Matzinger Davies Wine Company

Anna Matzinger and Michael Davies are a husband-and-wife team who spent years building separate careers before combining them. Anna spent fourteen years at Archery Summit, ten of them as winemaker, eventually serving as co-general manager. Michael, born in New Zealand, is Executive Winemaker at REX HILL and A to Z Wineworks. Portland Monthly once called them a power couple, which for once is accurate.

They founded Matzinger Davies in 2006 with the intention of making wines with a resonant voice — speaking to geographic origin, varietal typicity, and season, with authenticity and vibrancy as the calling cards. There’s a stated sense of humor in it too, which shows up in the wine names.

The portfolio is deliberately split across two very different landscapes. Small-lot Pinot Noir and Chardonnay come from the Willamette Valley; single-vineyard Sauvignon Blanc and Grenache come from Garnier Vineyard in the Columbia Gorge, just east of Mosier on the southern bank of the river, where volcanic eruptions, ancient basalt flows, and glacial floods left dramatic geology and lean soils.

The Chardonnay carries a nice piece of history. It’s old Wente and clone 76, from a site adjacent to where Dick Erath first planted Chardonnay in Oregon in 1974, organically and biodynamically farmed.

In 2025 they joined the Carlton Winemakers Studio, Oregon’s first alternating proprietorship and home to a dozen-plus independent producers. That’s where the tasting room is, open daily with no appointment needed.

They also host private tastings at their own historic arts and crafts home in McMinnville, just off Third Street, led by Anna herself. Ask her about her favorite wine and junk food pairing.