Pollinator Wine Club

Dear Pollinator Club Members,

Thank you for your continued support and passion for our craft. Your Winter Club allocation includes two core wines that express the synergies our Estate Vineyards can offer. The 2023 Soter Estates Pinot Noir and the 2022 Soter Estates Chardonnay. The technique that sets these wines apart from our single-site bottlings is, of course, the ability of our winemaking team, led by Chris Fladwood, to blend. Blending can harmonize the intensity of single-site expressions and is an art in and of itself.

The 2023 Estates Pinot Noir is composed of 50% grapes from our Ribbon Ridge Estate, 30% from Mineral Springs Vineyard (Yamhill-Carlton), and 20% from Tarren in the Eola-Amity Hills. Each vineyard contributes its own unique nuance, much like a chef ladling diverse stocks to create a complex, soulful broth. Of course, well before work in the winery commences, the growing season is what lays the foundation for wine quality and flavor profile. The 2023 vintage was a collective sigh of relief—free from the perils of ice, fires, heat domes, and other meteorological misadventures. Temperate weather, modest yields, and sunny harvest days combined to produce a joyful growing season and a truly gorgeous crop.

In the cellar, Chris and his team ferment each vineyard block separately, making spontaneous decisions—from whole-cluster fermentation to other techniques—that best honor the character of the grapes. Once nestled in barrels, the wines are allowed to develop and are periodically revisited to ensure their well-being. Then, when they are mature enough for blending, the wines are carefully sorted, and sample blends are trialed again and again until perfect harmony is achieved. Similar to the highly regarded 2021 vintage, the 2023 Pinot Noirs are elegant, structured, and abundant with pure cherry fruit—the embodiment of an age-worthy wine that can offer great pleasure when young, with its exuberant fruitiness, while still hinting at a more complex future.

The second wine in your allocation is the 2022 Estates Chardonnay. Notice its age—a year older, perhaps puzzling to red wine devotees—but this extra time in barrel (and bottle) is essential to Chris’s vision for a slow evolution that captures subtle nuance and full expression by the time you uncork the bottle. Although a late-spring frost dealt a heavy blow to our early-blooming Chardonnay, the rest of the growing season unfolded nearly perfectly, leaving us with pristine fruit despite the low yields. Predominantly composed of grapes from the Eola-Amity Hills, along with a small but impactful accent from MSR, this Chardonnay is a mineral-driven expression that evokes savory herbs, briny shells, and delicate notes of quince and pear—all interlaced with subtle hints of biscuit and honey. Fermented entirely in French oak barrels and nurtured with extended lees aging in stainless barrels, it preserves both complexity and vibrancy.

Sharing our wines and the stories behind them with you is truly one of our greatest joys. We are grateful for your patronage and engagement, and for every bottle we've shared over the years. If you have any questions or need assistance with your order, please don't hesitate to connect with us. We are available by phone, text, or email, seven days a week.

We hope you can join us for the Winter Wine Club Release Party on Friday, March 14th; Saturday, March 15th; or Sunday, March 16th. This event will feature newly released wines with culinary delights. Reservations are complementary and limited to a total:
- Party size of (2) per membership for Pollinator Club members
Our Friday evening release party is for those wanting a more personal and casual setting. With less members in attendance, the full selection of wines will be offered at wine bars and food will be presented as a beautiful grazing board. Saturday and Sunday will feature wine stations with paired bites.

