Eco18 Collectively Green: May 2019

https://eco18.com/heard-it-through-the-grapevine-celebrating-eco-friendly-wineries-in-the-us/

Yes, this is the winery that claims irrigation is one of the most harmful addictions of viticulture. A founding member of the Deep Roots Coalition, Cameron Winery practices dry farming, which means they don’t irrigate their vineyards because, for them, a wine’s flavor is only as good as its rainwater. It seems that Oregon’s rainwater is pretty great because this winery has been dubbed “Oregon’s Prince of Pinot”! PS: They’re kind of celebrities – check out thisdocumentary, “Life in Vine”, to see them in their film debut.

Check out their 2017 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir for $20

Chambers Street Wines, August 2016:  Cameron Winery:  Oregon’s Prince of Pinot

“Ask any Oregon wine insider about great winemakers and the name John Paul Cameron comes up in hushed and reverent tones.  His eponymous Cameron Winery has been around since 1984, but its legendary status often does not resonate outside Oregon because of the very limited distribution of these wines. Moreover, his fanatical attention to the farming and the winemaking leaves little time for marketing and fancy wine dinners among his devoted followers….”

Modern Farmer, December, 2015:
The Benefits of Dry-Farming Wine — For the Palate and the Planet

“John Paul, who owns Cameron Winery, and Russ Raney, the founder of nearby Evesham Wood, practice what’s known as dry farming—they rely on natural precipitation alone for their vines. By 2004, the two had become so troubled by the ongoing irrigation trend that they founded the Deep Roots Coalition to challenge it…”

Portland Monthly, September, 2015:
One Winemaker’s Answer to the Drought: Stop Watering

Cameron Winery’s John Paul, founder of the Deep Roots Coalition and longtime advocate of dry farming, isn’t worried about this summer’s heat waves…”

Oregon Wine Press, May, 2015:
End of the Clones – Chardonnay Symposium focuses on site selection

“Chardonnay can be a wine that ‘nudges you to a place of nostalgia or panic.’ These words from Bethel Heights’ Mimi Casteel might be the most compelling spoken at the fourth annual Oregon Chardonnay Symposium held March 14, which included Jason Lett of The Eyrie Vineyards, John Paul of Cameron Winery, Craig Williams of X Novo Vineyards and Thomas Bachelder of Bachelder Wines. Is this a challenge, goal or a call to action? The message is as much a puzzle as Oregon Chardonnay itself…”

Vine Stories: Cameron Winery

“Learn how John Paul leverages the power of cover crops, patience in the cellar, and a trusted chicken tractor to help him produce some of the finest Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in the Willamette Valley.”