“The 2016 Freedom Hill is dark, almost opaque ruby red. With all of the power on the palate, its finish is still fresh, bright, and clean. A beautiful vintage for enjoying now or into the future.”
– Mark Vlossak, Founder & Winemaker
WINEMAKER NOTES
Freedom Hill Vineyard is located in the foothills of the Coast Range, 10 miles SW of Salem, Oregon. During the day warm air rises from the valley floor ripening the skins. At night, cool ocean breezes act to retain acidity. Planted on old sedimentary soils, the vines have a SW exposure at an elevation of 520’ to 580’. Our Pinot noir comes from two blocks, one planted in 2004 with Pommard and Wädenswil and one planted in 2008 with 777.
The de-stemmed grapes were fermented in 4-8 ton stainless steel fermenters with no SO2, allowing the fermentations to proceed naturally. After gentle pressing and settling, the wine aged in French oak barrels, 30% of which were new, for 16 months before bottling by gravity without fining.
FLAVORS
TASTE PROFILE
ABOUT ST. INNOCENT
St. Innocent began as an idea conceived in a moment of passion and inspiration in 1983. Mark Vlossak spent the next five years studying, taking classes, and apprenticing with Oregon wine pioneer, Fred Arterberry. In 1988, St. Innocent Winery was founded. Our goal is to produce wines that respect the quality and tradition of the Old World in one of the newest and most exciting wine growing regions on the planet: Oregon’s Willamette Valley.
ABOUT MARK VLOSSAK
Mark Vlossak is the Founder, President, and Winemaker of St. Innocent Winery in Jefferson, Oregon. During his university training, he developed a love for Champagne. After reading an article in 1983 on American sparkling wine in Bon Appetit magazine, he was inspired to become a winemaker. Andre Tshelishev was quoted: “the greatest sparkling wine in America will be made in Oregon, not California, because it is the right place to grow Pinot noir and Chardonnay, the grapes of Champagne.” During his training, he apprenticed with Fred Arterberry, Jr., the first Oregonian to make sparkling wine. Fred also produced the first vineyard-designated Pinot noirs in Oregon, something Mark would soon become famous for producing.
Mark has always made our wines, oversees the vineyards, and represents St. Innocent in the national marketplace. We have grown from 600 cases in the first year to our current production of roughly 6,200 cases, yet each wine is still handcrafted.
Winemaker Notes, About St. Innocent, and About Mark Vlossak sourced from stinnocentwine.com