Kelley Fox Willamette Valley Pinot Blanc 2025
We have 10 in stock (Inventory is live and accurate)
The Land
Oregon's two soil stories, volcanic and marine sedimentary, get treated as rivals. Mount Pisgah has both, stacked. The hill began 65 million years ago as a submarine volcano, was buried under seafloor sediment, then pushed up out of the valley, so its shallow soils are ancient marine material over old volcanic rock. Freedom Hill Vineyard is the flagship site, east-facing at 450 feet in Bellpine soil, farmed by the Dusschee family since the original 1982 planting, with replants from 2000 to 2004. Laurel Mountain to the west throws a rain shadow over it, and Van Duzer wind arrives more gently here than in the Eola-Amity Hills. Mount Pisgah, Polk County became an AVA on June 3, 2022, with 684 planted acres out of 5,530, the Willamette Valley's second smallest appellation and one of its most densely planted.
The Wine
Pinot Blanc gets written off in Oregon as a patio white. Not this. Kelley Fox picked Freedom Hill Pinot Blanc on October 1, 2025, whole cluster pressed it the same day, ran primary in stainless, then racked to a single neutral 500-liter Acacia puncheon for elevage and malolactic. Acacia rather than oak is unusual and telling: it adds texture and a faint waxiness without the vanilla and toast of a new barrel. Bottling was April 8, 2026 at 13.0 percent alcohol. The 2025 season ran dry, 19 inches of winter rain against a normal 35 to 40, with normal budbreak, no frost, and a mild summer after one or two early heat spikes. Harvest came very early and fast, with small berries and low cluster weights valley-wide. Pale gold and bright, creamy pear and key lime, white fruit with a trace of vanilla, soft oceanic minerality, weight held in line by acidity.
The People
Kelley Fox holds two master's degrees from Oregon State, in biochemistry and biophysics, and has spent none of her career acting like a technician. She has made wine full time since 2000, with stops at Torii Mor, Hamacher and The Eyrie Vineyards, where working under David Lett set the terms she still works by, then ten years at Scott Paul before launching her own label in 2007. Her reputation rests on Maresh Vineyard Pinot Noir from the Dundee Hills. Her stated position is that wines "reflect the land, the vines, the fruit, the year, and everything else unknown and unseen," and are "not really made at all." In practice that means native yeast with no additions or enzymes, and only used French oak since 2012.
Food Pairing
Start with cracked Dungeness crab, drawn butter and lemon, where the wine's weight stands up to the butter and the acidity cuts it. Roast a halibut fillet with brown butter and hazelnuts, and the Acacia texture lines up with the nuts. Grilled leeks with romesco work on the mineral side. Or a bowl of clams steamed with white wine, garlic and a lot of parsley, bread for the broth. This is a white wine for the nights you cook something good for two people and want the bottle to keep up.
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Weather shipping advisory: Orders placed during times of extreme heat or extreme cold will be held for no charge until more favorable weather returns.
The Willamette Valley, nestled in Oregon, is a region renowned for its cool-climate wines, particularly its Pinot Noir. While Pinot Noir is its most celebrated variety, the valley is also home to other cool climate varieties like Chardonnay and Riesling. The region's unique terroir, characterized by rolling hills, volcanic and sedimentary soils, and a maritime climate influence, contributes to the elegance and complexity of its wines. The wines of the Willamette Valley offer a delicate balance between fruit, acidity, and earthiness. Its increasingly growing reputation places it among the world’s top regions for Pinot Noir.
