Sokol Blosser and the Abandoned Prune Orchard
Near Dundee, Oregon
In nineteen seventy-one, a young couple named Susan Sokol Blosser and Bill Blosser bought an abandoned prune orchard in the Dundee Hills and began pulling out old trees to plant grapevines. Neither had ever farmed. Friends and family thought they were foolish, and in the early years money was so tight the vineyard nearly failed.
But the Blossers were part of a tiny pioneering wave, alongside David Lett, Dick Erath, and the Ponzis, betting that this cool green valley could grow world-class Pinot Noir. Their gamble paid off. Sokol Blosser became one of Oregon's most respected wineries, and Susan Sokol Blosser grew into a leading voice for the whole industry.
The winery pushed hard on sustainability, too. In nineteen ninety-six it became one of the first wineries certified Salmon Safe, for farming in a way that protects the streams where salmon spawn, and it later added a solar array that supplies part of the winery's power. From a failing patch of prune trees grew a family estate that helped define Oregon wine.
