The Wine Knows

Privé Vineyard is a tiny producer in Oregon's Chehalem Mountains. Mark and Tina Hammond run their vineyard and winery, with Mark handling the viticulture and Tina making the wine.

I met the couple back in 2001 while researching my book. Their winery was still being built, and they were storing the dozen barrels for their first vintage inside nearby Laurel Ridge Winery. It turns out I was the first wine writer to taste and review their wines.

They make two Pinot Noirs: Le Sud and Le Nord. The first is from the southern block, and the second is from - you guessed it - the northern block. Together, the two wines constitute about 300 cases of Pinot Noir.

The Hammonds are making a Pinot Noir Port from purchased grapes, which is aging in barrel. They also have a Bordeaux-style blend from Southern Oregon grapes in barrel. The latter is meant to go with the pizzas the Hammonds love to make for guests in their wood-fired oven at the winery.

In 2004, we named Privé Vineyard our Oregon Winery to Watch.

Earlier this month, Tina joined us as a judge in our big Pinot Noir competition. She chose not to enter her wines to avoid any appearance of conflict of interest. Afterward, I interviewed her. Watch it below.