Hundred Suns - McMinnville, Oregon

Out in McMinnville, I’m 20 minutes early to my tasting appointment with Hundred Suns. I drive past the winery and instantly hit a backcountry road with small farms in a nice loop that takes me right back to the winery. Stopping to see the morning clouds rise above the cows, I feel far away from the city. The minute I walk into Hundred Suns, I feel at home. With a big aloha welcome from owners Renee, Grant, and cellar dog Daisy, there is an instant connection. Renee notices my jade necklace, a family piece dating back 5 generations from China to Hawai’i. She has a similar one from her family. Renee’s ancestors are Japanese/Chinese from Hilo Hawai’i, we joke that we could be cousins. The jokes come quickly from this couple, you can tell they have a lot of fun together. With the heat on just for me, it’s time to get to know them over some wine.

Growing up in California, wine seemed to be hovering around them all their lives like destiny on the line. Grant’s parents were old school wine enthusiasts, spending time at Napa’s most celebrated wineries today, Grant recalls hanging out in Mayacamus’s cozy barn as a kid. Being in that environment really registered with him, when it came time to pick a major in college, winemaking seemed like a unique fit. Living in San Diego, his friends were confused, beer and booze was always in the cup, why is Grant drinking wine? Like many of us that are drawn to wine, it’s like a bug to a light. In Grant’s case, his light was finding a community to explore wine with. A couple of his friends worked in the restaurant industry, this opened the door to having more access to wines that weren’t just grocery store bottles. Together, the new crew was able to pool money and purchase bottles they wanted to learn from. What set Grant’s focus on Oregon was a bottle of Archery Summit 1999 Pinot Noir.

In college I was drinking Martinelli's sparkling apple cider mixed with vodka thinking “this is what Champagne must taste like!” I was far away from what Champagne even meant. It’s not common to be a kid in college drinking wine that didn’t come out of a box or a big glass jug, unless you are Renee. It was her uncle, a collector of wine that shared his appreciation by sending her bottles when she was a college student. Particularly Oregon wine. Balling on the budget, at least she had good wine at home even if the rent was tight. One bottle she had back then is now her vineyard neighbor. Destiny on the line…

Wine has power. It has the ability to invade our mind and cement itself. It has the strength to carry creativity for generations and engage new perspectives. It has the capacity to expand our lives outside of just the bottle. Oregon Pinot Noir had the capability to invite Grant to the Pacific Northwest to originate something untouched in an existing land. Together, Grant and Renee started their family, winery, and their dream in McMinnville Oregon. From this land, you can access many environments in less than a few hours. One hour west you can be at the salty gray Oregon Coast, we don't call it the beach here. Two hours east you can be at the base of Mt. Hood looking up at her beauty at 3,425 meters. Keep pushing south and you will hit the emerald valley full of wetlands and hayfever. Then eventually, with a slight turn southeast, the high desert appears full with mountains of the cascade range and juniper trees. Oregon is a place of lure with its moody landscapes. Before this was Oregon Territory, members of the Kalapuya Tribe were the Indigenous people that occupied this land. Living off the earth, this area of the Willamette Valley has been providing substance for generations. Now new cultivation is happening and Hundred Suns is a part of the growth on this piece of land. Living on a vineyard that was planted fifty years ago, Grant and Renee have been in rhythm with the land and fully expressing the tune in their wines.

Like a band, winemakers want to stay true to who they are, to their creativity. In our society we really like to categorize just about anything. Categorization simplifies perception related to our social world. In the wine industry, categories can be helpful when learning about wine, but it can also be limiting. The term natural wine is defined and categorized in many ways that is layered in discussion. Hundred Suns doesn’t want to be put into one place. All they want is to keep in the line of what they love, the wine they want to drink. People will cross over and over into this line of love that’s full of clarity and deliciousness. From their heart, Grant and Renee say “Trust the process and ourselves. Explore new techniques of fermentation and aging because we know our experience will guide us. Manipulate the wines as little as possible, and let the vineyards and vintages speak for themselves. As such, our wines are fermented with indigenous yeast, native malolactic bacteria, and without the use of unnatural additives.”

