Willamette Valley Vineyards Innovation
Blending Systems
The Blending Experience gives you the controls to be a winemaker, crafting and tasting your own custom blends with guidance from one of our knowledgeable Winery Ambassadors. The system allows guests to learn about different clones or varietals and how they influence the wines we know and love.
Using a unique system invented for Willamette Wineworks in Folsom, California, and modified by Research & Development Manager David Markel, the Blending System can be seen at Willamette Wineworks, Willamette Valley Vineyards in the Salem Hills and Willamette Valley Vineyards on the Vancouver Waterfront.
The first-of-its-kind blending system was first introduced at Willamette Wineworks in Folsom, California.
The Willamette Valley Vineyards Blending Experience has expanded to it's Vancouver Waterfront Tasting Room & Restaurant and is used to tell the story of Walla Wall specific varietals.
Control Panel for Willamette Valley Vineyards Pinot Noir Clonal Blending System.
UV-C Light Robot
During the pandemic we were concerned for the safety of our teams and guests, so we invested in HVAC system improvements that purified the air using UV-C light technology developed by NASA, killing viruses in the air including COVID-19. It was from that work that Founder Jim Bernau started reading about how a special band of ultraviolet light, UV-C effectively kills fungus including the biggest disease threat to our grapes, powdery mildew.
By teaming up with Saga Robotics, Cornell University and USDA scientists at Oregon State University, Willamette Valley Vineyards is testing UV-C light with the world’s first autonomous, electric-powered robot to be used in a commercial vineyard. For us, the use of organic sulfur could be replaced, but for many farmers, fungicides would no longer be necessary.
David Markel, Research and Development Manager at Willamette Valley Vineyards, turns on UV-C Robot.
OSU Graduate Student Alex Wong and Willamette Valley Vineyards Research and Development Manager David Markel.
OSU scientists with UV-C Robot at Willamette Valley Vineyards.
Biodynamic Clock
Created to showcase the biodynamic practices of Domaine Willamette, Founder & CEO Jim Bernau and Research & Development Manager David Markel set out to deliver a one-of-a-kind biodynamic clock.
The Biodynamic Clock tells the daily time along with the period based on the lunar phases of the moon. The clock reflects the favorable agricultural activity based on the forces resulting from the position of the moon as it passes through the constellation and the influence on specific plant components. It's programmed using the biodynamic calendar developed by Maria Thun. To read the clock, look for the clock’s hand “circle” pointing to today’s activity.
The clock was developed by David Markel, Research and Development Manager for Willamette Valley Vineyards.
The large dial contains the tiles with the moon's position, zodiac signs and diagrams that instruct guests on what stage of farming the vineyard is at based on the day.
Helping people “look through the lenses of biodynamic farming”, the clock is the first of its kind and promises to be a unique attraction for wine and biodynamic farming enthusiasts.
Willamette Valley Vineyards has grown from a bold idea into one of the region’s leading wineries, earning the title “One of America’s Great Pinot Noir Producers” from Wine Enthusiast Magazine.
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