Kelley Fox Grüner!

Kelley Fox

Oregon

Kelley Fox Wines is a small winery I created in 2007 along with my father, Gerson “Gus” Stearns. Though I have lived in the Willamette Valley since the late 80’s, I find myself loving Oregon more every year.

The wines are made to reflect the land, the vines, the fruit of the vines, the year, and everything else unknown and unseen that comes with those things. They are Oregon wines, and hopefully, they are wines specifically of their vineyards. That said, the wines are not really “made” at all. I am not Pygmalion, imposing my idea of what they should be onto them. It is a vulnerable approach, but to me, it’s how this work becomes non-hierarchical and respecting life. What I am doing-and it still takes a lot of inner and outer work-and being in the silence- is responding to the essence of the fruit from each block, which I hope is carrying the essence of the earth that bore it, along with the details of the year (the weather, the stars, and the planets, etc. etc.). As I age having worked like this for so long, I feel profound gratitude to be on this walk.

2022 Kelley Fox

Grüner Veltliner

The Grüner is a really fun wine to produce, and I’m happy to offer this very small bottling to you. This wine was tank-fermented, did élevage in a concrete amphora tank, and is ML-complete. The colour is a transparent, high-energy pale yellow with youthful undertones of the palest spring green. I love looking at it in the glass. The nose is full of fresh, lush citrus with minerals and a hint of delicious spice. The texture is both rich and weightless, and yes, it has the classic Grüner finish of a touch of white pepper. It has wonderful acidity one might expect from an alpine wine. For me, this wine has resplendent energy.