WillaKenzie

WillaKenzie Estate is located in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA, in the heart of Oregon’s Northern Willamette Valley. Originally a cattle farm, the Estate is named for the marine sedimentary soil series on which the vineyard is planted, in keeping with tradition that great wines reflect a true sense of place.

WillaKenzie Estate was established in 1991 by Bernard and Ronni LaCroute. Bernard, a French transplant to the Willamette Valley, came to Oregon to pursue a lifelong dream after a successful career in technology. The rolling hills of the Northern Willamette Valley reminded him of his Burgundian roots. In 1992, LaCroute began planting to vine what is now 103 acres of the 420-acre estate.

The signature of WillaKenzie Estate is its range of benches, ridgelines, elevations, slopes, exposures, and clonal plantings, making WillaKenzie one of the most diverse estates in the Willamette Valley. Spanning from 302 feet to 734 feet in elevation, the Estate was planted to six varieties and a host of diverse clonal selections, solidifying its reputation as a treasure chest for WillaKenzie’s winemakers.

In the late 1990s WillaKenzie became the first LIVE-certified winery in the Willamette Valley. LIVE (Low Input Viticulture and Enology) remains the gold standard in sustainable viticulture throughout the Northwest and WillaKenzie remains committed to its practices and goals. To preserve the biodiversity of the land, over 70% of Willakenzie Estate is retained as natural pastureland and forest. A herd of Longhorn cattle makes its permanent home on the estate, and vine longevity is prioritized through the use of cover crops, manual weeding, and organicbased fertilizer.

Today, WillaKenzie Estate produces six distinct block-designate Pinot Noirs, an Estate Pinot Noir blend representing the quintessential expression of WillaKenzie, as well as two small-production Chardonnays and several additional bottlings, including Gamay and Pinot Blanc.