Sequitur

A twelve-acre estate on Ribbon Ridge established by Michael G. Etzel and his partner Carey Critchlow, who purchased a 60-acre Douglas fir tree farm in December 2010. Etzel is the founder of Beaux Frères, which he created in 1986 after driving his family from Colorado Springs to Oregon and buying a foreclosed 88-acre pig farm with investment from his sister Pat and her husband, the wine critic Robert Parker Jr. Sequitur is a separate project with independent ownership, unconnected to Beaux Frères’ current corporate owners.

The vineyard sits on a perch just above Beaux Frères’ Upper Terrace, enclosed on three sides by tall Douglas fir that shelter its microclimate. Twelve acres are planted, mostly Pinot Noir with roughly half an acre of Chardonnay, established between 2011 and 2012 with the first vintage in 2014. The site carries an unusual clonal mix — seventeen selections including Coury, Chalone, Swan, Calera, Rochioli, Mt. Eden, and Wädenswil taken from David Lett’s original Eyrie plantings — on marine sedimentary soils never conventionally farmed. Vines are planted densely, roughly 36 to 40 inches apart.

Etzel has advocated biodynamic farming since long before it was common, describing a program without chemicals or irrigation and only two sprays a year, one dandelion and one stinging nettle. Winemaking is shared with his son Mikey. Recent vintages have produced two distinct Pinot Noirs, one aged in French oak and one raised entirely in Italian clay amphora, alongside a tiny quantity of Chardonnay.

The tasting room is part of Etzel Farm, a 60-acre property including forest, ponds, vegetable and flower gardens, a greenhouse, chickens, and Nubian goats. The room is set in a refurbished barn with a wood stove, handmade pottery, and woodworking by the owners throughout. Tours of the production space are often included.