Joe Swick

Joe Swick is a 5th generation Oregonian, born and raised in Portland. He got into the wine business working as a shipping/receiving clerk working at a specialty organic food store in Portland, where he was able to taste a lot of different wines and meet a lot of Oregonian winemakers. He worked his first harvest in 2003 in Oregon, and from then until 2012 he worked 15 different harvests, traveling all over the world as far as Tasmania, France, Portugal, and Italy. He even spent some time with our very own Simon Busser in Cahors, France! Joe returned to Oregon in 2013 to start Swick Wines in the Willamette Valley. He works only with sustainable or organically farmed vineyards that are not irrigated, from cooler climate locations. Many of the wines have zero sulfur added, a direction Joe is excited to continue pursuing. 

https://www.facebook.com/swickwines/

Blanc de Noir Cancilla Vineyard — Back to the top

Blanc de Noir Cancilla Vineyard tech sheet

Total Production: 1400 bottles

Appellation: Willamette Valley

Age of Vines: 18 years

Yields: 5 tons per hectare

Altitude: 700 feet

Soil: Sedimentary transitioning into Volcanic

Varieties: 100% Pinot Noir

Vinification Method: Grapes are hand harvested and immediately pressed as whole bunches. The skins are never in contact with the juice, and the wine ferments in 228-liter 4-6 year old barrels with indigenous yeast. The wine rests in the same barrels for 6 months of elevage, with one racking before bottling and no battonage. The wine is unfiltered and lightly sulfured before bottling.

Verdelho Columbia Valley — Back to the top 

Verdelho Columbia Valley tech sheet

This wine is made from the Douro version of this grape variety (not the Madeiran Verdelho). Also known as Gouveio in the Douro Valley and Godello in Spain.

Total Production: 1600 bottles

Appellation: Columbia Valley Washington (Yakima Valley)

Age of Vines: 13 years

Soil: Loam

Vinification Method: Grapes are hand harvested and immediately pressed as whole bunches. The wine ferments in 228 and 500 liter 2-4 year old barrels with indigenous yeast. The wine rests in the same barrels for 6 months of elevage, with one racking before bottling and no battonage. The wine is unfiltered and lightly sulfured before bottling.

Cancilla Vineyard “Hibernation” Pinot Noir — Back to the top 

Cancilla Vineyard “Hibernation” Pinot Noir tech sheet

Total Production: 840 bottles 

Appellation: Willamette Valley

Age of Vines: 18 years

Yield: 2 tons per acre

Soil: Sedimentary transitioning into Volcanic

Varieties: 100% Pinot Noir

Vinification Method: Grapes are hand harvested, and the whole bunches are sealed inside a concrete egg for 6 months of fermentation. The whole bunches rests in the egg with no pigeage or pumping over. The intact berries are then pressed and combined back into the egg with the free run juice for 4 further months of elevage. The wine is unfiltered, unfined, and has zero sulfur added.  

Melon de Bourgogne — Back to the top 

Melon de Bourgogne tech sheet

The idea behind this wine is not to imitate the Muscadet style, but to make a wine from Oregon, made by an Oregonian, with a grape that happens to be Melon. The soils of Oregon are completely different, hence, Joe therefore wasn’t trying to make it anything like a Muscadet.

Total Production: 1000 bottles

Appellation: Yamhill-Carlton AVA, Willamette Valley

Age of Vines: 15 years

Soil: Sandy Loam

Vinification Method: Grapes are hand harvested and immediately pressed as whole bunches. The wine ferments in 228-liter 8-year-old barrels with indigenous yeast for about 1 month. The wine rests in the same barrels for 6 months of elevage, with one racking before bottling and no battonage. The wine is unfiltered and lightly sulfured before bottling.

