“Autumn is a second spring when every
leaf is a flower” – Albert Camus

The air has a crisp chill, and Tabitha has started decorating the Tasting Room with pumpkins . . . it must be fall! October brings the exciting culmination of our year-round work in the vineyards as we harvest and crush the 2025 vintage. It truly is a family affair. Our three sons have been an invaluable addition to this year’s grape harvest. Kael, our eldest, is home from college and jumped right into pre-sunrise mornings in the vineyards. He graduated from Corvallis High School with the Oregon Seal of Biliteracy, a dual language immersion certificate and we are so proud to see him utilizing his Spanish speaking skills in the field leading our picking crews. Once the crew finishes picking, Kael loads the fruit onto the trailer and delivers the load to Matt at the winery, where father and son process the fruit together. Our two younger sons come over after school to help with punch-downs of fermenting red wines and relieve Kael so he can go set up back in the vineyard to pick the very next morning. Tabitha’s mom, Cheri, helps to keep everyone well fed, especially while Tabitha was on busy sales trips to Idaho and Washington.

The 2025 growing season in our mid-Willamette Valley area started with lots of rain in early spring and normal arrival of bud break. Then after a little rain in June, it stayed warm and very dry all summer. Our vineyards are dry farmed (not irrigated) so the grapevines build resiliency by establishing deep roots to access water and nutrients. Several periods of heat spikes sped up the timing of bloom, fruit set and ripening. We began an earlier than expected harvest on September 13th and continued till the end of the month.

We enjoyed a record grape harvest at BoVine vineyard this year. BoVine vineyard is owned by our friends, Bruce and Barb Ashenbrenner, whom you may know from their steadfast involvement in our local 4-H. Matt planted Pommard, Wadenswil and 667 clone Pinot Noir vines here in 2008 on land well-fertilized by years of raising cattle. Named for cows (bovine) and grape vines, “BoVine Vineyard” was born. Enjoy the new 2023 vintage BoVine Pinot Noir in your fall wine club release. Thank you for being a part of our wine club family and supporting our family business. We look forward to growing with you for many more years to come.

Cheers, Matt and Tabitha Compton

Pinot Blanc, 2023 – 91 Rating (2 & 6 Mix Club)
Tabitha’s favorite! Estate Pinot Blanc vines were planted in 1997 at our Compton Family Farms Vineyard in Philomath, Oregon. This Southeast facing vineyard is lower elevation and benefits from the rich soil series of the Willamette Valley. The cooler micro-climate here allows us to pick our Pinot Blanc later in the season when the flavors are full and expressive.

Rosé of Pinot Noir, 2023 – 92 Rating (6 Mix Club)
“Rosé all day” is more like “Rosé all year” around here. Rosé of Pinot Noir makes a lovely pairing with fall flavors and is a must for your Thanksgiving table. Enjoy your Rosé at a slightly warmer temperature when serving in the colder months. We always harvest our Pinot Noir earlier in the season for Rosé and sparkling wines to balance refreshing acidity with lush fruit flavors.

Sparkling Brut, 2019 – 90 Rating (6 Mix Club)
There’s no need to wait for a special occasion to enjoy our elegant Brut. Sparkling goes with everything! 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 Pinot Noir, 2023 – NEW (All Clubs)
Matt Compton planted BoVine Vineyard with Pommard, Wadenswil and 667 clones of Pinot Noir in Alpine, Oregon back in 2008. The land was formerly cow pasture and we appreciate their contributions to the soil. BoVine is another special Pinot Noir reserved for club members first. Cheers to moo!

Llewellyn Cuvee Pinot Noir, 2021 – 91 Rating (6 Red & 6 Mix Club)
Enjoy our blend of old-vine Pommard, Wädenswil and Dijon 115 pinot noir from three dry-farmed vineyards off of Llewellyn Road south of Corvallis/Philomath: Compton, Hoot & Howl, and Mary’s Peak Vineyard. These vineyards have alluvial and marine sedimentary soils which grow Pinot Noir that exhibits voluptuous and denser dark red berry and blue/black fruit with darker floral earth tones and bigger, heavier tannins. Llewellyn Cuvee Pinot Noir is aged for 12 months in French oak barrels and 6 months in our concrete egg.

Cabernet Sauvignon, Hoot & Howl Vineyard, 2021 (6 Red & 6 Mix Club)
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.

2 MIX CLUB
Pinot Blanc, 2023 – 91 Rating
Bovine Pinot Noir, 2023 – NEW

2 RED CLUB
Bovine Pinot Noir, 2023 – NEW
Llewellyn Cuvee Pinot Noir, 2021 91 Rating

6 MIX CLUB
Pinot Blanc, 2023 – 91 Rating
Rosé of Pinot Noir, 2023 – 92 Rating
Sparkling Brut, 2019 – 90 Rating
Bovine Pinot Noir, 2023 – NEW
Llewellyn Cuvee Pinot Noir, 2021 91 Rating
Cabernet Sauvignon, Hoot & Howl Vineyard, 2021

6 RED CLUB
Bovine Pinot Noir, 2023 (x2) – NEW
Llewellyn Cuvee Pinot Noir, 2021 (x2) 91 Rating
Cabernet Sauvignon, Hoot & Howl Vineyard, 2021 (x2)