Lines on the Vines

Elise StimacJuly 29, 2017Growing, Vineyard

Vines and tendrils reaching upwards on their trellis wires on Three Feathers Estate & Vineyard.

2017 Vineyard Season Update

We have been frantically busy since our last post about the vineyard at bud break in May. I analogize the season in the vineyard to a horse race with us in a race to keep up with the pace of the vines as they grow. There’s weeding and mowing, fertilizing and disease control and the perpetual attempt to keep the plants under control with trellis wires, clips and pruners.

Vines as far as the eye can see at Three Feathers Estate & Vineyard.

Vineyard team tying up Pinot Gris plants to promote strength on Three Feathers Estate & Vineyard.

Vineyard team member wearing the indispensable straw hat.

Overview of vine rows on Three Feathers Vineyard.

Early on, the vines look so neat and tidy with growing shoots and flowering inflorescence; then, suddenly, they burst into growth with reaching tendrils that entangle each other, the tractors and anything they can grab on to.

Pre-bloom on Pinot Noir vines at Three Feathers Estate & Vineyard.

Blooming inflorescence on Pinot Noir vines at Three Feathers Estate & Vineyard.

Inflorescence, or bloom, on Pinot Noir vines at Three Feathers E

Blooming inflorescence on Pinot Noir vines at Three Feathers Estate & Vineyard.

The green pea-size fruit is now taking shape in clusters. We have had beautiful weather; cool windy nights and hot dry days. So far, we are anticipating a normal harvest date in early October, with bountiful and intense-flavored fruit. We shall see.

Pea-size Pinot Noir grape clusters on Three Feathers Estate & Vineyard.

Three Feathers Estate & Vineyard celebrates a glorious Oregon summer with a family photo session

Elise StimacJuly 14, 2017Family

Three Feathers Estate & Vineyard owners Elise Prudhomme, Cynthia Sciarratta and Christine Stimac

Three Feathers Estate & Vineyard owners Elise Prudhomme, Cynthia Stimac and Christine Stimac

Christine Stimac (right) and daughers Elise Prudhomme (left) and Cynthia Stimac (middle) owners of Three Feathers Estate & Vineyard, Chehalem Mountain, Oregon.

Photo Session at Three Feathers Estate & Vineyard

We are having glorious weather in the vineyards in Hillsboro, Oregon. Time for our family to enjoy the best that Oregon has to offer and an excellent opportunity for a photo shoot.

Three Feathers Estate & Vineyard owners Christine Stimac (left) and daughters Cynthia Stimac (middle) and Elise Prudhomme (right) pose in the formal garden of their property on Chehalem Mountain.

We just bottled our 2016 Pinot Noir!

Elise StimacJuly 6, 2017Wine making

Pinot noir bottles at Three Feathers Vineyards’ Chehalem Mountains in Willamette Valley Oregon.

From Barrels to Bottles

We are excited to announce that we just bottled our first vintage Three Feathers 2016 Pinot Noir! Bottles and cases can be purchased exclusively at Three Feathers Market.

It was a celebration “en famille” when Elise and her family visiting from France gathered with Christine at Lady Hill Winery to witness the bottling of our first Pinot Noir vintage 2016. In the capable hands of Signature Bottlers, orchestrated by our winemaker Dan Duryee, the juice from Three Feathers grapes flowed from barrels to bottles in a parade of machinery on the assembly line-up.

Colin Prudhomme in the barrel storage room of Lady Hill Winery d

Colin Prudhomme admiring the barrel storage room of Lady Hill Winery during the bottling of our 2016 vintage Three Feathers Pinot Noir.

Dan Duryee, our winemaker at Lady Hill, holds up the screw cap bottle being used for our 2016 vintage Three Feathers Pinot Noir.

Three Feathers bottles enter the bottling process on the Signature Bottlers line-up.

Three Feather bottles enter the StelvinLux screwcapping machine on the assembly line-up by Signature Bottlers.

