Asilda
You will rarely meet anyone as interesting as Earl. With a background in microbiology and chemistry, Earl has spent his life doing applied science. In 1976, he founded a company in Spokane, WA that finds and purifies biological source materials for use in treating people with allergies (dust mites, cat fur, pollen, etc…). While that may sound dull, Earl’s rare, almost boyish curiosity and knack for mischief make the life of a scientist seem more interesting than the typical day-to-day that we all live. Meanwhile, Peggy shares his humor and quick wit and being around the two of them always makes for interesting and fun conversation.
Trying his best to wrestle with the potential boredom of retirement, Earl transitioned from home winemaker to estate winery. In 2011, he and Peggy planted six different clones of Pinot noir amounting to a total of eleven acres on his own Timbale and Thyme property in the Yamhill-Carlton district. Just down the road from Lemelson’s Stermer Vineyard and across the street from Soter’s Mineral Springs Vineyard, his young vines sit on soils that have undeniable pedigree. And true to that pedigree, the Lumpkins hired Buddy Beck to farm the site to perfection and Robert Brittan to make the first three vintages of wine. Anthony King is now the winemaker for Asilda, creating wines bursting with complex fruit, spice and rich mouthfeel representative of the site. Consistently delicious and deep, these wines are built to last but production is so limited they need to be snatched up as soon as they are released.