Wine from Eminent Domaine

Eminent Domaine Winery
The name, Eminent Domaine, is a reflection of our experience with the legal term, eminent domain, our dedication to the Oregon wine industry and our love of the wines produced in our region.

In 2002 the City of Portland cited eminent domain as reason for claiming an office building we owned downtown. We began negotiations, as we agreed with the intent of the law, which states that the property would be used for the public good in exchange for a price based on fair market value. However, when both qualifiers came into question, a lengthy legal process ensued. Despite having a more favorable outcome from arbitration, the compensation was low and the property was used for undisclosed purposes.
Having been brought up on a small farm in Hillsboro Oregon, Jeff Meader always wanted to go back to the land. Already entrenched in Oregon’s wine industry and looking to the future, it was a natural progression to re-invest in a small piece of land in the coveted Ribbon Ridge AVA. In 2009, we set about planting the 7 acre parcel with selected Pinot Noir clones and harvested our first estate fruit in 2011.

In 2012, a partnership fell into place with our long-time wine industry friend, Rob Alstrin. Having been through a similar circumstance regarding the law of eminent domain while living in Arizona, Rob could relate to the Meaders’ experience. He also shared a commitment to the Oregon wine industry and a desire to bring Eminent Domaine to the national marketplace. Rob’s years of background listed below have been helpful in growing our distribution for these special hand-crafted wines.
With a degree in Wine Marketing from the University of Adelaide in S. Australia, Rob has worked his way through various positions in sales, marketing, distribution and operations and become a key figure in the wine industry. Rob has served on the board of Oregon Pinot Camp with Dick Erath, David Adelsheim, Diana Lett and Nancy Ponzi, and is a frequent speaker at the Oregon Wine Symposium and other industry events. In 2001 He was recruited by Domaine Serene Winery as their Vice President of Sales and Marketing. He saw the company grow tenfold while solidifying his own place in the wine business. In 2005, Rob leveraged his experience and relationships with some of the region’s premier wineries and opened his own business. Northwest Core Collection has helped wineries such as Penner-Ash, Bergström, and A to Z grow their national distribution business. The company has now evolved to represent a collection of smaller family wineries, allowing Rob and his sales team to share their unique stories across a broad national market.
Starting with our 2012 wines, we are fortunate to be working with another longtime wine industry friend and stellar winemaker, Drew Voit. As a fifteen-year veteran of the Oregon wine industry, Drew is intimately familiar with exceptional vineyard sites. While serving as the Associate Winemaker at Domaine Serene Winery, and then as Winemaker for Shea Wine Cellars. He has worked with some of the best vineyards in the Willamette Valley. Drew is helping us craft Eminent Domaine wines at a new custom crush facility he manages at the Beacon Hill Vineyard.

While we do not currently have a tasting room for people to visit, we can take appointments to visit and taste our wines. We hope to have a small tasting room in the future based right at the vineyard in Ribbon Ridge.

Eminent Domaine Vineyard
In the spring of 2009 we completed planting our 7 acre vineyard on Ribbon Ridge. The soil was ripped and limed and posts were selected that contain no chemicals that would leach into the soils. We planted 2 acres of Pommard, 2 acres of 777 and 1.5 acres of 115 all on 101-14 rootstock. The rootstock was selected for its hearty nature that should be well-suited for drier years. The vine spacing is 4’x6’. The vineyard is irrigated, however our method is to limit irrigation after plants have been established to encourage roots to work harder for nutrients. The soils are Wellsdale and Dupee. Vineyard elevation is approximately 640 feet and sits on a “table-top” unobstructed by trees or hills.