Two assembly workers add the screw caps to Three Feather bottles before they enter the StelvinLux screwcapping machine.

The labels for our Three Feathers 2016 vintage Pinot Noir ready to adhere to bottles in the Signature Bottlers assembly line-up.

Christine Stimac, Three Feathers Estate & Vineyard partner, watches the bottling process by Signature Bottlers at Lady Hill Winery.

Final Three Feathers 2016 vintage Pinot Noir bottled and ready for packaging.

Packaged cartons of Three Feathers wine exit the Signature Bottlers truck at full speed and roll on down for labeling and delivery.

Packaging and labeling Three Feathers wine cartons at Lady Hill Winery.

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Hay Harvesting on Three Feathers Estate

Elise StimacJune 30, 2017Family, Farm Life, Hay making

Haymaking Team of Three Feathers Estate & Vineyard

3FETHR plate on our 4x4 truck covered with hay during Three Feathers Estate 2017 harvest

Three Feathers Estate & Vineyard vanity plate covered in hay during the 2017 harvest.

Three Feathers Estate 2017 Hay Harvest

The day the Prudhomme boys landed in Portland from France, Three Feathers hay was ready to harvest. We drove the French contingent right to Wilco to buy double-reinforced leather gloves and it was off to work.

John Deere and New Holland cross paths in the haying frenzy at Three Feathers Estate & Vineyard

Haymaking Team of Three Feathers Estate & Vineyard driving the venerable John Deere and our New Holland to make win-rows and pick up bales.

French haymaking team bringing bales to the barn on Three Feathers Estate & Vineyard during the 2017 hay harvest.

In three days, Big Blue and Baby Blue (our two New Holland tractors) cut and raked and win-rowed 1200 bales of fine quality fresh green mountain hay for our Oregon customers. We followed behind with our 4×4 truck and trailer, bucking and stacking the bales as fast as the tractors could make them.

Six men and one broken baler during Three Feathers Estate & Vineyard 2017 hay harvest.

Haymaking team evaluating the flat tire on the John Deere at Three Feathers Estate & Vineyard.

The usual mishaps had to happen at the same time on the same day. Our old baler did not like the thicker richer parts of the field let us know it. Big Blue decided it needed more oil and put out a warning light and the huge wheel of our venerable John Deere got a flat.

Three Feathers Estate & Vineyard haymaking team taking a quick break in between bucking bales.

New Holland Baler needs to be retuned during haymaking at Three Feathers Estate & Vineyard.

“Well”, said Victor, “it’s the pleasures of farming! We are doing much better than last year.”

Haymaking Team of Three Feathers Estate & Vineyard poised on 50 tons of hay

Stirred, not Shaken

Elise StimacJune 23, 2017Wine making

Final comparative view of Three Feathers 2016 Pinot Noir before and after filtration in preparation of bottling on July 6.

Three Feathers Vineyard vintage 2016 unfiltered Pinot Noir awaits filtration

Three Feathers Vineyard vintage 2016 unfiltered Pinot Noir awaits the filtration process via Pall Industries Oenoflow technology (behind right).

Extraction tube is put into place so that the wine flows into the Oneoflow filtration machine.

Extraction tube is put into place so that the wine flows into the Oenoflow Filtration machine by Pall Industries.

Patented Pall XL Modules containing Pall's inert filtration memb

Patented Pall XL Modules containing Pall’s PVDF membrane and Back Pulse which exercises a reverse flow direction allows wine to maintain unrestricted contact with the membrane to ensure an efficient filtration.

Dan Duryee, winemaker at Lady Hill Winery, samples a glass of filtered Three Feathers 2016 vintage Pinot Noir directly from the Pall Oenoflow XL filtration machine.

Before and After Filtration. Two comparison glasses of Three Feathers 2016 vintage Pinot Noir; filtered (right) and unfiltered (left).

Vertical full length view of the Pall Oenoflow XL Filtration machine busy filtering our Three Feathers 2016 vintage Pinot Noir.

