Pfeiffer Winery

Located in Oregon's prime South Willamette Valley, our ultra premium, sustainable 70- acre vineyard is one of the oldest vineyards in the state with a reputation for producing world class Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris.

As the first solar-powered winery in the South Willamette Valley, we were awarded "Best Winery Experience" by the readers of the Register Guard Newspaper. Our tasting room is a candle-lit cave offering a personal, one-on-one wine tasting experience, including our famous Pinot Clinic held in the grotto with owners, Robin and Danuta Pfeiffer.

Our ultra premium vineyard, planted in 1984 has one of the finest reputations for Pinot Noir in the Willamette Valley. With perfect elevations, aspect to the sun, latitude, soil temperature and sustainable agricultural practices– our wine grapes deliver clean, delicate fruity flavors.

And since we don’t distribute our wines, we manage our sulfite levels as low as possible. That means lovely wines, hand crafted by our family, sold directly to yours. Relish and enjoy them as much as we do!

About Us:

After several calls from the French who wanted to purchase our 70 acres of south-facing slopes, Robin learned they wanted the land for wine grapes. The family sold the sheep, and planted grapevines. "The only thing we knew about wine grapes was that we liked wine and dried grapes were called raisins," noted Robin Pfeiffer. However, he learned after careful analysis that their site was ideal for grapes.

New to the industry and with timber growing on the property, the Pfeiffer family chose to harvest what was needed to serve as the trellising posts for the vineyard. Each post was cut, peeled and pounded by hand. "The hand peeling process took an entire summer, before we could stack the posts to dry, and then be treated," recalls Robin.

The strategy for planting the vineyard was just as painstaking. As the vineyard was laid out, using the North Star as a point of reference, Robin meticulously planned for straight rows – one after another. The first line was drawn with a tractor. Each row after was based on the proceeding row with the tractor digging each line. What the family envisioned and what they ended up with was quite different; however, in hindsight, they wouldn't change it for anything. Currently, the vineyard rows have a gentle "S" shape to them.

The planting of the vines was to be equally spaced. Each person took a piece of string and tied a knot part way down serving as the spacing distance between each planted vine. "Well, each person tied a somewhat different length and therefore, our plants don't line up perfectly." No worries, the wines produced from this vineyard are spectacular. It's as if the grapes preferred this situation. Total number of vines at Pfeiffer Vineyards equals 38,500.

The entire operation was a family affair. "Everyone helped out. Mom and Dad lived on the property until they passed a few years ago. Mom acted as the nurse in the beginning. Dad made the signs for all the rows. Everyone else just pitched in wherever needed," notes Robin. "I'd describe it as organized chaos." A testament to the family environment, the Pfeiffer family has 60%-70% of their seasonal workers return every year, many of who have been with the family for more than seven years.

Today, their passion and hard work produce grapes that consistently represent and forecast the future of the Oregon wine industry.

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