Saffron Fields Vineyard

An estate winery in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA founded by Angela Summers and Sanjeev Lahoti, both chemical engineers living in Houston, who first walked the property during Thanksgiving week of 2003 and bought it four months later. The site had been a dairy farm and working grass seed farm. The first ten acres of Pommard Pinot Noir were planted in 2007, followed by twelve more in Dijon 115, 777, and Wädenswil. The name came from Sanjeev’s reaction to seeing a vineyard after harvest, overwhelmed by the saffron color of the field.

Winemaker Tony Rynders purchased the inaugural 2009 harvest; after tasting the first barrels, the owners decided to make their own wine, releasing the first estate bottling from the 2010 vintage. Rynders remains the winemaker, bringing a background that includes assistant winemaker at Argyle, red winemaker at Hogue Cellars, ten years as head winemaker at Domaine Serene, and his own Tendril label. Production centers on estate Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Rosé.

The hospitality center opened in 2013, built in part from wood salvaged from the 22,000-square-foot Laughlin Dairy barn that stood on the property, along with reclaimed timber from the mid-century Tillamook Burn. Japanese gardens designed by Hoichi Kurisu, former director of the Portland Japanese Garden, wrap around the building, with the Thales and Helios ponds, cascading waterfalls, and koi. Inside, the room doubles as a gallery for Angela’s contemporary art collection, spanning light installations, video, photography, painting, and sculpture, alongside rotating work by local and international artists.