The Wine

The winemaking style at GC Wines is characterized by a true reverence for the process. The approach is proactive, responding to the fruit as it comes and gently stewarding the wines through fermentation.

With decades of winemaking wisdom to draw from, and a solid braintrust of collaborators creating each wine, GC is constantly exploring new methods, including new vessels for fermentation and aging to create new expressions of Willamette Valley varietals.

GC is explorative and ever-evolving, continually introducing new varieties and expanded studies while honoring all contributors, both people and places.

GC June 2019-212 copy.jpg
GC Cellars March 2022-32 copy.jpg
GC+Cellars+March+2022-87+copy.jpg
GC June 2019-103.jpg
Albarino_bottle_edited.jpeg
GC Cellars March 2022-119 copy.jpg
GC June 2019-195.jpg
GC Bottling April 2022-26 copy.jpg
IMG_1628.JPG
GC Cellars March 2022-316 copy.jpg
GC+June+2019-16.jpg
IMG_8093.JPG

The GC Family Tree

 

Our core GC Wines label includes mainstays like the Commuter Cuveé Pinot Noir and the crowd-favorite Melon de Bourgogne. This label also includes single vineyard wines spanning the Willamette Valley and varieties like Pinot Noir, Gamay Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc. Each wine is a richly textured and polished translation of its respective site.

Over the years, the "family tree" of GC Wines has grown some new branches: Etheric Wine Workshop and Convivial Wines. These labels are creative outlets, sometimes born of unexpected adaptations, and are fresh, vibrant expressions.  

Etheric Wine Workshop is a line of energetic, “natural wine” expressions like skin-contact Pinot Gris, Auxerrois and Pinot Noir which are made without the addition of sulfur. Convivial Wines began as a trio of reds made with partial carbonic maceration—including Tempranillo, Barbera and Gamay-Pinot blend—all with vibrant labels to bring a party to the table.

Winemaking

A hand holding a cluster of Pinot Noir grapes

All grapes are hand-harvested and sorted. The wines undergo slow, ambient fermentations. Working with grape varieties classic to the Willamette Valley, namely Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc and Chardonnay, GC Wines also showcases emerging varieties like Melon de Bourgogne, Gamay Noir, Albariño, Auxerrois, and others. 

A man entering a wine fermentation tank

GC Wines continues to explore new vessels for fermentation and aging. In addition to a regimen of French oak and acacia wood barrels, the winery has introduced concrete and stainless steel tanks to bring even more vibrancy and brightness to our wines.

Two men at a grape sorting table

In 2022, GC Wines celebrates its 20th harvest.