Sis & Mae Wine Co.Willamette Valley, Oregon

The most important and influential decision we make each year is where to source our fruit. We work with vineyards that farm with a sincere respect for the environment, and an interest in growing grapes that capture the where and when over the how they are grown. In the cellar we want to raise up a delicious and indicative wine, but are not interested in manipulation of the raw product beyond what is necessary to do just that. This means we press gently, allow spontaneous fermentation with the yeasts that come in from the vineyard or perpetuate in our winery environment. We minimize additions, try to limit flavor inputs from our ageing vessels, and whenever possible do not remove components of the wine through fining and filtration. We do believe that a principled approach to our stated goals is more important than a dogmatic stance. Watching Sis and Mae do their best to be women who were true to themselves in a time in which this was not encouraged, we think this is how they would have done things too.