Take the back roads to Bethel Heights and ride the Wheatland Ferry
- Posted on September 05 2011, 8:40 pm
- Posted by Patd
Any time is a good time to leave the freeway behind and take the scenic route from Portland to Bethel Heights. Back roads with little traffic take you through the heart of our lush Willamette Valley farm country with its amazing diversity of crops, past farm stands overflowing with local produce, and across the Willamette River on a delightful ferry ride.
The Long and Glorious Career of Bethel Heights Southeast Block
- Posted on June 25 2011, 9:14 am
- Posted by BHV Blog
When we planted it in 1979, the Southeast Block looked just like the other two Pinot blocks planted that year on the newly cleared east side of our vineyard, with cuttings from Dick Erath’s Pommard clone Pinot noir stuck directly into the ground without benefit of phylloxera-resistant rootstock.
The beetles have arrived!
- Posted on March 27 2011, 10:53 am
- Posted by BHV Blog
"Predatory Beetles
Flying in from everwhere
Escaping flooded fields
Fleeing bird’s beaks
Zooming through vent holes of compost bins
Feeling safe
Suddenly becoming
The top of the food chain.
A congress of beetles
Skating across
The orange flows Directs the food chain
Of flyers and crawlers.
With the Beetles
In charge
It’s only poop for so long."
(from The Return of the Fertilizer King and Other Tales, by Mark U. Sturges)*
Introducing our first cork-free Pinot Noir!
- Posted on January 25 2011, 5:35 am
- Posted by BHV Blog
Bethel Heights is pleased to announce the release of our first 2009 vintage Pinot noir. We had a very warm summer in 2009 that gave us ripe, rich Pinot flavors, with a cool end of season to retain acidity. The wines are luscious and vibrant, and drinking beautifully even at this early stage in their life.
We are also pleased to announce that both our 2009 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir (immediate release) and our 2009 Estate Grown Pinot Noir (anticipated June release) have Stelvin closures instead of corks, promising that the wine in every bottle is exactly the same vibrant, flawless wine we put into the bottle, uncompromised by any degree of cork taint.
Casteel Custom Bottling is upsizing – top condition bottling equipment for sale
- Posted on December 30 2010, 7:31 am
- Posted by BHV Blog
FOR SALE: Wine Bottling machine
2003 GAI 3052 Top Monoblock
$125,000
With custom built trailer and tractor
$300,000
Newest member of the Bethel Heights family!
- Posted on December 10 2010, 6:28 am
- Posted by BHV Blog
We are pleased to introduce the newest addition to the Bethel Heights family, Dana B. Frank. Dana has been hired as our Direct Consumer Sales Manager, a position we have created for the purpose of focusing more time on our tasting room, on-line, and Cellar Club customers.
Dana comes to us with a wide array of wine experience in Portland. She received the Certified Sommelier award from the Court of Master Sommeliers in 2005, and has spent the past 5 years working as a buyer and sommelier for both retailers and restaurants in Portland such as New Seasons, 23Hoyt, clarklewis, and Grüner where she was also the general manager. Additionally, Dana worked for Triage Wines, selling an eclectic portfolio of small-production, naturally-farmed wines from around the world.
The trees are ready!
- Posted on December 04 2010, 7:24 am
- Posted by BHV Blog
Kate’s fresh fragrant trees, just cut yesterday, were lining up last night outside the tasting room door, ready for this weekend’s Wine and Trees Special. Terry was poised to get first choice, but they are all beautiful!
Taste with us this weekend and take home a tree!
- Posted on December 02 2010, 7:20 am
- Posted by BHV Blog
If you come to Bethel Heights this weekend (December 4th and 5th) you’ll not only get to taste some great wines; you can also take home a fresh cut, sustainably grown Christmas tree. This weekend, just $30 will get you a taste of all six wines we are pouring (including a special sneak peek at one of our delicious 2009 pinots!) and a beautiful, sustainably grown, 5-7 foot noble fir Christmas tree to take home and deck with yule-tide splendor.
If you’ve ever visited Bethel Heights, you’ve probably met Kate, our Tasting Room/Cellar Club manager. But you may not know that the Feldman Tree Farm, just a short distance up the road from Bethel Heights Vineyard, is Kate’s family business. The level of care the Feldman family takes with their trees is above and beyond the rest of the industry. And it shows; these are beautiful trees!
“Bethel Heights’ most recent collection is uniformly outstanding.”
- Posted on November 19 2010, 4:15 am
- Posted by BHV Blog
“Bethel Heights’ most recent collection is uniformly outstanding.” Thus spake Dr. Jay Miller in the October issue of The Wine Advocate.
Eight 2008 Pinots rated 90 or above. Four current release whites “represent excellent to outstanding value.” We could have said it ourselves, but it’s so much nicer when someone else says it for us. Check out the reviews!
Terry Casteel, ¡Salud! Legacy Winemaker
- Posted on November 15 2010, 6:08 am
- Posted by BHV Blog
Terry was recognized as Legacy Winemaker of the year at the ¡Salud! Pinot Noir Auction on Saturday, for his many contributions to the work of ¡Salud! and to Oregon wine over the years. He received a standing ovation for the thoughts he shared when he stood up to acknowledge the honor.