by Helvetia Winery | Dec 28, 2015 | Events, Winery Photos
Join Us Every Afternoon through the New Year
With Christmas and Hanukkah in the past, and New Years Eve around the corner, this week is the perfect  time to come out to Helvetia Vineyards and Winery. Just 25 minutes from Portland, but a world away from the Holiday hustle and bustle. We have extended Helvetia’s Holiday Hours through the New Year.
Join us in our tasting room, and relax by our wood stove while enjoying a tasting of our artisan wines while taking advantage of our after Christmas sales on gifts and wines. Or call ahead and schedule a tour. Our proprietor John Platt would love to show you around, and tell you what makes Helvetia Winery so special. A Helvetia Winery tour is the perfect way to give your out of town guests an Oregon experience. And if you take advantage of our Groupon Offer, you can save 50%.
Recharge your spirit while taking in the breathtaking vistas that our wine farm has to offer.
Our hours through the New Year are 12-5pm every day. We are closed on New Years Day, but open the remainder of the weekend. We look forward to serving you.
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Holiday Decor
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Award Winning Wines
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We look forward to hosting you.
by Helvetia Winery | Nov 24, 2015 | Events
Helvetia Winery Pinot Noir Grapes Just before Fall Harvest
Thanksgiving has special meaning for our winery as well as for wineries throughout the United States. It truly marks a time of thanks and celebration as a new wine vintage settles down for the winter.
Unlike most farming operations, harvest is only the beginning of the end of the growing season at a winery that grows its own fruit. Following harvest, the grapes used for white wines are pressed and the juice is allowed to settle before yeast is added.
Fermentation then begins, converting sugar to alcohol and the juice to a wine preserved from spoilage by its acidity and alcohol. For red wines, the grapes are crushed and the juice ferments on the skins with the pulp and seeds for up to three weeks extracting colors and flavors. At some time before or during the fermentation process, last year’s wine is moved from barrel to bottle or another container in order to free up space to cellar the new wines.
Our Tranquil Winery
Towards the middle of November (2011 being an exception), active fermentation has either halted or slowed to the point where the wine is still and the winery is quiet except, perhaps, for the dull pop of a bung sent to the ceiling by the yeasts’ last gasps.
By Thanksgiving, we of the wine business move out of the cellar to the lights of the holidays where we can greet our guests with wine released from the cellar, news of the vintage and prospects for the upcoming year. We look forward to welcoming you to our tasting room, and sharing our bounty with you. This year’s releases include 2014 Estate Pinot Noir, 2014 Gewurztraminer, and 2014 Chardonnay. 2014 was the warmest year of the decade and the fruit was ripe yielding intense fruit but not quite the complexity that comes from a cool year’s hangtime because the ripening period was shorter than in cooler years.