Finishing filtration of Three Feathers 2016 Pinot Noir, good to

In order to finish filtration of every last drop of Three Feathers 2016 Pinot Noir, Dan and his team tip over the vat.

Final comparative view of Three Feathers 2016 Pinot Noir before and after filtration in preparation of bottling on July 6.

Stirred, not Shaken: Clarification of our 2016 Three Feathers Pinot Noir

We received a text message from Dan Duryee, our winemaker at Lady Hill Winery, to say that our Three Feathers 2016 vintage Pinot Noir would go through the filtration process that day.

“Is there anything to photograph?”, Christine texted back.

Up pops a photograph of a strange machine and the line “I’ll let you be the judge of that”.

I am pleased to say that I was not disappointed. Pall Industries’ Oenoflow XL is a fascinating machine combining state-of-the art technology with clinical know-how. Delicate membranes made of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) sift out the suspended particles during the wine clarification process in one since process step, thus avoiding centrifugation or other filter aids. Non-aggressive and efficient, this inert filtration membrane system helps to preserve the taste and balance of complex fluids such as wine. An unappealing metaphor would liken the event to dialysis, but the comparison is realistic.

It was exciting to hold up samples of our 2016 Three Feathers Pinot Noir “before” and “after” clarification. Ready to bottle on July 6.

Wine Tasting in San Diego and Cruising on the USS Theodore Roosevelt

Elise StimacJune 21, 2017Events, Wine Tasting

Cynthia Sciarratta, Angela, Alessandra and Vittorio Sciarratta, T. Victor Stimac, Oscar Prudhomme and Christine Stimac at the TR Association cocktail at the Hilton in Mission Valley San Diego, California on June 19, 2017.

Cynthia Sciarratta, Angela, Alessandra and Vittorio Sciarratta, T. Victor Stimac, Oscar Prudhomme and Christine Stimac at the Theodore Roosevelt Association cocktail in Mission Valley Hilton in San Diego, California on June 19, 2017.

Tweed Roosevelt, Christine Roosevelt Stimac and Cynthia Sciarratta speaking with Head Weapons Officer of the USS Theodore Roosevelt during the TR Association cocktail Mission Valley, San Diego, California on June 19, 2017.

Tweed Roosevelt, Christine Roosevelt Stimac and Cynthia Sciarratta speaking with an Officer of the USS Theodore Roosevelt during the TR Association cocktail Mission Valley, San Diego, California on June 19, 2017.

Captain Craig Clapperton in the Commanding Officer’s quarters of the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) surrounded by Theodore Roosevelt memorabilia and portrait.

Sailor Castro and Captain's Cook Bagna with Angela and Alessandra Sciarratta and Vittorio Sciarratta (alias Top Gun) - standing on the Flight Deck of the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71).

Sailor Castro and Captain’s Cook Bagna with Angela, Alessandra and Vittorio Sciarratta (alias Top Gun) standing on the Flight Deck of the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71).

Elise Prudhomme, photographer, on the windy catwalk of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) cruising in the Pacific Ocean off of San Diego, California.

View from the Bridge looking out over the fore of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) cruising in the Pacific Ocean off of San Diego, California.

Wine Tasting in San Diego and Cruising on the USS Theodore Roosevelt

Beautiful SUNNY San Diego! A nice change from the cloudy and cool Portland that we left behind.

Christine and Victor converged at the Hilton in Mission Valley with Elise and Cynthia, four grandchildren and a 40 lb case of wine. Elise had created a beautiful marketing piece for the event. The tasting took place on the verandah and we “meeted and greeted” for two hours. Elise was asked to do photography for the event and she was everywhere! Snapping photos in her high heels and décolleté she wowed all the officers of the USS Theodore Roosevelt. See her report from the bridge! Cynthia and Christine manned the tasting table.

Lots of future contacts were made and we hope all the effort will pay off in sales and positive response to our wine.

