Afternoon walk: Family members take a late-winter stroll through the Flat Block, planted in 1979, with the Steep Slope rising in the background. (Photo: David Reamer)
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Bud break: The vines awake as buds push out into the Eola Hills spring air. (Photo: Terry Casteel)
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Early summer: Brilliant Asian poppies stand watch over our estate vineyard. (Photo: Terry Casteel)
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Estate Pinot noir: Own-rooted vines planted in 1977 show a flourish of clusters as harvest time nears. (Photo: Terry Casteel)
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Fall afternoon: Our fruit has been picked and the vineyards turn an opulent golden color as fall arrives in Willamette Valley wine country. (Photo: Terry Casteel)
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Garden view: An afternoon at Bethel Heights isn’t complete without sipping some wine on our deck amongst native wildflowers and plants.
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Neighbors: A sign that spring has arrived: our neighbor’s sheep now have lambs…a great welcoming committee for visitors. (Photo: David Reamer)
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Old vines rising: A West Block Pinot noir vine enjoys a sunny winter afternoon. (Photo: David Reamer)
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Ongoing education: Ted, Mimi, and Ben Casteel discuss shoot positioning among the West Block Wädenswil-clone Pinot noir vines, planted in 1977. (Photo: David Reamer)
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Own-rooted Pinot noir: The heart of Bethel Heights Vineyard: own-rooted Pinot noir planted in 1977, still thriving year after year. (Photo: David Reamer)
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Spring rings: Warm early summer sunlight filters across the Eola-Amity Hills. (Photo: Terry Casteel)
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View from the office: The breathtaking sight of Mt. Jefferson from Bethel Heights Vineyard on a clear day. (Photo: David Reamer)
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Wente Chardonnay: Nearly ripe for the picking, the pride of our white wine program is our Wente clone Chardonnay, planted in 1977 and bottled as our Estate Grown Chardonnay. (Photo: Terry Casteel)
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What the birds see: The exceptional view looking across Bethel Heights Vineyard and the winery toward the Coast Range.
The Vineyard
The heart of Bethel Heights Vineyard is Pinot noir. Our original estate vineyard was planted in 1977 and today three-fourths, or 37 acres, is planted to Pinot noir. Justice Vineyard, planted in 1999 adjacent to our estate, added another 20 acres of Pinot noir for the estate blend starting in 2003.
Our oldest vines, planted in 1977 and 1979, are Pommard and Wädenswil clones. More recent plantings include Dijon clones 114, 115, 667, and 777. Our Estate Grown bottling blends fruit from all sections of our home vineyards, creating one of our signature wines.
The estate vineyard is planted on a south-facing hillside rising from 480 to 620 feet in elevation, with shallow, well-drained Jory and Nekia soils of volcanic origin. Our 20-acre Justice Vineyard sits lower on the hillside, with soils that show the transition between volcanic layers above and the older underlying marine sedimentary layers of the original ocean seabed below.
Over the years, certain sections of our estate vineyard have consistently yielded superior Pinot noir of distinctive character, most notably the Southeast Block, the Flat Block, and the West Block. A few barrels from these sections are reserved each year and bottled as separate block-designated wines. We also make small lots of vineyard-designated Pinot noir from our own Justice Vineyard and other respected vineyards in the Eola Hills.
In addition to Pinot noir, we also make an exciting selection of white wines: Estate Grown Chardonnay, unoaked Chardonnay, and Estate Grown Pinot blanc, all from Bethel Heights Vineyard, as well as Pinot gris, Riesling, and Grüner Veltliner sourced from several Willamette Valley and southern Oregon vineyards. Our winemaker, Ben Casteel, has a great interest and passion for aromatic white wines and each is given the same attention to detail in the vineyard and the winery that we give to Pinot noir.
