Audeant Wines is an “insider’s” winery that flies under the radar of most – until now. Audeant’s cover was recently blown wide open at a prestigious annual international competition organized by London-based Decanter magazine.
At the Decanter World Wine Awards, Audeant Wines claimed the British magazine’s top score for Oregon wineries this year, as well as the top score for any North American pinot noir, by earning 97 points and a Platinum medal for its 2021 Luminous Hills Vineyard Pinot Noir.
Now, the wine world is flocking to Audeant Wines at their Parrett Mountain perch above Newberg.
Audeant Wines is best known for: “Failing at marketing” was not the answer I expected from Audeant founder Teal Walker.
“I’m not kidding. We picked a winery name people aren’t sure how to pronounce,” Walker said. “People will stare at me at tasting events, waiting for me to say it out loud.”
For the record, the winery’s name is pronounced ‘awe-DAY-ent.’ Taken from the Latin, Walker said audeant meant “may they dare, may they venture, may they risk.”
A “must try” current release: Thanks to Decanter, the Luminous Hills wine is sold out. So I asked Andrew Riechers, Audeant’s talented winemaker, what he would suggest of his remaining current releases. He selected the 2021 Audeant Wines Willamette Valley Pinot Noir ($60 – 13% ABV).
Great choice. The 2021 Audeant Wines Pinot Noir is filled with aromas and flavors of tart blackberries and black tea served with a few drops of earthy buckwheat honey. This is a great way to acquaint yourself with Audeant’s house style, which combines beautiful fruit with crisp natural acidity.
Innovation: Walker said that when they bought their 80-acre property atop Parrett Mountain nearly 10 years ago, its 1,100-foot elevation seemed risky. Would they be able to ripen grapes that high up? “With what’s been happening with the climate and temperatures, we’re super happy with it now,” Walker said.
Audeant’s higher-elevation estate vineyard is 13 acres of pinot noir, chardonnay and gamay noir vines, planted to expansive eastern, southeastern and western exposures. Walker noted that only 40 acres of the site are plantable for vines. The vineyard is dry-farmed, relying on rain for its water needs.
History: Teal Walker and Dan Murphy were avid wine collectors when they first met in 2013. “We always joke that we were like the Brady Bunch, but instead of combining our kids, we combined our wine cellars,” Walker said.
On a vacation to Oregon in 2015, Walker and Murphy fell in love with what Walker described as “the mountains, the forests and the beauty of the land.” They also scheduled a wine tasting in the Willamette Valley with a favorite winemaker.
When at the last minute the winemaker had to bail out on the appointment, her assistant winemaker stepped in to host the couple. Walker and Murphy hit it off in a major way with the winemaker’s assistant.
That assistant was Riechers, and by 2016, Walker and Murphy founded Audeant and released their first wine with him at the winemaking helm. “We never had a plan to become winery owners, it just happened,” Walker said.
Something we don’t know: “Anything” sums up Walker’s answer to this question. “There’s a sense of mystery surrounding the wines. People don’t know who we are, and they don’t know how to find us,” Walker said.
In a wine world filled with newsletter bombardments, self-aggrandizing Facebook posts, constant Tweets and endless Instagram glamor shots, Audeant Wines is refreshingly anonymous. I get the sense that Walker and Murphy like it that way.
Hot tip: On July 25, you will have a rare opportunity to meet Walker and Riechers at a pre-International Pinot Noir Celebration wine dinner hosted by Nysa Vineyard in Dundee.
After a sparkling wine and oysters reception at 5:30 p.m., Chef Jody Kropf of Red Hills Market will deploy her wood-fired oven to serve an al fresco menu with wines from Audeant, Nysa Vineyard and Torii Mor Winery. Tickets are $225 and may be purchased through Nysa Vineyard.
Biggest inspiration: “My mother. I lost her years ago, but she’s still with me,” Walker said.
Last book read: “A Glass Full of Miracles,” by Miljenko “Mike” Grgich.
Something I wish I had known when starting out: “The wine business is a lot harder than I originally thought,” Walker said. “Seriously.”
Where to buy: Your best bet is to head straight to the winery website listed below.
By appointment, 32230 N.E. Old Parrett Mountain Road, Newberg, audeant.com or 773-255-1184.
-- Michael Alberty writes about wine for The Oregonian/OregonLive and Wine Enthusiast Magazine. He can be reached at malberty0@gmail.com . To read more of his coverage, go to oregonlive.com/wine
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