It began like this...

Little did I know that when I quit my day job working for a Bay Area book publisher and took a harvest position for a Carneros-based Pinot Noir producer back in 1998 that there would be no turning back. What followed was a post-graduate degree in enology and viticulture from Fresno State University and upon its completion in the Spring of 2001 an unlikely–but fortuitous–move to Portland, Oregon and the northern Willamette Valley. I was offered the job of Assistant Winemaker at venerable, Oregon grower-producer Beaux Frères Vineyards. After six years at Beaux Frères working in both the cellar and vineyard, I moved into my current role as the full-time Winemaker and Vineyard Manager of Colene Clemens Vineyards, a project dedicated to the production of estate-grown Pinot Noir. While tending the vineyards and cellars of Colene Clemens occupies the majority of my time, this label is my opportunity to explore making Pinot Noir from different sites, soils and AVA’s from other Willamette Valley vineyards of pedigree. I hope you enjoy tasting the journey with me.