Boedecker Cellars

Boedecker Cellars
2621 NW 30th Ave.
Portland, Oregon
USA 97210
Phone: 503-866-0095
http://www.boedeckercellars.com

Contact: Athena Pappas
Email: [email protected]

We founded Boedecker Cellars in 2003 to craft small-production, food-oriented, distinctive Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from some of Oregon's greatest vineyards. By keeping our production levels low, we can lavish our attention on every detail of the winemaking process.

Athena and I made a deal with each other at the beginning that we’d only produce what we loved. This led to the big debate when we were blending our first 20 barrels of Pinot Noir for our 2003 releases. For three weeks we ‘debated’ which barrels made the best blend, but neither of us was happy with the results. Finally, we sent each other off to create the blend we individually liked the best – those two blends were both great, and we realized that rather than compromise on styles, we’d have more honest, better wine if we stayed true to our individual palates. So now, each year, we blind sample through barrels of Pinot Noir, splitting the lots into “Stewart” and “Athena” Willamette Valley bottlings. The Athena Willamette Valley Pinot Noir is generally the bigger, more structured of the two wines, while the Stewart tends towards brighter acid, softer tannins, and more nuanced aromatics.
Since we also buy fruit from up to ten different vineyards each year, we also have the opportunity to highlight how site influences Pinot Noir in Oregon. Each year we select two barrels each of the “best of the best” for our single vineyard designate wines. The choices vary from vintage to vintage, but these wines are always special and really do reflect the uniqueness of the vineyards.
We started in 2003 at 400 cases, way too small for our own place. So, for the first few years, we operated out of a shared space in Carlton, OR. When we finally grew enough to think about our own place, we decided to move our operations back to Portland. We both love the city, and the vineyards are only 40 miles away. We teamed up with Grochau Cellars to create an urban winery in NW Portland, just blocks from hiking trails in Forest Park, and minutes from the Portland Farmers Market and some of the best restaurants in the U.S. It’s great being in the center of the vibrant arts and food culture in Portland. Most importantly, we’ve managed to cut out 10 hours and 500 miles of driving back and forth to the winery out of our lives. More time with the wine, less time on the road, spending time doing what we love.
- Stewart Boedecker and Athena Pappas
Our Winemaking

Recognizing that great wine begins with the vineyard, we source our Pinot Noir from some of the most devoted growers in the Willamette Valley. Ranging across all of the Willamette Valley AVAs, each site provides us with a different combination of soil, exposure, altitude, and weather — all of which affect the character of the fruit.
Each growing season, we maintain constant contact with our growers, crisscrossing the Willamette Valley from end to end, tasting the fruit, assessing quality, and collaborating on everything from canopy management to crop levels in each block.
As the grapes approach maturity, we wait for the optimal balance of flavor, acids, tannins, and sugars, racking up hundreds of miles per day as we travel around sampling fruit quality. When the grapes are at the peak of readiness, we harvest.
In the winery, the grapes from our growers' vineyards become individual small-lot fermentations. Each small block will be kept separate from the moment it arrives at the winery until we make our final blending decisions before bottling.
As the grapes make the transformation from fruit to wine, we taste, smell, and touch each lot frequently each day. We use only the techniques and handling necessary (punchdowns, gentle pumpovers, and minimal racking) to bring out the unique character we tasted in the vineyard. By preserving the personality of the wine from each vineyard, we ensure a rich palette of flavors and textures for when we assemble our wines each year.
While the "glamour" of harvest — late night fruit sorting sessions, punch downs, and press loads — may seem particularly unglamorous at times, learning about the character of the vineyards and the vintages makes all the hard work worthwhile.

Winemaker: Stewart Boedecker

Twitter: https://twitter.com/boedeckerlive

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Boedecker-Cellars/49678673669

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/boedeckercellars

Update Winery information  Submit new wines to be posted  Wineries of America