HillCrest Vineyards - Roseburg, OR - Wineries on Waymarking.com

Richard Sommer, “Father of the Modern Oregon Wine Industry”, founded Hillcrest Vineyard in 1961. His U.C. Davis professors advised not planting grapes in Oregon. Ignoring that advice he planted the first post-Prohibition vinifera vineyard on an old 36 acre turkey farm west of Roseburg in the Umpqua Valley.

In 1963 Sommer bonded Hillcrest Vineyard. The vineyard was on the crest of a hill, hence the name Hillcrest.

Dyson and Susan DeMara purchased Hillcrest in 2003. Richard Sommer passed away in July 2009.

After college, DeMara went to work for Robert Mondavi Family Vineyards, and then he and his wife bought their own vineyard in Napa. But another sip—this time of burgundy—led them north. “I wanted to grow Pinot Noir, so we began looking for a vineyard in Oregon.”

Today, Sommers is known as the “Father of Oregon Wine,” not in a small part because of DeMara’s efforts to have Sommer’s story told.

The Umpqua and Willamette valleys’ climates and topographies are much like those of European wine regions, but most winemakers of the 1960s believed it was impossible to grow fine wines in Oregon. Sommer, however, recognized the significance of sharing latitude with European winemaking regions, including Burgundy, and took a chance with his HillCrest Vineyard —Oregon’s first winery to plant and bottle Pinot noir for commercial sale.

As an example of the richness of the Umpqua Valley, DeMara points to the soil, the complexity of which is significant to incredible wine growing. “Napa has 32 kinds of soil,” says DeMara. “The county in the United States with more soil types than anywhere else is Douglas County, right here. We have 150 different soil types.”

Sommer’s gamble paid off, and Oregon’s Pinot noir wines have been internationally recognized since the late 1970s, when a vintage ’75 bottle from Eyrie Vineyards won first place at a competition in Paris.

HillCrest produces mostly red wines, including Pinot Noir and Tempranillo, as well as a few whites like Riesling. “We produce just 2000 cases a year,” says DeMara, most of which are only available at the winery itself.

Winery Size: Small to Medium 1,500 to 2,999 Cases Attached vineyard?: yes Tasting Room Available?: yes Days and hours of operation: Daily: 11:00am - 5:00pm Charge for tasting?: 15.00 (listed in local currency) Tours Available: no Cost of Tour: 0.00 (listed in local currency) Phone #: 541-673-3709 Address: 240 Vineyard Lane Roseburg, Oregon 97471 Winery, Wine Cooperative, or Tasting Center's Website: [Web Link] Types of wines: mostly red wines, including Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Tempranillo, as well as a few whites like Riesling. Winery Club: Yes Best Wine Tasted: Not listed Rate the Best Wine Tasted: Not listed Price per Bottle: Not Listed 2nd Best Wine Tasted: Not listed Rate the 2nd Best Wine Tasted: Not listed Price per Bottle #2: Not Listed Wine Club Description:: Not listed Overall Comments:: Not listed

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