Ruby Vineyard & Winery

A 7.25-acre estate in the Laurelwood District AVA, within the greater Chehalem Mountains, farmed by Steve Hendricks and Flora Habibi. The first vines were planted in 1973 by John and Beth Hiestand using Wädenswil clone Pinot Noir cuttings taken from the South Block of Eyrie Vineyards, David Lett’s original planting. Further planting followed in 1979, with Riesling and Chardonnay later grafted over to Dijon 115 Pinot Noir in 1990. These are among the oldest own-rooted Pinot Noir vines in Oregon and the oldest in Washington County.

Hendricks is a fifth-generation Oregonian; his great-great-grandfather Abijah Hendricks arrived on the first wagon train to travel the Oregon Trail in 1843 and homesteaded 640 acres near Carlton in what is now the Yamhill-Carlton AVA. The couple purchased the property, then Beran Vineyards, in 2012 and named it Ruby after Flora’s favorite gemstone. The first commercial vintage followed in 2015. The Hendricks Legacy Pinot Noir comes from Timbale & Thyme Vineyard on that original homestead, and its label reproduces the family’s land deed.

The vineyard sits on Laurelwood soil, a rare wind-blown loess deposited on the northern slopes of the Chehalem Mountains at the end of the last ice age; the Laurelwood District AVA was established in 2020 to recognize it. Farming is dry-farmed, no-till, organic, and LIVE certified, with indigenous fermentations and gentle extraction. Andrew Kirkland has been winemaker since 2016, having worked as assistant winemaker under Eric Hamacher and at Brittan Vineyards under Robert Brittan. Production covers Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Rosé, and Gamay Noir, most available only at the winery.

The tasting room opened in September 2016, with a deck and outdoor seating looking across the vineyard toward Mount Hood and Bald Peak. Cheese boards and snacks are available, and picnics are welcome.