
Le Cadeau Vineyard
Willamette Valley Trendsetters
by W Peter Hoyne
There are countless stories about Willamette Valley’s rich winemaking history and the early pioneers' deep affection for Pinot Noir. Among these individuals were David Lett, Dick Erath, David Adelsheim, Dick Ponzi and a host of other notable producers. Through the years, there have been other trailblazers who have chartered their own path while having been influenced by these iconic leaders. These current contemporary producers have become trendsetters in personifying the expression of Pinot Noir and solidifying its future success within Willamette Valley.

Tom and Deb Mortimer
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​Le Cadeau Vineyard
Tom Mortimer is a native of Glenview, Illinois who pursued a career in the recycling of paper products. Tom had purchased a recycling plant with his partner in Dundee, Oregon while continuing to live in suburban Minneapolis with his wife Deb. In 1996 after several trips to the Oregon countryside, Tom and his wife purchased a 28-acre parcel of land on the southern slope of Parrett Mountain in the Chehalem Mountains AVA. Twenty-one acres of this uncultivated property would be transformed into Le Cadeau vineyard, which is translated as “the gift” in French. Along the way, Tom learned winemaking through ventures with his partners Jim Sanders of Aubichon Cellars and Steve Ryan of Carlton Cellars. Tom also enlisted the assistance of Pierre Millemann, a distinguished enologist and consultant from Nuits-Saint-Georges, France.
The rocky sub-soils of Le Cadeau are predominately fractured basalt referred to as Witzel along with a mixture of reddish volcanic Jory soils and loamy Willakenzie. Tom believed this was the perfect medium for his vineyards as he matched the planting of rootstocks to the types of soil and microclimates he refers to as micro-farming. He was intent on creating a variety of sub-plots for wines with as many different expressions as the colors on a palate. Tom expresses confidence in wines crafted from multi-clones from different soils and microclimates as they reflect a more complete wine. His Diversiti Pinot Noir is composed of seven clones of grapes. Today, there are 18 different Pinot Noir clones and six Chardonnay clones. His cuvees are a “playground of clones” for his blends. His first vintage of Le Cadeau Pinot Noir was released in 2005. There are 1,300 cases of wine produced annually under the Le Cadeau label.
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Ken Pahlow and Erica Landon
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Walter Scott Wines
I was introduced to the dynamic husband and wife duo Ken Pahlow and Erica Landon behind Walter Scott Wines several years ago during my first coverage of IPNC. I met with the down-to-earth couple on the Linfield University campus before visiting their modest winery in Salem, Oregon for a barrel tasting of recent vintages. I was unfamiliar with their wines, but quickly understood the trajectory of the quality and craftsmanship behind their wines that would make them trendsetters in defining single vineyard Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in Willamette Valley.
Ken had an underlying passion for wine, charting his path in 1994 while working with Mark Vlossak’s at St Innocent Winery. He was involved with marketing, sales and harvests during his 14-year tenure at the winery. Along the way, he found his soul mate Erica Landon in 2002. Erica had extensive experience in the restaurant industry managing the wine program for Timberline Lodge and then becoming Sommelier and General Manager for the Ponzi Family's Dundee Bistro, which is where she first met Ken.
In 2007, the couple emptied their retirement account to start Walter Scott Winery, crafting 165 cases of wine from the much-heralded 2008 vintage. In 2009, while working at Patricia Green Cellars, Ken produced 650 cases of their first commercial vintage of La Combe Verte Pinot Noir. The following year Ken studied alongside renowned Beaune winemaker Dominique Lafon while managing sales for Evening Land Vineyards. He would continue to craft wines at this facility for the next two vintages, producing his first Chardonnay in 2011. By 2012, Ken and Erica would partner with Andy and Sue Steinman as they were able to lease their first winery space on Justice Vineyard in the Eola-Amity Hills AVA. Their newest partner is daughter Lucille, who is very young but honing her wine making skills at an early age.

Cam and Bernadette Bower
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Ghost Hills Cellars
Resting atop the rolling hills of Carlton, Oregon is the picturesque winery of Ghost Hills Cellars. The legend behind the winery’s name dates back to the 1850’s during Oregon’s gold rush era. One evening, a prospector was robbed of his gold and murdered. It has been said that the miner’s ghost now wanders the fields in search of his lost gold.
In 1906, the Bayless brothers acquired this 234-acre parcel of land on the Savannah Ridge within Oregon’s Yamhill-Carlton district for dairy and cattle farming along with other crops. Mike and Drenda Bayliss manage the property with their children, Michael and Bernadette and son-in-law Cameron Bower. The estate is now in its sixth generation.
Realizing the potential of this undeveloped site, winemakers Ken Wright and Tony Soter envisioned purchasing this property. Instead, the family chose to retain ownership of this picturesque parcel of land and develop the Bayliss-Bower estate vineyard. In 1999, 16 -acres of Pinot Noir vines were cultivated on these Willakenzie and marine sediment soils. The vineyard was subdivided into four plots with five different clones of Pinot Noir. The family retains around one-third of the fruit and sells off the remaining grapes to other wineries. Since 2015, the wines have been crafted by Eric Hamacher at Ponzi Winery.
In 2024, Ghost Hills Cellars completed the renovation of their new tasting room and chic farmhouse guest center. Their wrap-around outdoor patio has stunning 360-degree views of the Willamette Valley and estate vineyards.
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Peter Sturn
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​Eila
Owner Peter Sturn of Eila Wines is from suburban Chicago and has an accomplished and intellectual background beginning with his college years studying engineering at the University of Illinois. Afterward, he achieved a master's degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan before completing a postgraduate master's degree in business administration at London Business School and becoming a successful financial professional.
Throughout his time in London, Peter was exposed to European wines during his travels and tastings while becoming enamored with Burgundian Pinot Noir. After several decades, he returned to the US with an enthusiasm for crafting his own Pinot Noir, researching areas in California and Oregon. Considering the similarities in climate between Oregon and Burgundy for growing great Pinot Noir, Peter chose to move to Oregon in 2021 and create his own label with small lots of Pinot Noir from Willamette Valley. He was active in all aspects of winegrowing and intent on sourcing fruit from well-known, established vineyards in Oregon rather than purchasing and planting his own vineyard. He had his wines crafted by consulting winemaker Wynne Peterson Nedry at the Carlton Winemakers Studio, which is known as an alternating proprietorship, where winemakers share space and equipment rather than owning their winery. The inaugural release for Eila Wines was the 2021 vintage with fruit sourced from Von Oehsen Vineyard, Prophet Vineyard, Witness Tree Vineyards and vineyards that reside in the Chehalem Mountains AVA.
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