*Saturday is currently at capacity. Please reach out to our hospitality team directly to be added to the waitlist.
Pollinator members must secure all reservations directly with our hospitality team. Please email us for personal assistance in securing your reservation.
Payment processing will begin on Tuesday, March 4th, 2025, for all members and the credit card associated with your membership will be charged. Members are responsible for making account updates and order changes by the end of the day on Sunday, March 2nd, 2025. Login to your account today to confirm your allocation and membership preferences.
Due to the logistics of packing and shipping your wines, we may not be able to accommodate account or allocation changes after processing on March 4th.
Of particular importance:
- Shipping address
- Phone number
- Current credit card and expiration date
- Delivery type: ship or pick-up at the winery
- Wine selections if applicable
  
  We are happy to cellar your wine orders for up to six (6) months after purchase. Due to limited cellar capacity, all wine orders that are pending pick-up after 6 months are eligible for a monthly $10 cellaring charge at the beginning of each month if arrangements have not been made to receive your wines. We appreciate your understanding.
Join us for a wine club casual tasting and pick up your wine starting on Wednesday, March 5th. Make a reservation with our hospitality team directly and we will look forward to hosting you soon!
Pollinator members must secure all reservations directly with our hospitality team.
Your wine will be available for pick-up starting on Wednesday, March 5th - the day following wine club processing. We remain open daily from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. for pick-up by advance appointment. Secure a pick-up only appointment time with our hospitality team.
*This is not a tasting reservation.
If the shipping address attached to your membership needs to be updated for any reason, you are responsible for updating your account online or informing us directly to ensure you successfully receive your shipment.
Anticipated ship dates are listed below by state. We will ship your wine on this date via the method listed unless the weather does not permit. Shipping methods for each state are selected to be the most cost-effective and safest form of transportation for your wine. If we need to hold your shipment or change your shipping method due to weather, we will contact you directly. You will also receive direct notifications from your shipping carrier with a tracking number and estimated delivery date once your wine is in transit. We recommend tracking your package directly with the carrier for the most accurate information, you may also wish to sign up for either FedEx Delivery Manager or UPS My Choice to best track and make changes to your deliveries.
For convenient delivery, we encourage shipping to a nearby FedEx location where you'll have five (5) business days to collect your wine after delivery. Contact us for assistance in finding the closest location to you.
SHIP DATES
Monday, March 10th
- FL, HI, & Members who have elected to use 2-day or Overnight Air shipping
  - Estimated delivery Tuesday, March 11th or Wednesday, March 12th by method
- Palm Springs, CA area & Las Vegas, NV area via Ground shipping
  - Estimated delivery Wednesday, March 12th – Thursday, March 13th by region
- AZ via Ground shipping (where Arrive55 shipping is not possible or at member request)
  - Estimated delivery on Thursday, March 13th
Friday, March 14th
- FL via Ground shipping (by member request only, accepting risk)
  - Estimated delivery Wednesday, March 19th – Friday, March 21st
- AL, DC, GA, MD, NC, SC, & VA via Ground shipping
  - Estimated delivery Wednesday, March 19th – Friday, March 21st
Monday, March 17th
- CO, KS, MO, NM, OK, & TN via Ground shipping
  - Estimated delivery Thursday, March 20th – Friday, March 21st depending on proximity to Oregon
- TX via Ground shipping (where Arrive55 shipping is not possible or at member request)
  - Estimated delivery on Friday, March 21st
Thursday, March 20th
- AZ & TX via Arrive55 temperature-controlled shipping, only available to AZ: Phoenix & Tucson Metro areas; TX: Austin, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, & San Antonio metro areas. This is our primary shipping method for AZ & TX where possible, unless otherwise requested.
Arrive55 manages tracking and customer communications directly.
Tuesday, March 25th
- Majority of CA & Reno, NV area via Ground shipping
  - Estimated delivery on Thursday, March 27th
Friday, March 28th
- CT, ME, MA, NH, NJ, NY, PA, & VT via Ground shipping
  - Estimated delivery Wednesday, April 2nd - Friday, April 4th
Monday, March 31st
- ID, IL, IA, MI, MN, MT, NE, OH, WI, & WY via Ground shipping
  - Estimated delivery on Wednesday, April 2nd – Friday, April 4th depending on proximity to Oregon
Thursday, April 3rd
- OR & WA via Ground shipping
  - Estimated delivery on Friday, April 4th