I recently had the opportunity to join owner/winemaker Erin Nuccio of Evesham Wood for a great dinner that showcased his wine, hosted by The Falls restaurant in Falls Church, Virginia. As a wine nerd it’s hard for me to pass a chance to try a new-to-me winery, especially when I get to chat with the winemaker.

Over a 5-course dinner we sampled 4 Pinot Noirs and a white blend. Just as importantly, I got to hear Erin tell the story of Evesham Wood.

The Vineyards & Winemaking

Evesham Wood is located in the Eola-Amity Hills AVA, one of 11 sub-appellations inside the larger Willamette Valley AVA. Evesham Wood and its sister operation, Haden Fig, are boutique wineries that focus mostly on Pinot Noir, including several single-vineyard expressions.

It turns out Erin is a local boy who got his start in the wine business at Arrowine, one of my favorite local wine stores. Inspired by the Oregon Pinot he was drinking, Erin made the jump from selling wine to making it, moving to the Willamette Valley in 2007 to pursue the dream.

Erin initially apprenticed under Russ Raney of Evesham Wood, one of Oregon’s oldest wineries. That experience allowed him to start his own wine brand, Haden Fig. Years later, he took over Evesham when Russ decided to move on.

Being unfamiliar with this area, I did a bit of research and discovered the AVA’s name is a brilliant (and accurate) bit of marketing. ‘Eola’ refers to a local town, whose name is derived from Aeolus, the Greek god of the winds.

These cool Pacific winds and the area’s volcanic soil define the area’s terroir. The former help grapes grown here to retain their acidity, while the later provide character to the wines.

Location aside, I found how Evesham Wood grows its wine to be as interesting as where this wine is grown.

Evesham is part of the handful of local wineries that hold an official organic wine certification, which they apply to their vineyard-specific wines. They are also a member of the ‘Deep Roots Coalition’, a grouping of local vintners who don’t irrigate their vines. This lack of irrigation promotes sustainability as well as allows their wine to be more expressive of the local terroir.

Erin explained how he initially didn’t feel strongly about the need to be certificated organic. But seeing how others were describing themselves as “basically organic” only to find they were spraying pesticides, he decided to take the extra step to become certified.

All that said, most of our conversation was about wine. Erin worked with The Falls to prepare a five-course dinner, with each dish paired with one of his wines.

The Wine

2023 Blanc Du Puits Sec. First up was Erin’s 2023 “Blanc Du Puits Sec” (Pinot Gris/Gewürztraminer blend), paired with heirloom tomato salad.

This wine is a field blend from Evesham Wood’s first estate vineyard, planted in 1986. Erin went for a fresh style, with a little bit of spice on the palate and nice texture. I also detected some flower notes on the nose.  

The story behind this wine was just as fascinating. The vines are planted on their own rootstock and are considered ‘old vines’ by Oregon standards. While this means they are susceptible to phylloxera, the louse hasn’t hit this block just yet, so the damage it’s suffered has been minimal so far.

2023 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. Next up was his Willamette Valley 2023, paired with a risotto made with wild mushroom, kale, and cheese.

This is Evesham’s ‘introduction red’. Fun and approachable, Erin said this wine is designed to “capture the spirit of the season”. 2023 must have been very favorable, since this was darn tasty. I found notes of bramble fruit, especially raspberry. That said, the longer I tasted it, the more earth I detected.

2022 “Eola-Amity Hills Cuvée” Pinot Noir. Our third wine was Evesham’s “Eola-Amity Hills Cuvée” paired with a coq au vin, a French dish made with pomme purée, carrots, bacon lardon, mushrooms and pearl onions.

This was the Reserve version of their Willamette Valley Pinot, aged six months in barrel with a dash of new oak. I found it to be complex and rich, with firmer tannin and more structure. It also had nice dark cherry notes with a more lingering finish. I later opened a second bottle with friends and we agreed this was everything we’d look for in an Oregon pinot.

2022 Temperance Hill Pinot Noir. Our 3^rd red was the first vineyard-designated wine of the evening, their Temperance Hill. This was paired with pancetta wrapped pork tenderloin.

This retro-style labelled wine was more restrained than the Eola Cuvée, with more earth notes on the nose. On the palate it started with earthiness but the notes transformed into dark fruit, especially blackberry. Erin mentioned it had some oak treatment, but I could barely notice.

This wine was grown at Temperance Hill, a 100-acre Pinot-heavy vineyard at 800’ ft elevation that produces fruit for a number of local wineries.

2021 Le Puits Sec Vineyard Pinot Noir. Saving the best for last, Erin brought out Evesham’s vineyard-designated Le Puits Sec (served with cheese and charcuterie).

This wine has structure and lift, yet what stood out the most were the wonderful earthy-mushroom notes on the nose that I wasn’t expecting.

More than anything else, this wine has ‘character’. You drink enough wine, you recognize varietals by their stereotypical tasting profiles. What I loved about the Le Puits Sec is I had to pause to think about it, as I couldn’t immediately identify everything I was encountering.

Fortunately, a second bottle enjoyed a week later yielded additional descriptors. That time I found notes of baking spice, maybe harissa. It was also fresh and well-integrated. But that nose – that alone could sell this wine.

The Le Puits Sec Pinot really demonstrates the importance of ‘place’. As it’s a lower-elevation site the fruit ripens earlier than Temperance, which is only a few miles away. Yet these are very different wines, despite similar soils and winemaking.

Evesham Wood & Haden Fig’s tasting room (located around 50 miles south of Portland) is open by appointment. Let me know what you think if you visit!