Riesling

Our passion for Riesling led us to the cellars of Selbach-Oster in Germany's Mosel Valley. In fact, "Schlüssel," german for Key, is a reference to an evening defined by bad decisions we experienced while we were there (book a virtual tasting to hear the "rest of the story"). Our approach and methods are based on this formative experience. The obvious exception being we produce only a Dry Riesling at this time. We hope that as we grow our community, we can pursue other styles as well.

At Selbach, we learned to "have your way with juice, do nothing to the wine." As a result, we are very hands-on with the handling of the juice before fermentation. We apply techniques such as oxidation and, if needed, fining to reduce phenolics and adjustments to acidity or potential alcohol before fermentation begins. We believe the Art of Riesling isn't to cover up acidity but to polish free of the burrs and barbs that make it course or harsh. Like a jeweler, our job is to create a setting that shows off the jewel; acidity.

We rack well-settled, clear juice to stainless steel tanks and drums. Some may be permitted to ferment spontaneously, while most are inoculated with selected yeast. Once fermentation is complete, the wines are stabilized and left on the fermentation lees until after the Spring Equinox, when we experience a blossoming of aromatics. Regarding aromatics, we are much more interested in expressing site-specific characters than we are in the primary aromas of varietal and fermentation. Thus, you can expect honey and stone in addition to fruit, flower, and spice.

The Riesling is sourced from two organically farmed vineyards. They are both technically in the Dundee Hills AVA, though we believe one of the sites is more reflective of the neighboring Yamhill-Carlton AVA. As a result, we designate the wine as "Willamette Valley." Though their geologies and geographies differ dramatically, we pick them on the same day, press them together and ferment them together. Our experience shows us this results in a more complex and complete wine. 

Pinot Noir

Our Pinot Noir production begins with vineyard selection. Like most winemakers, geology and geography are essential considerations, but for us, the decision starts with the question, "who is doing the farming"? What gets us out of bed in the morning is realized potential. Our philosophy is that we would rather work with a "B" vineyard farmed by an "A" farmer than the inverse. However, we are fortunate that those "A" farmers are working with "A" vineyards. Therefore, we select vineyards that we believe will produce radically different wines from each other. Not only does this allow us to bottle single-vineyard wines distinctive from one another, but it also gives us a diversity of materials to use in blending. We use the art of blending to produce the Personify Pinot Noir, a reflection of the Willamette Valley and an interpretation of the given vintage. We also use it in creating the Kairos series, where we are pursuing very specific create impulses. Here, working with abstract ideas, we view the work as sculpture.

We take a unique, first principals approach to our picking decisions. Though alcohol levels (and by extension potential alcohol levels) correlate strongly with the style of a wine, we do not see any such correlation with quality. The shared attribute of all great wines is fine structure, so our picking decisions directly pursue that outcome. The Grape is a reproductive organ, and its development is a reproductive process. We believe that the rate of this process, unlike sugar accumulation or acid respiration, is not dramatically impacted by normal environmental conditions. Regardless of the vintage, we target a harvest date 105 days after flowering. Over the years, we have found that this provides us with a predictable degree of seed and skin tannin extractability. We consider both of these sources of tannin (as well as color compounds and other yeast-derived constituents) essential for the fine structure we believe correlates with quality.

Cap management and extraction strategies are particular to vineyards and vintage. Generally, we do a pumpover after 48 hours of cold soak and not again until fermentation begins and the cap is formed, 3 to 5 days later. Once fermentation has commenced, the ferment will receive two pumpovers, with air introduced, 24 hours apart. Subsequent manipulations will be dependent on the results of tasting. Vineyards, such as Bednarik and Momtazi, with the potential to have course, drying, or green tannin profiles, are almost exclusively pumped over. Punchdowns are more frequent on more generous or low tannin vineyards. Frequency varies but never exceeds two manipulations per day.

All of our Pinot Noirs are permitted to begin fermentation spontaneously. We are highly intentional about using the word spontaneous in describing the yeast(s) that conduct our fermentations. We believe that in most cases, fermentations described as wild or native are merely wishful and magical thinking. Therefore, we make no claims about the origin of the yeast that ferment our Pinot Noirs. We are only certain that no yeasts are added.

Goldilocks inspires our cooperage program; like her porridge, we want it "just right." We believe new (French) oak can positively influence wine if used in the proper proportion. As a rule, PROJECT M wines are not bottled with more than 25% new barrels. In many cases, especially for our single-vineyard wines, intended to emphasize place, we include no new barrels at all. We make such determinations based on taste after many trials. Unlike many Pinot producers, especially those here in the Willamette Valley, we use oak staves aged only 24 months instead of 36. We prefer less intense toasting with longer times and lower temperature (to generalize, Medium Toast). Our barrels are made exclusively of wood from France's Allier or Never forests or a custom blend of the two. All PROJECT M wines are aged in barrel for ten months before bottling.

One of the virtues we pursue in our winemaking is precision (the others being purity, elegance, and transparency). Through our experience, we have noted that unfiltered wines often lack well-defined edges. Though the textures may be fuller, plush, or rich, these wines can lack precision. As a result, PROJECT M filters its Pinot Noirs. We also believe this filtration emphasizes aromatics derived from fruit and, by extension place, over those of dead yeast.

The last important winemaking consideration is our choice of cork. For years we found ourselves forced to choose between the consistency and security of the screw cap and the "romance" of natural corks. With the arrival of DIAM corks, we no longer make such a choice. With the DIAM 10, we get the consistency and TCA-free advantages of screw caps with natural cork's ageability, appearance, and romance.

CHARDONNAY

We believe that unlike Pinot Noir and Riesling, which limit and resist the winemaker's effort to shape the wine, Chardonnay demands it. This demand has long served as a justification for excesses that have yielded the grape's well-known cliché, distorted carnival artist caricatures. However, we believe Chardonnay that does not show the signatures of some direction from the winemaker, is an equal moral failure. Simple and boring are every bit a Sin as excess and gluttony.

At PROJECT M, we employ the Goldilocks model, everything being "just right."

Richness, generosity, and density are all attributes necessary for great Chardonnay, but only to a point. The counter to this is the energy and acceleration provided by acidity. We seek out vineyard sites in an area of the Willamette Valley known to be influenced by the Van Duzer Effect. Essentially a gap in the Coast Range to the west permits marine air, usually cool, to enter the valley via afternoon breezes. Both the wind and lower temperature work to retain acidity.

Our picking decision is a nuanced dance between acidity, providing the vibrant, steely core and "fruit," the flavors reflecting the grape, the place, and how it was grown. We believe this balance exists in an extremely narrow window of only a couple of days

None of the variables contributing to various Chardonnay styles have a pendulum that swings more broadly than that of Oak. We believe Oak makes a positive contribution to Chardonnay when used in moderation. Anicca is 100% barrel fermented, only 20% of which are new, keeping Oak in a supporting role.

The wines go through complete malolactic fermentation. The wines aged sur lee with stirring only when tasting dictates. The wines are racked, filtered, and bottled just before bottling.