Covid and wildfires and wine clubs, oh my!

Like most of you, we have had quite a ride so far in 2020.  COVID impacted how we do business in and outside of the tasting room: we now offer seated tastings and free local delivery.  The seated tastings help us maintain social distancing and keep everything clean after each guest, while delivery allows those who are in high-risk groups to still enjoy some of the best wine the Willamette Valley has to offer!  

So many of you have expressed concern about how the recent Oregon wildfires have affected us; we appreciate everyone’s care!  Luckily we are fine – we were very smoky, but have had some much-needed rain and are doing well. The fires did not threaten our vineyards; some ash accumulated on the grapevines but the rain washed everything clean for us.

Harvest Time

We started harvesting the grapes in mid-September and the fruit looks good. Matt says “the fruit is clean, and it is an easy farming year; we had a wet spring, and moisture fed the vines for the summer and gave us lots of growth overall and a vigorous leaf set. The spring rains did result in a lower fruit set, but the fruit is growing well, and we are not seeing a lot of disease or pest pressure. We did have a few weeks this summer that were very hot but the abundance of leaves in the canopy protected the fruit and we had little sunburn damage.” So the fruit looks good, but we expect a lower yield than some years.

at right, Rae and her family

far right, Amoris and her family

New Tasting Room Staff

Despite the challenges of this year, we have been able to grow our Compton Family with two new staff in our tasting room, Rae and Amoris.  Rae moved to Oregon over a decade ago and Compton (then Spindrift) was one of the first wineries she visited, and she joined the wine club right away!  She is excited to be able to pour for you, sharing the wine she’s loved for years.

After graduating from Philomath High School, Amoris spent the next two decades as a documentary film maker and entrepreneur, traveling around the world working with educational non-profits and camping in remote locations. She’s happy to be back in the valley with her husband and young daughter. Amoris loves working at the winery because of the family atmosphere, great wines, and support of local food and business. Her favorite wines are: 2015 Llewellyn Cuvee Pinot Noir, 2018 Pinot Noir, and the newly released 2019 Rosé of Cab Sauv!

OCTOBER  2020 NEWSLETTERS