Evening Land Vineyards

Al MacDonald planted Seven Springs in 1984 on an east-facing slope in the Eola-Amity Hills, working under the direction of Burgundian legend Dominique Lafon. The site sits against a forest of Douglas fir with Mount Hood and Mount Jefferson on the horizon, in rocky, iron-rich volcanic soil, and it has been dry-farmed since the day it went in.

What came off it changed Oregon. Seven Springs fruit went to Adelsheim, Bethel Heights, Cristom, Domaine Drouhin, Evesham Wood, Penner-Ash, and Rex Hill, and the wines made from it are among the most decorated in the state’s history.

Rajat Parr and Sashi Moorman took over in 2014. Parr ran the wine program for the Michael Mina restaurant group and wrote The Sommelier’s Atlas of Taste; Moorman came out of Stolpman and his own PiedraSassi label. They already had Sandhi and Domaine de la Côte together in the Santa Rita Hills. They call themselves stewards rather than owners, which is the right word for a vineyard this old.

Eighty-five acres are under vine, converted to biodynamic farming in 2007 and LIVE certified. Pinot Noir dominates, in Calera, Pommard, Swan, and Mount Eden selections, with Chardonnay behind it and a little Gamay. The Anden bottling comes from the original own-rooted 1984 vines, now slowly succumbing to phylloxera and producing very little — 159 cases in a recent vintage. La Source comes off the rocky, windswept summit where Pacific air pours through the Van Duzer gap and forces the roots deeper.

Tastings happen in cabins on the property, each with a wood-burning fireplace, and typically open with a splash of Blanc de Noirs. A waterfall hike with a soil pit stop is available for anyone who wants to see the ground the wine comes from.