Autumn has arrived and Mother Nature is delivering the nice warm days and cool nights that Pinot Noir grapes love. At the time of this fall wine club release, we are in the middle of our 2024 harvest, working hard and waiting to see how it all turns out. So far, we have brought in fruit from three of our vineyards and still have to finish picking at our Compton Family Farm and Hoot & Howl Vineyards.

The spring was slow to warm up, but heat spikes throughout the summer advanced fruit ripening earlier than anticipated. We monitor the sugar levels (called brix) in the grapes before harvesting, to ensure the right balance of acidity. More heat = more sugar in the grape. Wine grapes typically have higher acid and sugar levels than table grapes. The smaller size, thicker skins and seeds in wine grapes play an important role too: adding balance, structure and complexity in our wines. This year’s smaller Pinot grape clusters with a higher skin to flesh ratio should give the 2024 red wines richer color and tannins.

We are a true family business, with all of us working together through harvest and crush, getting tired and punchy, and cooking and eating most of our shared meals at the winery. It’s amazing to watch Matt, our co-owner, winemaker and vineyard manager, work so incredibly hard from sunrise to well beyond sunset. He gets to the vineyards in the early morning for harvesting, trucks the fruit to the winery, and spends the rest of the day getting everything weighed, crushed, and starting fermentation – making the wine-making magic happen! You’ll see Tabitha and the Compton boys helping too: weighing fruit, cleaning and moving bins and equipment, and on all steps of the processing line. Many thanks to the awesome wrestling coaches at Philomath H.S. and Salem OR for all the athletic conditioning. Our brawny sons are now a great help with manual punch downs of red wines as they ferment on the skins. We share punch down duty twice daily for several weeks.

The true origin of the delicious Compton Wines you enjoy so much is found beneath the topsoil. Working in harmony with the vineyard ecosystem is what our regenerative farming is all about. Healthy living soil rich with beneficial mycorrhizal fungi grows strong resilient vines that won’t require treatments and interventions. Matt is an intentional winemaker and his approach to growing grapes is holistic and proactive, not reactive. As foliage grows in the early spring, Matt pulls leaf samples from each vineyard to lab test and analyze what the plants need to thrive. We never use synthetics and have incorporated adaptive grazing and cover cropping to naturally add beneficial nutrients to the vineyards.

We strive to make clean, well-rounded wines that are true to the varietal characteristics of the grape, with intention and care all the way from our local vineyards to the bottling line. Thank you for including Compton Wines in your special occasions and everyday happenings. Please join us in supporting the international campaign “Come Over October”, which encourages all of us to invite others to gather together and share wine, food, conversation, and friendship, in the month of October, and throughout the year. Consider our Tasting Room a year-round extension of your living room or backyard, and bring a friend – or 10! We look forward to sharing wine and friendship with you for many years to come.

Cheers, Matt & Tabitha Compton

Rose of Pinot Noir, 2023 – 92 Rating (2 & 6 Mix Clubs)
“A pretty pale copper hue, this is aromatically piercing, tart and refreshing. Citrus fruits are here in abundance – a lush mix of lemon, lime, grapefruit and a touch of pineapple. With aeration it broadens out, touching on red berry fruits. An elegant style but classic for rosés from Pinot Noir.” – Paul Gregutt

Pinot Gris, 2023 – 92 Rating (6 Mix Club)
“Catches the hint of blush that characterizes this grape. It’s in a fine drinking window, with citrus and pear and table grapefruit flavors. Almost fleshy, nicely balanced and textural” – Paul Gregutt
Varietal purity is on display here, offering classic Pinot Gris flavors with hints of citrus. pear, peach, and a touch of almond – this one is something special.

Compton Sparkling Brut, 2019 – 90 Rating (6 Mix Club)
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 wine making: a slow, elegant transformation from still wine to sparkling, all occurring inside the bottle.

BoVine Vineyard Pinot Noir, 2022 (All Clubs)
Matt Compton planted BoVine Vineyard with Pommard and Wadenswil clones of Pinot Noir in Alpine, Oregon back in 2008. The land was formerly cow pasture and we appreciate their bovine contributions to the soil. BoVine PInot Noir is aged for 10 months in French Oak before blending and bottling.

Hoot & Howl Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, 2021 – NEW RELEASE
(2 & 6 Red and 6 Mix Clubs)
Hoot & Howl Vineyard, located outside of Philomath, Oregon, was one of the few vineyards in the South Willamette area planted to Cabernet in 1987. Matt Compton took over management of it in 2015, and his handiwork is evident in the quality of this full-bodied, deliciously rough-edged wine.

Alpine Cuvee Pinot Noir, 2021 – NEW RELEASE (6 Mix and 6 Red Clubs)
This previous vintage of our Alpine Cuvee Pinot Noir was 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.