have never forgotten your graciousness to my father and I thank you very much. When Dad and I arrived home that evening we were talking about our visit with you and we drug out the world atlas and looked to see where the Troon region of Scotland was. We came to learn that the Troon region is about the same distance from the region that my father's family came from as the distance between your vineyard and Dad's home in Jacksonville, OR. We thought that was very interesting and I've always wanted you to know that and to thank you again for being such a gracious host that day.

Continued success with your winery.

Sincerely, Jerrie

~Your goodwill over the years continues to make our success possible.

Thanks Dick!
Chris

For more information on Dick Troon please click here.

State of the Winery - Part I

As we begin a new year, I wanted to take this opportunity to look back on an amazing 2007 for Team Troon and thank you for all of your support. Last year was filled with wonderful events, numerous awards, fabulous wines, and lots of fun. We hope that you all had enjoyable experiences when visiting with us, and back at home, when sharing your Troon wines with friends and family. Everyone at Team Troon worked very hard to make it the best year in our history. Now that the bar is set, we look to hurdle it in 2008!

Throughout this coming year I will be writing about our efforts to achieve all of the goals laid out in our mission statement. I know, who wants to hear about mission statements? The ''Mission Statement'' is really just a series of ideas and philosophies that we use to guide us every day. It's our compass. So, I want to speak to each of these in a little detail.

Your continued support has facilitated the amazing growth of the Winery. As we produce more cases (nearly 8,000 this year), even though prices are increasing for things like bottles and labels, we are able to reduce our total cost of each wine by spreading our overhead over the larger production. We are committed to holding the line on prices this year. In fact, we are actually reducing prices on some wines.

We have further committed to make every new release, except the reserve Zin and the Vertical, available at Inner Circle pricing (20% or more) for the month prior to release. This means that you will be able to pick up some of the incredible 2006 vintage at great prices. Wines like the 2006 Buren Cabernet and the reserve Syrah's from Silver Stars and Steelhead Run vineyard's are tremendous wines that will be available for under $30. You can look forward to more than twenty new releases this year!

We continue to aquire new equipment in our facility that only adds to the quality of the end product. The 2006 vintage was the first year that we had complete gravity feed processes in place. This allows for gentler fruit handling and less rough tannins, making the wine more drinkable at an earlier age. We hope you share our excitement for all the new releases and look forward to sharing them with you in 2008 and beyond.

Thanks again for your support and hope to see you soon.

Chris Martin

Vintner

To be sure that you recieve the latest installments of Chris's "State of the Winery" address, sign up for out newsletter today just click here!

Guns & Roses...the dangerous road of being single.

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Dru, our official Rodent Bouncer & my buddy.

North American Wine Dogs Celebrity

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