Learn about Willful Wines

My focus is Pinot Noir but I tend to make a more feminine style of wine. I like elegant, graceful tannins and a little bit lighter weight. So stylistically that is pretty consistent throughout the wines that I make. I like to use natural fermentation, particularly with Pinot Noir it gives you the fullest expression of the terroir. My goal is to always make wines that are elegant, graceful and well-balanced – feminine in style and as nuanced as possible. I want to extract the full gamut of flavors that are available as much as possible.

What is your signature wine?

My Willful Pinot Noir is probably my signature wine. I did a line called the Jezebel line, which is food-forward, approachable, easy wine that’s like $20 retail and 90-91 points. I like my Willamette Valley Willful it’s a little more expensive it’s $28 but it’s got a lot more nuance and it can be aged if you want to but it’s still super approachable early on

What is the benefit of being an urban winery?  

For me, I don’t own a vineyard anymore but when I was going to be out in the Valley daily, I’d have a long commute. For a couple of years when I took over the winemaking I was over at Laurel Ridge Winery out towards Carlton and I really enjoyed working out there but I would have to scoot out of there at the latest 4:15 to drive an hour and a half to pick my kids up from school. I don’t have to do that now. I have a 15 minute commute coming from where I live in Vancouver, Washington.  It’s a 15 minute commute and if traffic is super heinous maybe it might possibly take me 20 minutes. I also make Chardonnay now and purposely didn’t because it’s a longer fermentation and there’s no way I could have done that if I wasn’t an urban winery with a short commute because I’m not going to drive an hour and a half just to stir the chardonnay about. It means I can go in at any moment and check on things. I feel much closer to my wines because I am physically closer. I can check in with them more often and I can be back home in time for dinner, which is super important especially as a single parent.

Do you have a favorite non-profit or cause your winery supports? 

Usually anything to do with children. We get requests like three times a week probably for wine and try to focus it on anything to do with children or local charities. Morrison Family Services does a fantastic job and I’m always trying to support them if possible. Then Vancouver because I live there, so a couple associations like the Northwest Association for Blind Athletes, which does a great job empowering blind and partially sighted children and adults to go skiing and all sorts physical activities that we take for granted and give families with limited resources funds for their kid to take swimming lessons, things that should be part of any child’s normal upbringing, which is so much more challenging if you’re blind or partially sighted. Bridge the Gap supports foster kids and same thing, providing foster kids with limited resources funds to do extracurricular activities and that sort of thing that they otherwise would not have the chance to do

Willful Wines

January Open
Saturdays: 1pm – 5pm
or by Appointment

5705-F NE 105th Ave, Portland OR 97220

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