“These wines are exceptionally elegant editions of Pinot Noir with smooth satiny textures, attractive overlays of red berry fruit, floral aromas and peppery spice, and intensity without weight” – John Winthrop Haeger, Pacific Pinot Noir
Lazy River
A stunning 40-acre vineyard tucked behind the trees in Yamhill-Carlton AVA, Lazy River Vineyard is a unique piece of land which produces some of the most sought after grapes in the valley.
Located just to the west of Yamhill, this property is the culmination of a dream for Ned and Kirsten Lumpkin that began when Ned first fell in love with Riesling wines in Germany.
In 2000, they found their land and set out to fulfill those dreams in the form of a 147-acre gem with a seemingly perfect slope and terroir to grow not only Riesling, but Pinot noir and Pinot gris. While preparing for excavation and planting, they discovered that the vineyard had a different soil type than those typically found in the surrounding lands. This vineyard site had volcanic Jory soils, most often associated with Dundee Hills AVA, instead of the marine sediment soils typically found in Yamhill-Carlton AVA. This distinction makes this beautiful and productive vineyard extremely unique, combining the qualities that make Yamhill-Carlton distinctive with the twist of volcanic soils. It truly is one of a kind. Ned and Kirsten make about 700 cases per year off this prized piece of land. The rest of the fruit is cultivated for a veritable who’s who of great Pinot producers. Sometimes you will see Lazy River Vineyard listed as a vineyard designate on other labels, but often it is just a well-known industry secret.
In addition to this great wine story, there is another wine story: Ned and Kirsten (along with Eric Hamacher and Luisa Ponzi) are owners of Carlton Winemakers Studio. Together, they had a vision of a world class, state-of-the-art facility where small wine producers could come together in a cooperative and collaborative way to produce small lots of hand-crafted wines, without the burden of owning a winery. Carlton Winemakers Studio has been accomplishing this wonderful feat since 2002. Currently home to fourteen different brands, this vision of theirs has been at the center of the dreams and passion of numerous great winemakers who might not have otherwise had a venue for their artistic labor.