Wines & Vines

June 2016 Enology & Viticulture Issue

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42 WINES&VINES June 2016 P erched on a knoll overlooking the town of Day- ton, Ore., and the Willamette River in the dis- tance, the boutique winery Bill Stoller built in 2006 is a local landmark. Nestled among 373 acres of rolling oak savannah, Stoller Family Estate was the country's first winery to receive LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certifica- tion from the U.S. Green Building Council. Designed by Portland, Ore.-based architect Ernest Munch, the original building's stringent design guide- lines and certification program were a mark of distinc- tion that both expressed Stoller's sense of himself as a steward of the family property and distinguished the winery from others Bill Stoller "wanted a sustainable building," Munch told Wines & Vines during a tour of the facility in 2008. "He wanted some guidance to do that, and then you have certi- fication. And that brings you here rather than another winery, which may do the same thing but it's not certified." A new direction But as vineyard acreage approaches its designated limit of 215 acres of the Stoller estate, it occurred to Stoller and Gary Mortensen, who joined the winery as president in 2011, that a new element could be added to Stoller's story. Rather than sell fruit from its vineyards to others, a second winery on the property could use the fruit for a more affordable tier of estate wines. "We realized there was a real limit to how much we could grow the LEED winery. The LEED winery is wonder- fully energy-efficient, but it's not necessarily efficient for scaling," Mortensen said this spring, as the first vintage made in the new winery awaited bottling. "We started to realize we had an opportunity to grow the brand, and the Stoller Family Estate Green construction for the budget-minded in Oregon By Peter Mitham TECHNICAL SPOTLIGHT The arrangement of tanks around the perimeter of the new winery creates a central space for working with barrels and equipment.

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