Jeff Vejr/Golden Cluster
(New York/Pennsylvania Only)
Oregon
Old vines, underrepresented varieties, amazing results.
Jeff works with many of the very oldest vineyards in the state of Oregon, tucked away in hidden corners of the Willamette Valley and Columbia Gorge, planted to a dizzying array of varieties, forlorn clones, and a-typical soil structures. His project imagines an alternative history of Oregon, one where the state did not become smothered by a Pinot Noir monoculture, and one, where-just maybe-there is not only a greater diversity of flavor possible but perhaps more greatness of flavor full stop.
Jeff is probably most well known for the Golden Cluster wines and his work with the Charles Coury vineyard, planted in 1966 (the same year as Eyrie) to an incredible diversity of varieties on their own rootstock in sandy loess soils. The Golden Cluster brand includes incredible varietal bottlings of Semillon and Flora (a very rare cross between Semillon and Gewurztraminer), as well as a true white field blend called “The First Row,” which was the scion block used to create the first vine nursery in Oregon in the post-prohibition era.
Jeff is also actively pushing the boundaries of variety and possible expression with his Vinous Obscura project. Jeff dives not just into Bordeaux varieties or Syrah (and he’s working with some of the very oldest plantings of those grapes in the state), but he blows right past what others might see as the margins of obscurity for American wine, working with some of the only plantings of Georgian, Austrian, Italian, Swiss, and Portuguese (!) grapes in the whole country.
Jeff’s work with these more obscure varieties allows him to source fruit from incredible old vineyards and perform painstakingly slow elevages, all while providing incredible value. These are some of the most delicious, historically informed, and soulfully old world wines being made in the United States.