Your Winter 2024 Compton Pickup Wine Club release includes wines that are perfect for a cozy winter.

Happy New Year! We hope all of you enjoyed a wonderful holiday season with loved ones and celebrated a year well-lived. The Compton family, of course, rang in 2024 with our new Compton Sparkling Brut. Enjoying your own personalized bottle of bubbly is a delicious reward for all the hard work of making wine. We also celebrated Matt’s 50th birthday in December, as well as our middle and youngest sons excelling at wrestling tournaments.

Winter at the winery is “Cellar Season” when most of our labor is done indoors. The 2023 growing season yielded high-quality fruit and the biggest harvest since 2016. Every possible vessel we could fill with wine has been filled with wine. Now the vineyards are getting pruned and will lay dormant until spring bud break. Red wines are aging in oak barrels and we have bottled the first of our 2023 white wines (Pinot Gris) on January 5th.

2024 marks the fourth year of our stewardship of Compton Family Farms and Vineyard. The hard work we put into our farm and animals each day is born of passion and love. Matt had been managing the vineyard portion, then known as Deerhaven Vineyard, for many years before we had the opportunity to buy the whole parcel and move in. Even after all those years observing and working the vineyard, we are learning so much more about the land and the rhythms of nature from being present every day. We farm regeneratively, which means we always focus on the overall health of our ecosystem from the soil up. Incorporating animals for adaptive grazing has been a big piece of the puzzle. The goats will start kidding (having babies) in late February and the sheep will start lambing in March. We learned to breed the goats ahead of the sheep so we will have extra milk available for the lambs if needed. We also enjoy the goats’ milk for Matt’s cheesemaking.

The small business of our wines is also one that we work from the ground up, from growing the grapes all the way to the finished product. When we started our winery in 2003, I never imagined we would learn so much about all the aspects of bringing a product to the final market to sell. I have learned about glass, paper, glue, website design, accounting, grapes, soil, wines, restaurants, grocery stores, wine tasting, people, relationships, and so much more. Every day is so fun and I’m thankful for the gifts and education that I have been given. I tell our sons we are meant to meet all the different people in our lives – good or bad. We can and will learn from everyone. I am thankful for all the conversations shared with my customers each day and feel energized by the time we spend together. Relationships are what make people and small businesses like ours thrive. Thank you for sharing your time, knowledge, stories and presence with us. We couldn’t do it without you.

Cheers!
Matt and Tabitha Compton

January 2024
COMPTON PICKUP CLUB

THE WINES

3 Pigs Red Blend – NEW
Our popular 3 Pigs have moved on from Pinot Noir to a Red Blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Gamay. We practice regenerative agriculture at the Compton Family Farm and Vineyards, which includes adaptive grazing of Kunekune pigs, sheep, goats, chickens, ducks and geese.


Pinot Gris, 2022
Matt Compton has outdone himself with the 2022 vintage of Compton Pinot Gris. Willamette Valley, dry farmed grapes from Compton Family Farms, Newton Creek Vineyard, Hoot & Howl Vineyard and Mary’s Peak Vineyard were whole cluster pressed and fermented in both stainless steel and concrete egg tanks before blending and bottling. The blending of these two ferments yields a gris with bright fruit flavors and balanced acidity and a beautiful pale blush hue. Rave reviews from customers and staff alike!

Old Vine Series
Compton Sparkling Brut, 2019
Our new bubbly is here for all your toasting needs! Compton Brut is made with old vine Pinot Noir from Mary’s Peak Vineyard and old vine 108 clone Chardonnay from Hoot & Howl Vineyard in Philomath, Oregon, in the traditional method of sparkling winemaking: a slow, elegant transformation from still wine to sparkling, all occurring inside the bottle.

Orange Gewürztraminer, 2021
A unique and refreshing orange wine! Skin-contact fermentation of Old Vine Gewürztraminer grapes from Mary’s Peak Vineyard aged in neutral oak brings a lovely peachy color and amazing perfumed fruit bouquet while staying light and bone-dry on the palate.

OSU Woodhall Vineyard Pinot Noir, 2021
A blend of old vine Pinot Noir clones from A and C blocks at Woodhall III Vineyard in Alpine, Oregon. Woodhall Vineyard Pinot Noir is aged 10 months on 20% new French Oak before blending and bottling.

Old Vine Series
Alpine Cuvée Pinot Noir, 2017
A blend of old-vine pinot noir from two dry-farmed vineyards in Alpine, Oregon: Woodhall III Vineyard, planted in 1976, and Bovine Vineyard, planted in 2008. Soils are Basalt and Red Jory series volcanic soils that typically show redder fruit aromas and flavors and elegant tannins. Alpine Cuvée Pinot Noir is aged 18 months in French oak barrels before blending and bottling.

Old Vine Series
Waldport, 2018
Named for the Oregon Coast town of Waldport. Port-style Merlot dessert wine is fortified with Brandy made by our friends at Spiritopia Distilling. Delicious paired with dark chocolate, orange and spiced desserts – or just sipped on its own.

January 2024 RECIPE

Mushroom Squares or Muffins

Pairs with Compton Pinot Gris

4 heaping cups of sliced mushrooms (bite-size pieces)

1 cup baking mix (or 1 cup flour, 1 tsp. baking powder, ½ tsp. salt)

½ cup grated parmesan, plus more for top

2 or 3 tsp. Garlic Lover’s Garlic* or your favorite garlic spice mix (salt free) to taste

Salt to taste (3/4 tsp. or less)

Pepper to taste

4 eggs, beaten

¼ cup olive oil

Instructions

  1. Mix dry ingredients including cheese in large bowl; mix egg and oil in small bowl; add egg mixture to dry ingredients and mix; add mushrooms and mix. Dump and spread into greased 8 x 8 inch pan. It will be very thick — it’s almost all mushroom. Sprinkle more cheese on top. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cut into 12 squares. Serve warm.Note: These are even better re-heated. Re-heat the cut portions on a sheet pan in oven or toaster oven. All the sides get nice and brown this way.Note: You can also make these in a muffin tin. Baking time would be less.*Garlic Lover’s Garlic is made by Oregon Flavor Rack in Eugene.Thank you to Barb Danko, a treasured wine club member of 12 years, for sharing her recipe.