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Rusty Gafney, Grape Radio & Pinot File
The words "Shea Vineyard" on any bottling pretty much guarantees a pinot noir with plenty of charisma. Patricia Green of Patricia Green Cellars
Patricia Green calls Shea Vineyard "an American Grand Cru." —Wine News Ken Wright of Ken Wright Cellars
"Shea (Vineyard) rides the fence between red and black fruit profiles. You get everything from strawberry to cassis and lots of texture without being heavy. No other vineyard can do this." —Wine News Mark Vlossak of St. Innocent
"Besides the melange of red/black fruit, the wines have the floral aromatics of violets and dark red roses and a real subtle tannic profile." —Wine News Cole Danehower, James Beard Award Winning Writer
"The Shea Vineyard name has become one of the most prestigious labels in Oregon, placing it squarely among the elite terroirs of New World Pinot Noir." —Oregon Wine Report Greg Walter, Publisher Pinot Report
Pinot Passion Award: Shea Vineyard is one of America's six vineyards you can trust for a guarantee of quality in a bottle of pinot noir.
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Shea vineyard sits on sedimentary soil over fractured sandstone. Vine spacing is 5x7 yielding 1,245 plants per acre. Shea was one of the early vineyards in this area of Yamhill County and on this soil type. Today, the vineyard is surrounded by some of the premiere wineries making Pinot noir in the "New World."
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| This map shows the location of the vineyard and wine cellar. (view larger) |
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This map shows how the vineyard is planted. (view larger) |
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Sustainable Farming
Highest ranking 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009
Our approach to growing wine grapes that express their terroir and our approach to being responsible stewards of the land are rooted in science. We use the results of scientific analysis as our guiding light. We have not concluded that all synthetic materials are by definition harmful. In this outlook we are joined by the USDA and sustainable farming organizations such as LIVE and Salmon Safe. This is in contrast to some well publicized approaches to growing that seem to us to be rooted in romanticism and nostalgia for farming in an earlier era.
We are pleased that we have recently been recognized for our efforts. Recently the US Department of Agriculture created the Conservation Security Program to recognize and support outstanding stewardship of agricultural lands. CSP identifies those "farmers and ranchers who are meeting the highest standards of conservation and environmental management". In our Yamhill River basin over 500 farms pursued the program. 104 were accepted based on past and current practices. 32 of those were recognized as having practices at the highest level of stewardship. Shea Vineyard was one of the 32.
Farm Workers Make It Happen
We employ 10 workers on our year round vineyard crew under the supervision of vineyard manager Jesus Marin. Their skill developed over years in our vineyard is a large reason our fruit is so highly regarded. All are covered by health insurance and so are their families. Our seasonal worker staff often gets us up to 35-40 workers during the height of the growing season. Our record at seasons end is 150 workers harvesting our grapes. It can get frantic when we are rushing to bring in the fruit before the onset of rain. We are quite proud that since we put the first plants in the ground in 1989 we have not experienced a single injury.
Notable Ratings of Shea Vineyard Designated Pinot Noir
2007
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Shea Wine Cellars:
Homer
Pinot Report 95, Wine Advocate 94
Highest rated wine of the vintage by the Wine Advocate
Block 33
Wine Advocate 93, Wine Spectator 90
East Hill
Pinot Report 97, Wine Advocate 92
East Hill and Pommard Clone tied for the highest rating ever for an Oregon Pinot
Estate
Pinot Report 94, Wine Advocate 91, Wine Spectator 90
Pommard Clone
Pinot Report 97, Wine Spectator 91
East Hill and Pommard Clone tied for the highest rating ever for an Oregon Pinot
Chardonnay
Wine Advocate 90
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Other Wineries:
St. Innocent, Shea Vineyard
Wine Advocate 91
Penner Ash, Shea Vineyard
Wine Advocate 92
Ken Wright Cellars, Shea Vineyard
Wine Advocate 93
Bergstrom, Shea Vineyard
Wine Advocate 93
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2006
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Shea Wine Cellars:
Homer
Wine Advocate 94, Pinot Report 94, Wine Spectator 92
Pommard Clone
Pinot Report 95, Wine Advocate 93, Wine Spectator 93
Wadenswil Clone
Wine Advocate 92+, Pinot Report 92, Wine Spectator 90
East Hill
Pinot Report 97, Wine Advocate 92, Wine Spectator 91
Highest rating ever given an Oregon Pinot noir by Pinot Report.
Estate
Pinot Report 93, Wine Advocate 90
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Other Wineries:
Bergstrom, Shea Vineyard
Wine Advocate 94
Penner Ash, Shea Vineyard
Wine Spectator 93
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2005
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Shea Wine Cellars:
East Hill
Pinot Report 96, Wine Spectator 92
Pommard Clone
Pinot Report 96, Wine Spectator 90, Wine Advocate 92
Estate
Pinot Report 95
Homer
Pinot Report 94, Wine Advocate 93
Wadenswil Clone
Pinot Report 94, Wine Advocate 92
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Other Wineries:
Penner Ash, Shea Vineyard
Wine Spectator 94
Bergstrom, Shea Vineyard
Wine Spectator 92, Wine Advocate 94
Ken Wright Cellars, Shea Vineyard
Wine Advocate 94
Boedecker, Shea Vineyard
Wine Advocate 93
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2004
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Shea Wine Cellars:
Block 23
Pinot Report 96, Wine Spectator 90
Wadenswil Clone
Pinot Report 94, Wine Spectator 93
East Hill
Pinot Report 95, Wine Spectator 94
Estate
#15 on Wine Spectators list of 100 top wines of the year, Wine Spectator 95, Pinot Report 94
This is the highest ranking ever for any Oregon Wine.
Homer
Wine Spectator 95, Pinot Report 95
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Other Wineries:
Bergström, Shea Vineyard
Wine Spectator 94, Wine Advocate 92
Torii Mor, Shea Vineyard
Wine Spectator 92
Penner Ash, Shea Vineyard
Wine Spectator 93
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2003
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Shea Wine Cellars:
Block 23
Pinot Report 95, Wine Spectator 92
Block 32
Pinot Report 95
Homer
Pinot Report 94, Wine Spectator 91
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Other Wineries:
Penner Ash, Shea Vineyard
Wine Spectator 93
Sine Qua Non, Shea Vineyard
Wine Advocate 92
Raptor Ridge, Shea Vineyard
Wine Spectator 92
St. Innocent, Shea Vineyard
Wine Advocate 93
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2002
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Shea Wine Cellars:
Block 23
Pinot Report 93, Wine Spectator 92
Pommard Clone
Pinot Report 94, Wine Spectator 91
Estate
Pinot Report 91, Wine Spectator 90
Homer
Wine Spectator 91
Block 25
Wine Spectator 91
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Other Wineries:
Sine Qua Non, Shea Vineyard
Wine Advocate 96
Highest rating ever given an Oregon Pinot by Robert Parker
St. Innocent, Shea Vineyard
Wine Advocate 94
Beaux Freres, Belle Soeurs, Shea Vineyard
Wine Spectator 94
Ken Wright Cellars, Shea Vineyard
Wine Spectator 93
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