We are located in Oregon's premier wine region - Yamhill County. We are a mere 40 minute drive from downtown Portland in the heart of Yamhill County.
Autumn Wind Vineyards was founded in 1983 by Tom and Wendy Kreutner. The Kreutners came to Oregon from the Los Angeles area with a dream. They realized that dream when they purchased the 52 acre estate on North Valley Road.
The vines were planted on a portion of the property in 1984 and 1987 saw the first harvest and crush.
In the early days, Tom and Wendy did it all. From planting the vines, to tending the vines. From harvesting the grapes to crushing and barreling them. From the administrative duties to working the tasting room.
Along the way, they made friends with many wine tasters and eventually asked a few of them to help in the tasting room. Jerry and Peg Fenton and Dick Ready came on board to help out.
By 1994, Tom and Wendy realized they needed to expand the staff in the tasting room so an ad was placed in the Oregon Wine Magazine and many responded. They were looking for two employees and found them. Jim Anderson and Kathy Reese were hired and Peg took on the training duties.
The winery itself, was housed in a small building which served as the winery and tasting room. This worked well for several years, but as popularity grew, we outgrew the building. So in 1995 an addition was added. This allowed us to have a barrel room, a place for tanks for stainless fermented wines and a larger area for the tasting room (very important on holiday weekends when we can have as many as 500 people a day visit us.)
Since 1995, we have had a few employees come and go, but most of us have been here for at least 5 years. Our tasting room staff is now comprised of Jerry, Peg, Cheryl, Connie, John K and John T. In March of 2000, Autumn Wind began a change that no one expected. Wendy retired from her career in the property management business and decided that the time was right to become a full time winery employee. She was taking on the task of marketing.
In the meantime, down the road a bit in McMinnville, Jim Anderson (who left Autumn Wind in 1995) and Patty Green found themselves looking for a change in the wine industry. Tom and Wendy decided that this may be the time to retire and they called Jim to ask if he wanted to buy a winery.
Over the next several months the four (along with biz reps) mapped out the plan for the future.
In July of 2000, the winery changed hands and stated a new era. Tom and Wendy retired. Now how long do we think they can keep golfing, playing tennis and traveling? Patty and Jim took on the task of harvest 2000, which was a very successful harvest! Oregon is boasting three perfect harvests in a row.
The winery is now in a state of change. We have Patty Green as Winemaker - Jim Anderson as Cellarmaster - Jose Garcia as Vineyard Manager with his crew -Kathy Reese as Marketing Rep - and our fabulous tasting room staff - Jerry, Peg, Cheryl, Connie, John K and John T.
With the 2001 vintage we will make the change to our new label, Patricia Green Cellars, affectionately known to us as PGC. Our focus will be single vineyard Pinot Noirs with some Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris and Chardonnay.
We look forward to our future and honor our past.
Salud!
Drop me a note at AutumnWindVnyds@aol.com