Alloro Vineyard

David Nemarnik grew up in Portland with an Italian-American mother and a Croatian father born just outside Trieste. Family visits to his father’s village left him with a picture of what artisan food and wine production looked like as a way of living, not a business. He played on his great-grandfather’s wine press as a child. He started making wine in his townhome garage as a hobby while running his family’s Portland produce company.

He found the site on a bike ride. Lebeau Road was on his regular route through the Chehalem Mountains, and he used to stop at one particular field, drink his water, and watch the sun set. Southwest exposure, about 700 feet, Laurelwood soils — decomposed basalt with a layer of wind-blown loess on top. He bought it in 1999 and named it Alloro, Italian for laurel, after both Laurel Ridge and the soil series.

The estate now runs 110 acres with roughly 34 planted, mostly Pinot Noir with smaller blocks of Chardonnay, Riesling, and Muscat, between 450 and 700 feet. All wines are 100% estate. Roughly half the fruit is sold to other producers; the rest becomes about 3,000 cases. The property is LIVE, Salmon Safe, and IOBC certified, with solar generating power for the whole estate.

Tom Fitzpatrick has been winemaker and general manager since 2010, with a master’s in viticulture and enology from UC Davis and vintages in New Zealand, Napa, Burgundy, and three years at Hamacher Wines. His stated aim is a wine that expresses place at a moment in time, which in practice means minimal intervention, gentle handling, and French oak only. Alloro wines have been selected for the International Pinot Noir Celebration multiple times.

The farm is genuinely a farm. Heirloom sheep mow the cover crops, Hereford cattle and heritage pigs graze among fig, olive, and chestnut trees, manure fertilizes the vineyard, and the culinary gardens feed the kitchen. They planted a wheat field so they could make their own pasta.

The tasting house, opened in 2021, sits above the vines with high beamed ceilings, a fireplace, and a covered patio with its own outdoor fireplace. Cypress trees line the drive. Food ranges from small bites to the Cinque Cose pairing and a full Pranzo lunch.