Our day on the ship was incredible with a personal escort from two crew members- sailor Castro and Captain’s Cook Bagna. Their attentiveness and patience with all our questions was outstanding. We toured the ship from the Captains quarters to the anchor room ten floors below. – No elevator and steep stairs that we went up and down all day. The impression was of a giant floating city of immense complexity. Everyone had a very specific job and responsibility from checking the quality of the aviation fuel to keeping the anchors greased and operational. The ship had to be in a state of constant readiness for any emergency foreign or domestic.

Low-lying fog kept them from doing the air show that had been planned but they improvised with a helicopter demonstration and fire drill. We still had a remarkable experience standing in the shoes of our incredible Navy.

Have Wine, Will Travel

Elise StimacJune 17, 2017Events, Wine Tasting

Sample wine bottles 2016 Pinot Noir vintage

Sample wine bottles of our 2016 Pinot Noir ready to travel to our tasting in San Diego.

Samples of our first vintage 2016 Oregon Pinot Noir

We are thrilled to be invited to a wine tasting event in San Diego to present our first vintage 2016 Oregon Pinot Noir! Here is a glimpse of sample bottles, ready for take-off.

Birds of a Feather

Elise StimacJune 16, 2017Events

Close-up on the nose of a McDonnell Douglas VC-9C USA Air Force presidential airplane that served chief executives and their staffs from 1975 to 2005, Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum, McMinnville, Oregon.

Birds of a Feather flock together aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt

Three Feathers and their children will be presenting our 2016 Pinot Noir at a dinner for members and guests of the Theodore Roosevelt Association at the Hilton in Mission Valley, San Diego on Sunday, June 18.

Then, on June 19, we will be embarking on a day-long cruise aboard the nuclear aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt.

Stay tuned for a full report and photos by our official photographer and Three Feathers partner, Elise Prudhomme.

Living with the Wildlife

Elise StimacMay 11, 2017Farm Life, Wildlife

Nubian goats eating grass in their pen, Ford truck in background.

Rear view of the barn where the goats are happily eating hay just next door and the mice are hiding.

Living with the Wildlife

Our Ford F-150 gets a lot of use during the growing season, but when it is idle, it is parked in a dry spot by our goat barn.

Last summer we noticed an odor inside the cab; a faint odor of manure. We checked our shoes, nothing. As the odor persisted we looked further, under and behind seats, in the engine… and found nothing.

This spring the smell was unbearable. We felt as if we were in a zoo with the elephants. We took the truck to a detail shop and it came back squeaky clean, but it still smelled. What was it?

In to the mechanic. A faint smirk on the attendants face. They knew! “Happens all the time”. They opened up the hood, took off the covers to the blower motor and the firewall and inside were two beady eyes looking out at them! Johnny Town Mouse had moved to the Country. He had found a great warm and dry spot to build his nest. And right next door was a terrific source of bedding – a goat barn. Thousand of uninterrupted trips back and forth with manure and he packed the spots for his nest. Then he called all of his relations and they moved in.

$800.00 later we had our truck back, clean and mouse free. The mechanics had to remove the dashboard, replace the filters and clean out all of the manure.

Now Johnny lives back in the City again. We still can smell a faint remembrance of mice past.

God Speed The Plough

Elise StimacApril 28, 2017Growing

The verse on this mug purchased by Virginia Roosevelt Armentrout just about sums up the entire philosophy expressed at Three Feathers Estate.

Let the Wealthy and Great
Roll in Splendor and State,
I envy them not, I declare it.
I eat my own Lamb
My own Chickens and Ham
I shear my own Fleece and I wear it.
I have Lawns, I have Bowers
I have Fruits, I have Flowers
The Lark is my morning alarmer,
So Jolly Boys now
Here’s God Speed the Plough
Long Life and success to the Farmer

The banner underneath reads:

Industry Produceth Wealth

The verse on this mug just about sums up the entire philosophy expressed in our website. Funny that Virginia found this mug 20 years ago in a local Antique Shop and gave it to Christine as a gift. This was years before we ever had a Vineyard.

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