Provincial Vineyards

It all started with a casual interest in wine that developed in the mid-90s while living in Texas. At that time I had noticed, from casual Internet surfing on the subject, that Pinot Noir was a big thing in Oregon. In 1997 I accepted a job offer in Portland. Once settled in, I started a viticulture and wine making hobby with the purchase of a dozen Pinot Noir plants. This budding (sorry) interest got out of control when I attended a Fall viticulture class at Chemeketa college in Salem. That was followed by additional courses and a small planting of 80 plants in 2002/2003. Finally my wife and I decided to get serious about wine grape growing, I had completely succumbed to the viticulture bug that had, in hindsight, attacked me in Texas. In short order I was able to find 10 acres of prime Willamette Valley land suitable for viticulture. Alas it was too expensive, I could not quite put the deal together. During my subsequent period of despair, along came my older brother (Bert) to the rescue with a “I wouldn’t mind investing in a vineyard” comment. Provincial Vineyards LLC was born on the spot.