Cancilla Vineyard “Ken’s Pom” Pinot Noir — Back to the top

Cancilla Vineyard “Ken’s Pom” Pinot Noir tech sheet

Total Production: 400 bottles 

Yield: 5 tons per hectare

Appellation: Columbia Valley Washington (Yakima Valley)

Age of Vines: 18 years

Soil: Sandy into Volcanic

Varieties: 100% Pinot Noir

Vinification Method: Grapes are hand harvested and whole bunches ferment semi-carbonically in plastic microbin for about 1 month with indigenous yeast, and occasional pigeage. The wine goes into 500-liter 5-year-old barrels for about 11 months of elevage. The wine is bottled without fining or filtration and has zero sulfur added.

Verdelho Petillant Naturel — Back to the top

Total Production: 700 bottles 

Appellation: Columbia Valley Washington (Yakima Valley)

Age of Vines: 13 years

Soil: Sandy Loam

Vinification Method: Grapes are hand harvested and immediately pressed as whole bunches. The wine ferments in 228-liter 6-year-old barrels with indigenous yeast for about 2 weeks. The wine is bottled with a small amount of residual sugar remaining and finishes fermenting in bottle with zero filtration and zero sulfur added. The bottles are hand-disgorged and then recapped. 

Rose of Pinot Noir Petillant Naturel — Back to the top

Rose of Pinot Noir Petillant Naturel tech sheet

Total Production: 400 bottles 

Appellation: Willamette Valley

Age of Vines: 18 years

Soil: Sandy into Volcanic

Vinification Method: Grapes are hand harvested and immediately pressed as whole bunches. The wine ferments in 228-liter 6-year-old barrels with indigenous yeast for about 3 weeks. The wine is bottled with a small amount of residual sugar remaining and finishes fermenting in bottle with zero filtration and zero sulfur added. The bottles are hand-disgorged and then recapped. 

Grenache Blanc — Back to the top

Grenache Blanc tech sheet

Total Production: 1400 bottles

Appellation: Columbia Valley Washington (Yakima Valley)

Age of Vines: 13 years

Soil: Sandy Loam

Vinification Method: Grapes are hand harvested and immediately pressed as whole bunches. The wine ferments in 228-liter and 50-liter 2-4 year old barrels with indigenous yeast for about 4 weeks with about 24 hours in contact with the skins. The wine rests in the same barrels for 6 months of elevage, with one racking before bottling and no battonage. The wine is unfiltered and has zero sulfur added.

Willamette Pinot Noir — Back to the top

Total Production: 4800 bottles

Appellation: Willamette Valley (54% Cancilla Vineyard (NW Willamette Valley) and 46% Silvershot Vineyard (Eola-Amity AVA)

Age of Vines: 13 years

Soil: Mixed Basalt and Sedimentary

Yield: 2 tons per acre

Vinification Method: Grapes are hand harvested and whole bunches ferment semi-carbonically in 500 liter barrels with indigenous yeast and  pigeage one to two times a day. The wine goes into 500-liter 5-year-old barrels for about 10 months of elevage. The wine is bottled without fining or filtration and has a small addition of sulfur.

Pinot Noir Rosé — Back to the top

Total Production: 1800 bottles

Appellation: Willamette Valley

Age of Vines: 20 years

Soil: Alluvial and Basalt

Yield: 2 tons per acre

Vinification Method: Grapes are hand harvested and destemmed. The grapes are direct pressed into concrete eggs where the wine ferments for about 8 months. The wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered with a small addition of sulfur.

Columbia Valley Mourvedre — Back to the top

Total Production: 1800 bottles

Appellation: Columbia Valley

Elevation: 1650 feet

Age of Vines: 20 years

Soil: Sandy/Loam

Yield: 2 tons per acre

Vinification Method: Grapes are hand harvested and whole bunches ferment semi-carbonically in 500 liter barrels with indigenous yeast and  pigeage one to two times a day. The skins macerate for about 30 days before pressing. The wine goes into 500-liter 5-year-old barrels for about 9 months of elevage. The wine is bottled without fining or filtration and has a small addition of sulfur.