For the past ten years, Grant has been working in the Oregon wine industry while building Hundred Suns with Renee. Renee, a former teacher, decided to jump all in. Her effort is key to making the sun shine. Working seven years unpaid, the positive commitment to their dream is where the true wealth lies. Their first vintage they made 450 cases. The first five years they made wine at five different locations. While Grant oversees vineyards and makes wine for Flaneur Wines, there is a down to earth sense of community here in Oregon. Renee explains that Oregon still feels underground in the wine world, everyone here is rooting for each other. Look at Oregon’s attentiveness to Chardonnay. The expression of the grape coming out of Oregon is a message to the world that needs to be folded into the conversation. Hundred Suns Chardonnay comes from high elevation Eola-Amity Hills in the Laurelwood District grown in Basalt soil, some dirt Grant wants to work more with. Their opportunity from working with different vineyard sites creates the fun of incredible diversity in Hundred Suns lineup. Grants sees differences in fermentation and how to be creative in the vineyard. He believes treating everything the same doesn’t do justice. He is translating the vineyard to bottle. This can take years and he will be the first to tell you he is still learning. He is loyal to the fruit and adjusts farming techniques to balance it all. Often revisiting techniques, he is in constant movement with what is best for the vineyard. In addition to his creativity in the vineyard and cellar, Grant also does all the labels for Hundred Suns. Stylish and cool, the labels reflect the energy of each site and signal you to fall into the bottle. So, fall into Hundred Suns.

Renee & Daisy at one of their Eola-Amity Vineyard sites

THE VINEYARDS

2021 Pinot Noir & 2021 Chardonnay Old Eight Cut

Back in the 1400’s, the diamond cutter would decide how to cut the gem based on observing natural contours, style, and the time period. In simple cuts, known as “old eight cut” maintained a pure brilliant diamond. Something so naturally beautiful, the diamond cutter was there to aid its beauty using simple tools and few cuts. Kinda reminds you of how wine is made, naturally. With each bottle we look inside to see what’s there. Sometimes (most times) there is more to a bottle of wine than just the juice. You continue to search for what it is, the energy, the story, something you can't put your finger on but you keep searching. This is the metaphor for Hundred Suns. An old way of making wine that is polished, pure, and remarkable.

This cellar selection of the Pinot and Chardonnay stitches together pieces from unique sites across the Willamette Valley. Lots are fermented with native yeast & a variety of traditional & experimental techniques to create a layered wine of great complexity, but that is, first and foremost, totally delicious.

Bednarik Vineayd. Tualatin Hills AVA, Willamette Valley Oregon

Always seeking out older plantings of Pinot Noir, Hundred Suns found old vines from 1988 grown by William Bednarik. Decked out in tattoos, this guy knew what was up in the cool coastal range. Rooted in marine sedimentary soil, his site has now become the bedrock of Hundred Suns producing delicate organic Pinot Noir even in the warmer vintages. Layered with ripe cranberries and floral aromas this Pinot Noir has a refined and silky palate.

Sequitur Vineyard, Ribbon Ridge AVA, Willamette Valley Oregon

Planted in marine sedimentary soils at 425 feet hidden in the Ribbon Ridge AVA, Sequitur was one of the first initial vineyards that Hundred Suns worked with. An expansive site, Grant has been working with this fruit since the planting of it in 2012/2013. This site hosts a list of unique clones: Chalone, Mt. Eden, Rochioli, Musigny, Pommard, Wadensvil, 667, 777, 943, M100…. It is distinctly different from the vineyard they work with next door. Giving spice plum, hoisin sauce textures, and a mid core of sweetness, this wine is unfined and unfiltered showing the coco tannin classic of Ribbon Ridge.

Eola-Amity Hills AVA, Willamette Valley Oregon

A blend Pinot blend of 20% Koosah Vineyard and 80% of Grant and Reneé’s neighbor’s vineyard “Big Cheese”. It lives on rocky volcanic soils and is cooled by Pacific Ocean breezes. Moderate yields and small berries make for an intense flavor, acid zip, stretched out dusty cherry, and round textures. Winemaking is simple, fermented with indigenous yeast and 35% whole clutter, aged on lees for 11 months then gently racked to tank to bottle unfined and unfiltered.

Own-Rooted, Willamette Valley Oregon

Special bottling is a barrel selection from three distinct vineyards, all planted with ungrafted or “own rooted” Pinot Noir. Due to the root louse phylloxera, these plantings have become increasingly rare and this selection shows the beauty and elegance that can be achieved when Pinot Noir is planted without rootstock. Delicate flowers, etched red fruit, and silky yet firm tannins that exemplify the best of Pinot Noir from Oregon. 50% Bednarik Vineyard, 25% Noren Vineyard, 25% Koosah Vineyard.