Swick Wines Chillable Red 2022

Swick Wines, founded by fifth-generation Oregonian Joe Swick, is a natural wine project based in Newberg, Oregon. After gaining extensive experience through over 15 harvests across renowned winemaking regions—including Portugal, Italy, New Zealand, Tasmania, and California—Joe returned to the Pacific Northwest in 2013 to establish his label. His philosophy centers on producing wines as "naked and raw" as possible, emphasizing minimal intervention to express the terroir and vintage authentically. Swick Wines sources grapes from organically or biodynamically farmed vineyards in Oregon and Washington, focusing on cooler climates to craft wines with natural acidity and freshness. The portfolio includes a diverse range of varietals, such as Pinot Noir, Gamay Noir, and Chardonnay, as well as unique offerings like Aligoté and Sémillon. Joe's commitment to low-intervention winemaking involves using native yeasts, avoiding filtration and fining, and adding minimal sulfur only when necessary. This approach results in wines that are vibrant, expressive, and true to their origins.

Willamette Valley AVA is located in western Oregon, stretching for about 120 miles south of Portland. The Willamette River runs through the entire region. Willamette Valley is famous primarily for its Pinot Noirs, and it’s become one of the world’s benchmarks for this cold-climate grape varietal, in some cases rivaling Burgundy.

The development of viticulture and winemaking in Willamette Valley can be attributed to the curiosity of a handful of University of California Davis students. In the 1960s they explored the area’s potential for viticulture and found that Pinot Noir would have adapted the best, and the rest is history.

In 1979, a Pinot Noir from Willamette Valley took part in the Gault-Millau French Wine Olympiades, beating several Burgundy Pinot Noirs, which at the time were regarded as the best expression of this fascinating grape varietal. This put Oregon and especially Willamette Valley one the wine world map.

Willamette Valley has been its own AVA since 1984, but in 2002 a movement to differentiate the valley’s terroirs started. As a result, several new sub-AVAs have been established in the past fifteen years: Dundee Hills, McMinnville, Eola-Amity Hills, Yamhill-Carlton District, and Chehalem Mountains and Ribbon Ridge.