Sec Siemefe Touriga Nacional — Back to the top

Total Production: 840 bottles

Appellation: Columbia Valley

Age of Vines: 20 years

Soil: Alluvial 

Yield: 2 tons per acre

Vinification Method:Grapes are hand harvested and whole bunches ferment semi-carbonically in 500 liter barrels with indigenous yeast and  pigeage one to two times a day. The skins macerate for about 30 days before pressing. The wine goes into 228-liter 5-year-old barrels for about 11 months of elevage. The wine is bottled without fining or filtration and has zero sulfur added.

Cancilla Vineyard Sans Soufre Pinot Noir — Back to the top

Total Production: 1056 bottles

Appellation: Willamette Valley

Age of Vines: 20 years

Soil: Alluvial and Basalt

Yield: 2 tons per acre

Vinification Method: Grapes are hand harvested and whole bunches ferment semi-carbonically in 500 liter barrels with indigenous yeast and  pigeage one to two times a day. The skins macerate for about 30 days before pressing. The wine goes into 500-liter 5-year-old barrels for about 12 months of elevage. The wine is bottled without fining or filtration and has zero addition of sulfur.

Ellaguru — Back to the top

Total Production: 150 cases

Age of Vines: 20 years

Soil: Alluvial

Varieties: 50% Melon from Oregon, 50% Counoise from Washington

Yield: 2 tons per acre

Vinification Method: The two vineyards are hand harvested on the same day and are co-fermented and ferment as whole bunches. The bunches are foot tread and the skins macerate for about 30 days in 228 liter used wooden barrels before pressing. The wine spends about 6 months in elevage and is bottled with a small addition of sulfur.

Only Zuul — Back to the top

Total Production: 150 cases 

Varieties: 50% Pinot Gris/50% Gewurtztraminer

Age of Vines: 20 years

Soil: Alluvial

Yield: 2 tons per acre

Vinification Method: The two vineyards are hand harvested on the same day and fermented separately with the grapes destemmed. The wine is foot tread and macerated on the skins for about 30 days in 228 liter used wooden barrels before pressing. The wine spends about 6 months in elevage and is bottled with a small addition of sulfur.

Rousanne — Back to the top

Total Production: 23 cases

Age of Vines: 20 years

Soil: Alluvial

Yield: 2 tons per acre

Vinification Method: Grapes are hand harvested and immediately pressed as whole bunches. The wine ferments in 228-liter 8-year-old barrels with indigenous yeast for about 1 month. The wine rests in the same barrels for 6 months of elevage, with one racking before bottling and no battonage. The wine is unfiltered and lightly sulfured before bottling.

Marsanne — Back to the top

Total Production: 150 cases 

Age of Vines: 20 years

Soil: Sedimentary

Yield: 2 tons per acre

Vinification Method: Grapes are hand harvested and immediately pressed as whole bunches. The wine ferments in 228 and 500-liter 8-year-old barrels with indigenous yeast for about 1 month. The wine rests in the same barrels for 6 months of elevage, with one racking before bottling and no battonage. The wine is unfiltered and lightly sulfured before bottling.

Chenin Blanc — Back to the top

Total Production: 23 cases

Age of Vines: 20 years

Soil: Sedimentary

Yield: 2 tons per acre

Vinification Method: Grapes are hand harvested and immediately pressed as whole bunches. The wine ferments in 228 and 500-liter 8-year-old barrels with indigenous yeast for about 1 month. The skins remain in contact with the juice for one week, after which they are pressed. The wine rests in the same barrels for 6 months of elevage, with one racking before bottling and no battonage. The wine is unfiltered and lightly sulfured before bottling.

WYD? U UP? — Back to the top 

Total Production: 125 cases

Age of Vines: 20 years

Varities: Willamette Valley Chardonnay

Soil: Sandy Loam

Yield: 2 tons per acre

Vinification Method: Grapes are hand harvested and destemmed. The wine ferments in  500-liter 5-year-old barrels with indigenous yeast for about 1 month. The wine rests in barrel for 8 months of elevage. The wine is unfiltered and lightly sulfured before bottling.