Abacela

Abacela is an American winery estate owned by Earl and Hilda Jones that is located in the Umpqua Valley AVA (American Viticultural Area). It was the first winery to commercially grow and produce wine from Spain's Noble Tempranillo grape in America's Pacific Northwest.[1]

Abacela
LocationRoseburg, Oregon, USA
AppellationUmpqua Valley AVA
Founded1994
Key peopleEarl & Hilda Jones, Founders
Andrew Wenzl, Winemaker
Chris Lake, Vineyard Manager
Cases/yr12,000
TastingOpen to Public, Private Scheduled
Websitewww.abacela.com

History

As of 1990 Tempranillo had been cultivated for over one hundred years in California's Central Valley where the growing season is both hot and long. Learning that the resulting wine was blended away or distilled and varietal wine had not been produced caused the Joneses to research what made it possible to grow and produce fine Tempranillo in Spain. There they learned that the best Tempranillo wines were grown in Rioja and Ribera del Duero where the soils were different yet they shared very similar climates characterized by hot summers and one of the shortest red wine growing seasons in Spain. This suggested that climate, not soils was critically important for growing Tempranillo grapes from which high quality varietal wine could be produced.

With data in hand, the Joneses searched American, identified a Rioja/Ribera homoclime in Southern Oregon, purchased land, planted Oregon's first Tempranillo in 1995[2] and used third leaf fruit from these hectares to produce Abacela's and the Pacific Northwest's first commercial Tempranillo wine.[3]

Winegrowing and Winemaking

One year later, using fourth leaf grapes, Earl crafted America's first varietal tempranillo to win first place in an international wine competition (2001 San Francisco International Wine Competition) besting all 19 Spanish tempranillo entries.[4] Doing so clearly established the critical role of variety-site climate matching to production of quality Tempranillo wine. This was confirmed when their 2005 Reserve became America's first varietal Tempranillo to receive a Gold Medal in Spain's own Tempranillo al Mundo competition.[5]

Vineyards and Varietals

Today, Abacela's Fault Line Vineyards (31 hectares ~76 acres) produces Tempranillo and an array of other site-climate matched grape varieties such as Albariño, Grenache, Malbec, Syrah, Tinta Amarela, and Tannat.[6]

Climate Research

Earl and his son Gregory Jones, the Director of the Center for Wine Education and is Professor of Environmental Studies at Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon, have played an important role in research on the effect of climate on wine grape production.[7] Their findings show that "climate, plays a very significant role in determining the style and overall quality of wine from a given region, even within a vineyard (mesoclimates), and that year-to-year variations in the quantity and quality of vintages are controlled by climate variability." [8]

Accolades

Abacela has received numerous awards both for individual wines and as an organization. In 2009 Wine Business Magazine ranked Abacela as a Top Ten Hot Small Brand in America.[9] In 2013 Abacela was named Oregon Winery of the Year by Wine Press Northwest magazine.[10] In 2015 Abacela was a Wine Enthusiast magazine finalist for American Winery of the year.[11] In 2015 Earl and Hilda Jones were honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Oregon Wine Industry.[12]

Stewardship and Community Activity

Abacela believes in working with nature and has established a 125 hectares (~300 acres) Nature Conservancy on the estate and in 2009 became one of only 14 Oregon wineries to meet the Carbon Neutral Challenge.[13] Abacela is also a Salmon Safe winery.[14] Furthermore, Abacela and their neighbor, the Wildlife Safari, have a long-term relationship in which hay is exchanged for elephant manure which Abacela composts with grape pomace to create an important soil amendment.[15]

References
  1. Sinks, James (12 Jan 1997). "Vine Dreams". Section B: Roseburg Oregon News Review. p. 7.
  2. Sinks, James (12 Jan 1997). "Vine Dreams". Section B: Roseburg Oregon News Review. p. 7.
  3. Scripps, Jim (26 July 1999). "Spanish Delight". Roseburg Oregon News Review. p. 12.
  4. "About".
  5. "TEMPRANILLOS AL MUNDO". Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  6. "The Project". Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  7. Jones, G.V.; Davis, R.E. (2000). "Climate Influences on Grapevine Phenology, Grape Composition, and Wine Production and Quality for Bordeaux, France". American Journal of Viticulture and Enology. 51 (3): 249–261.
  8. "XI International Terroir Congress" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 February 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  9. Penn, Cyril. "Hot Small Brands of 2009". Wine Business Monthly. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  10. Degerman, Eric. "2013 Oregon Winery of the Year: Abacela Winery". Wine Press Northwest. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  11. ENTHUSIAST, WINE. "Wine Enthusiast's 2015 Wine Star Award Nominees". Wine Enthusiast. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  12. Kavanagh, Vickie. "Industry Notes: Katherine Carter, Mark and Ann Edlen, Earl and Hilda Jones, Chad Vargas and other award winners". Oregon Live. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  13. Elmore, Mat. "CNC Hits Its Stride". Oregon Wine Press. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  14. "Wine List". Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  15. "The Project". Retrieved 12 February 2017.
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