The History
First planted in 1971 by four families working together (the Kreimeyers, Markleys, Welches, and Trenhailes), the vineyard spans over 200 acres with roughly 185 acres under vine; making it one of Oregon's oldest and largest vineyards.
Sitting on a south facing bench at 600 to 800 feet in the foothills of the Coastal Range in the McMinnville AVA, this site benefits from cooler temperatures in the summer and warmer temperatures in the winter; allowing for a longer and more uniform ripening period. With roughly 185 acres planted on volcanic Jory soil holding similar attributes to the red dirt of the acclaimed Dundee Hills AVA, the old, self-rooted Pommard, Wädenswil, and Coury Pinot Noir vines together with newer plantings in 1989 to Dijon 115, provide a number of blending options from this unique site.
In 1971 only a tiny handful of people knew much of anything about growing wine grapes in northwestern Oregon. That year, four couples purchased and began planting a vineyard on a perfectly-placed piece of remote terrain in the eastern foothills of the Coast Range, southwest of McMinnville.
The common bond among Victor and Doreen Kreimeyer, Bill and Ruth Welch, Dick and Leta Markley and Jack and Ruth Smith was the U.S. Forest Service. They persevered and put in their initial plantings of Coury clone Pinot Noir in 1971, followed by Wädenswil Pinot Noir in 1974.
Pictured (left to right): Trenhaile, Markley, Welch, and Kreimeyer
Acclaim for Hyland
The Hyland Vineyard is now home to plantings of Gewürztraminer, Riesling, Chardonnay, Müller Thurgau and numerous Pinot Noir clones including Wädenswil, Pommard, Dijon 115 and the original Coury plantings from 1971. Such is the quality of the Hyland Vineyard that all four of the aforementioned clones are bottled as single-clone offerings for Hyland Estates.
Spanning ten wines and only five vintages, Hyland Estates has already secured thirty-five 90+ ratings from leading wine publications such as Wine Spectator, Wine Enthusiast and Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate. The majority of these wines are available to taste at the Hyland Estates Tasting Room in Dundee, Oregon. The goal of these wines is to showcase the historic clones of Hyland and their place in the top echelon of Oregon wine.
1985 Burgundy Challenge in Paris
At the 1985 Burgundy Challenge in Paris, Hyland fruit led the way in a blind tasting competition that saw panelists unable to differentiate between Oregon and Burgundian Pinot Noirs.
To the amazement of the wine world, three Oregon wines garnered higher point totals than the Burgundies. These game-changing Pinot Noirs were from Sokol Blosser, Yamhill Valley Vineyards and Veritas and all contained fruit from the Hyland vineyard.
