2008 vineyard expansion
“Owning a vineyard is a good way to make a large fortune into a small one.”
Truer words have never been said and yet here we are, brother Dan and myself, in spring of 2008 planting another five acres of vines. Well, lets be clear about this: you talked us into this! If Carlton Hill Pinot Noirs had simply been good, every day wines, I would have been content to farm our original six acres. But, noooo!!! The response received from nearly every person who has purchased 
our wines compelled the planting of the remaining eastern slopes of our vineyard site.
And, while it might sound like an old cliché, when it comes to the making of great wine, it is all about the grapes and the dirt they are planted in. So, here we go again.
This time we elected to plant what is historically the very most tried and true Pinot Noir clones here in Oregon, namely Pommard and Wadensville. This planting, when combined with the existing 777 and 115 Dijon clones, should contribute additional nuance and complexity to future Carlton Hill vintages. But I am getting ahead of myself. We still have three years of work ahead of us.
While genetically distinct from the vines in the existing vineyard, the new vines share the same eastern exposures and, like their older siblings, are spaced four feet apart in rows seven feet in width (at a density of about 1550 plants to the acre). In year three, the canes will be trained using the single-Guyot method, where one fruiting cane per vine is tied horizontally along the fruiting wire approximately two feet above the ground.
This year we also intend to seek LIVE and Salmon Safe certifications for both the new and old vineyard blocks. We have been farming this way for some time so it is time to make it official. We will keep you posted.
THE
Vineyard
Currently six
acres in production, Carlton Hill Vineyard sits in the center of Oregon
appellation Yamhill-Carlton District. The Yamhill-Carlton
appellation, which is comprised of the sedimentary remains of an
ancient ocean bed, is unique in that the soils are some of the oldest
in the Willamette Valley region.
And, while the Appellation is
still very young, the wines produced from here reveal very distinct
bright, black fruit flavors. The Carlton Hill Vineyard, sitting
at an elevation ranging between 420 and 480 feet, enjoys eastern
exposures not unlike those in Burgundy and is comprised of Willakenzie
and Peavine soils. Planted to 115 and 777 Dijon clones, the
vineyard utilizes a dense planting scheme which insures the
concentration and intensity we seek in our wines. And yes,
sitting on top of Carlton Hill is a croquet court where from time to
time local wine makers and friends engage in a battle for
supremacy. Thus the presence of croquet mallets on our logo.
David and Dan Polite, Carlton Hill
Proprietors
