Virtual Master Class: Wines of Willamette Valley

Join us for another Live Master Class covering the Wines of Willamette Valley, Oregon!
We will have special guests Thomas Houseman of Anne Amie Vineyards, Melissa Burr of Stoller Family Estate, and Jason Lett of Eyrie Vineyards.

Join us on Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87365922666

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Thomas Houseman

Winemaker

After a career in modern dance, traveling the globe performing, Thomas decided to go back to school and attended CSU Fresno in the enology program. It was there he fell in love with Pinot noir.  From Fresno, he began yet another journey across the globe: first to California’s Anderson Valley, then to New Zealand, and finally to Oregon. After four years at Ponzi Vineyards, Thomas was offered the opportunity to express himself at Anne Amie Vineyards. With the creativity of a former dancer, the eye of a scientist, and the zeal of a home brewer, he makes wines that feed his enthusiasm, happy he can still use words like balance, grace, power, elegance, and style. These words that once described his dancing, now describe his wines.

Melissa Burr

Winemaker

Melissa Burr was raised in the Willamette Valley. After completing her Bachelor of Science degree, Melissa intended to practice naturopathic medicine before discovering her true passion was in wine. She studied winemaking and fermentation science at OSU and interned during harvest for several local wineries before becoming production winemaker for Cooper Mountain. In 2003, Melissa joined Stoller Family Estate as the winery’s first dedicated winemaker.

In her 16-year tenure with Stoller, Melissa has worked in concert with the vineyard team to oversee the site’s continued refinement. She has helped grow production from 1,000 cases to 60,000 while acting as a steward of Stoller’s legacy.

In 2013, Melissa partnered with Stoller to launch History, a brand dedicated to paying homage to historic vineyards in the Pacific Northwest. The collection will continue to evolve, telling more stories these esteemed vineyards and the people who started them.

Melissa enjoys the creative and natural process of winemaking and the dynamic nature of the Oregon wine industry. The constant evolution of every new vintage pushes her to learn more about her craft.

Jason Lett

Proprietor & Winemaker

In January of 1965, Eyrie founder David Lett arrived in Oregon with 3,000 grapevine cuttings and a theory. He was the first to introduce Pinot noir to the Willamette Valley, believing it had the right combination of climate and soil to produce wines unmatched outside of Burgundy. From 1970 through 35 vintages, David’s wines gained a peerless reputation for subtlety and ageworthiness. Jason Lett became Eyrie’s winemaker and vineyard manager 15 vintages ago, and gained the moniker “the Dylan of Oregon” from the Wine Advocate. He has continued to elevate winemaking and vineyard practices at Eyrie, while introducing new varieties to the Willamette Valley such as Trousseau. Under Jason, Eyrie’s production level has remained the same as in his father’s day. But today’s releases are more diverse than in the past, with 21 different bottlings. Eyrie also annually releases a handful of cellar-certified library wines directly from its deep collection.