Vines
Dundee Hills AVA
Burton Bittman Wines’ estate vineyards are all located in the Dundee Hills AVA of Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Known for its Jory soils and elevation variation, the Dundee Hills are a beautiful place to live and grow grapes.
Original Tukwilla Vineyard
Gently sloping southeast towards the valley floor, the Tukwilla Vineyard sits in the middle of the Dundee Hills. Established in 1990 with seven acres of Pinot noir, it has expanded to a combined 19 acres of proud, gnarly vines standing tall in their trellises. The soil ranges from rich Jory clay at the top to lithe, alluvial Woodburn at the bottom where tractor implements will occasionally turn over chunks of sparkly granite deposited by the Missoula floods.
Vineyard FAQ
Tukwila means nut or hazelnut in the Native American dialects of the northwest.
Elevation: 250 - 350 ft
Trellising: Double-cane pruned
100% Hand-harvested
7 acres Pinot noir planted 1990 – 2006
Clones of Pinot noir: Coury (Abbey) clone, Pommard, 777, 114
8.20 acres Pinot gris planted 1992-2008
2.63 acres Pinot blanc planted 1998 & 2008
Experimental rows of Tempranillo, Gamay, Chardonnay, Viognier, Dornfelder
Geary Claim Vineyard
Part of an original Oregon land claim, the Geary Claim Vineyard is contiguous with the Original Tukwilla Vineyard. Before it was vineyards, the land produced peaches, walnuts, and cherries. The most recent addition to our vineyard portfolio, the first block of Pinot noir was planted in the spring of 2017. The property holds onto some of its past with a small cherry orchard, a few pear trees, and a grove of walnuts adding to the character and diversity. Every year, Geary Claim is also host to honey bee hives.
Vineyard FAQ
Elevation: 300 - 500 ft
Trellising: Double-cane pruned
100% Hand-harvested
5 acres Pinot noir - planted spring 2017, and 2018
Clones of Pinot noir: 667, Wadenswil, Pommard, 117 (Erath), 125 (Guillaume)
1.5 acres Chardonnay - planted spring 2017
Clones of Chardonnay: 95, 76, and 548
0.5 acre Gamay noir - planted fall 2019
Clone of Gamay - ENTAV 358
Experimental rows of Gewürztraminer
Wade Vineyard
Established in 1985 by Lance C. Wade, this 4.9-acre parcel high up in the Dundee Hills is foundational to Burton Bittman Wines. Lee Miller and Lance Wade met while working in the same hospital pharmacy in the early 1980s. Fast friends, Lance introduced Lee and Kathy to the wide world of imported wines. What started as evenings with great bottles, evolved into dreams of vineyards and wines of their own. Lance was first to purchase grape growing ground and planted his original block of Pinot gris in 1990.
Today, we carry forward Lance’s legacy. Farmed in conjunction with the other two vineyards, Wade produces unique, concentrated, late-ripening Pinot gris from high-elevation, Jory soils typically reserved for Pinot noir.
Vineyard FAQ
Elevation: 850 ft.
Trellising: Double-cane pruned
100% Hand-harvested
3.0 acres Pinot gris
0.5 acres experimental plantings of Gamay, Pinot noir, Pinot blanc
Winemaker Community
There’s a crew of fantastic winemakers (past and present) making wines from our estate grapes.
We’re in great company.
Sustainable Certification
Conscious of the impact monoculture farming has on the land, the flora, and the fauna of an area, we decided to pursue certification through LIVE in 2007. LIVE encourages a holistic approach to farming with attention to the preservation of native species and habitats as well as discouraging the use of certain classes of pesticides and fungicides. The strict standards of LIVE guide our annual viticulture routine and push us towards the higher aspiration of a balanced whole-farm system.