Throughline Wines/Cancilla Vineyard

We purchased an established (1999/2003), organically certified (since 2015) vineyard - Cancilla Vineyard - in the foothills of Oregon's Coast Range in late 2021. While we view organic vineyard practices as a floor for responsible farming, we are actively working to increase biodiversity and improve soil health in the vineyard, all while reducing our reliance on external inputs and eliminating as many organic chemicals as possible. Our first vintage was 2021, where we produced ~120 cases of Pinot Noir from Cancilla Vineyard. We did not farm the vineyard until the following growing season, 2022. In 2022 and 2023, we expanded our production to ~550 cases annually, focusing on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from Cancilla Vineyard, in addition to some purchased Gamay Noir (from an organically farmed, but not certified vineyard). While we believe in a narrow focus in terms of the number of grape varieties we work with, we do have plans to plant some other, lesser known grape varieties in the vineyard to both prepare for longer term climate changes and round out the palette of colors we can use in the winery. Our cellar practices leverage native/ambient yeasts for all fermentations, and we rarely, if ever, use external heating or cooling directly in the fermenters, instead trying to reduce our carbon footprint by positioning the fermenters in different locations to naturally heat and cool them, where necessary (e.g., putting them in the sun/shade). Aside from small, targeted sulfur additions where necessary, nothing else is added at any stage. Our goal is to reduce our current, low sulfur usage even further as we work to enhance the vineyard health through regenerative practices to ensure better chemistry in the grapes upon arrival at the winery. Currently, the grapes have naturally higher pH's - even when picked early - which is the primary driver of current sulfur usage in an effort to better ensure microbial stability in the wines. We aim to never fine or filter unless necessary, which to date includes only 1 wine (2022 Chardonnay). We take a very hands off approach overall in the winery, monitoring the wines but manipulating them. Elevage occurs in all neutral oak barrels, including the introduction of some Oregon Oak with the 2023 vintage, in an effort to further drill down on what true, Oregon "terroir" can be. Blending occurs blind, with generally no preconceived notions of the number of wines that will result, including no obligation to even use all barrels. Barrels not used are further cellared, with the hope they'll find their place somewhere down the line. In addition, our goals are to always be additive to the people and places around us, enhancing this land and enriching the community around us, whether through giving back, educating on the benefits of low input viticulture and winemaking, or providing spaces for community members to gather. We are simply at the beginning, and are excited to continue to learn, experiment, and observe both this landscape and the actions of the many farmers and vignerons we admire, to try and produce the highest quality, natural wines we can from this place while providing positive benefits to the community around us.