The Saturday session of this year’s New York Wine Experience got off to a thoughtful start with Tony Soter, who came to Napa Valley in 1975 with a philosophy degree and was, in his own words, “unqualified for any serious job.”
Senior editor and Oregon taster Tim Fish observed that Soter “[helped lay] the groundwork for modern Napa Valley Cabernet” by working with Shafer, Dalla Valle, Spottswoode and others. Soter also ran his own label, Etude, which helped put Carneros Pinot Noir on the map.
Soter sold Etude in 2001, and in 2006, he moved back to his native Oregon. There, he planted Pinot Noir on the 250-acre Mineral Springs Ranch. With his late wife, Michelle—who “inspired so much of what we do today in Oregon”—he also created a biodynamic farm with ducks, chickens, pigs and more. The ranch has 50 acres of vines, with large oak groves that Soter intends to preserve. The animals and trees, he said, are crucial to the “philosophy of how we grow things on the property.”
Soter presented his Pinot Noir Yamhill-Carlton District Mineral Springs Ranch 2012 (95 points, $60 at release), which Wine Spectator selected as wine No. 17 of 2014. Poured from magnums at the Wine Experience seminar, it was singing, full of earthy accents and pure, understated fruit. As Soter recalled, a strong east wind blew for five days before harvest, concentrating the grapes and making them velvety to the touch, a “magic moment” that led to a fabulous wine.
Pinot Noirs from Mineral Springs, Soter observed, are “not just fruity—there’s always another dimension that makes them more complex.” Here was a wine that seemed to reflect the care and optimism of its maker while proving how remarkably Oregon Pinot Noirs can age.
What will Soter achieve in the coming years? The vintner is optimistic about his mission to find new vineyard sites that will one day be recognized as “great growths” of New World Pinot Noir. Soter doesn’t intend to rest on his winemaking laurels: “I’m still about the future.”
