Argyle Winery

Argyle Winery was founded in 1987 by Rollin Soles with the purpose of making sparkling wine in the cool climate of Oregon's Willamette Valley. Soles cofounded Argyle with Brian Croser; the two had worked together at Croser's Petaluma Vineyards in Australia. Champagne Bollinger owner Christian Bizot and importer Robert Chadderdon were involved behind the scenes in the early years. The original winery was housed in a hazelnut plant in Dundee, the origin of the Nuthouse name. Argyle's Riesling began in 1988 with a dry-styled wine from an own-rooted block in the Knudsen Vineyard. Cal Knudsen (d. 2009), who began planting the Knudsen Vineyard in the Dundee Hills, led a group of investors that bought into Argyle and was its chairman from 1990 to 2007. In 2013 production was about 60,000 cases, about half of it still wine.

• 1987: Argyle founded in Dundee by Rollin Soles and Brian Croser
• 1988: first Riesling, a dry style from an own-rooted Knudsen Vineyard block planted at 600 vines per acre
• 1990 to 2007: Cal Knudsen (d. 2009) chairman of Argyle
• 2013: Rollin Soles stepped aside as general manager and winemaker; Nate Klostermann took over as winemaker on March 1
• 2025: Kate Payne Brown named head winemaker on March 4

Argyle is led by winemaker Kate Payne Brown and vineyard manager Erica Miller. Payne Brown was named head winemaker on March 4, 2025, becoming the third winemaker since Argyle was established in 1987, after founder Rollin Soles and Nate Klostermann. Klostermann, who had been Soles' assistant for seven years, became winemaker on March 1, 2013, and left after his twentieth harvest at Argyle in 2024. Soles stepped aside as general manager and winemaker in 2013 to devote more time to Roco, his own wine project. Payne Brown's earlier career includes roles at Archery Summit, Burgundia Oenologie, Stoller Family Estate and Ambar Estate, as well as her own winery, Dolores Wines; she holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Oregon and a Masters in Oenology from the University of Adelaide. Vineyard foremen Hector Cabrera and Francisco Ponce craft the limited-edition Ojo Brilloso Pinot Noir set.

• Kate Payne Brown: head winemaker since March 2025
• Erica Miller: vineyard manager
• Nate Klostermann: winemaker from March 1, 2013 through the 2024 harvest
• Rollin Soles: founder and winemaker until 2013
• Hector Cabrera and Francisco Ponce: vineyard foremen behind the Ojo Brilloso set

Knudsen Vineyard, in the heart of the Dundee Hills AVA, has been Argyle's foundation vineyard source since 1987. It was founded in 1972 and has 124 acres planted on red Jory soil at 630 to 1,000 feet; Cal Knudsen planted almost half the acreage in the early 1970s. Its higher-elevation Pinot Noir, above 700 feet, makes Spirithouse Pinot Noir, and Argyle's finest sparkling fruit also grows in its higher elevations, including the two vineyard-designated sparkling wines, Knudsen Vineyard Brut and Knudsen Vineyard Blanc de Blancs. Lone Star Vineyard in the Eola-Amity Hills AVA was founded in 1996 and has 113 acres planted on Jory, Nekia, Ritner and Woodburn soils at 200 to 400 feet. It is Argyle's warmest, sunniest site, and since the 1999 vintage it has served as the backbone of Nuthouse Pinot Noir; five acres of Riesling are farmed there on devigorated rootstock. Spirit Hill Vineyard, purchased in 2008, has 137 acres planted on red Jory soil at 700 to 800 feet to Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier. Its elevation and the gusty winds of the Van Duzer Corridor make it a very cool site, and an old pioneer cemetery in its northwest corner inspired the name. Giving Tree Vineyard, in the Willamette Valley AVA in Polk County, has 138 acres on Bellpine soil at 320 to 580 feet. In 2015 Argyle began a partnership with Atlas Vineyard Management to develop the 210-acre property: 58 acres of Pinot Noir and six acres of Chardonnay were planted in 2015, followed in 2019 by 52 acres of Pinot Noir, 19 acres of Chardonnay and two acres of Gamay Noir. The vineyard is named after Shel Silverstein's book. Argyle's estate vineyards are LIVE certified (since 2008), Salmon-Safe certified and Bee-Friendly Farming certified, and are farmed regeneratively.

• Knudsen Vineyard: Dundee Hills AVA, 124 acres planted, founded 1972, red Jory soil, 630 to 1,000 feet
• Lone Star Vineyard: Eola-Amity Hills AVA, 113 acres planted, founded 1996, Jory, Nekia, Ritner and Woodburn soils, 200 to 400 feet
• Spirit Hill Vineyard: Eola-Amity Hills AVA, 137 acres planted, purchased 2008, red Jory soil, 700 to 800 feet
• Giving Tree Vineyard: Willamette Valley AVA (Polk County), 138 acres, founded 2015, Bellpine soil, 320 to 580 feet
• Certifications: LIVE (since 2008), Salmon-Safe, Bee-Friendly Farming

Argyle has made méthode champenoise sparkling wine since 1987, from Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier. Every Argyle sparkling wine is 100% Argyle-grown and vintage dated, made from hand-picked, cold-pressed grapes, bottle fermented with proprietary yeasts, aged on the yeast for a minimum of three years and disgorged on demand. The range runs in four tiers: Willamette Valley Sparkling, designed for drinking young; Estate Reserve Sparkling, with greater barrel fermentation and hand-selected blocks; Single Vineyard Sparkling from Spirit Hill and Knudsen; and Extended Tirage. The Extended Tirage Brut is aged ten years on its yeast lees before disgorgement, and the Tirage Library in Dundee holds sparkling wines still aging on their lees from as far back as the first vintage in 1987. Argyle traces the Extended Tirage practice to Christian Bizot of Champagne Bollinger, who encouraged Rollin Soles to hold back a portion of each vintage for extended aging, mirroring Bollinger's Grande Année approach.

• 100% Argyle-grown, vintage dated, hand-picked and cold pressed
• Bottle fermented from proprietary yeasts; minimum three years on the yeast; disgorged on demand
• Tiers: Willamette Valley Sparkling, Estate Reserve Sparkling, Single Vineyard Sparkling, Extended Tirage
• Extended Tirage Brut: ten years on the yeast lees before disgorgement

Argyle's still wines run from house blends to single-vineyard bottlings. Nuthouse takes its name from the hazelnut plant that once was home to the original winery, and Nuthouse Pinot Noir carries the Eola-Amity Hills appellation. Spirithouse is named for the historic 1906 building that now anchors Argyle's campus, which once served as city hall, and for Lena, the spirit said to reside within. Spirithouse Pinot Noir is made only in selected vintages and is often drawn from the last-picked blocks; the Spirithouse wines debuted in 1998. The Single Vineyard collection covers Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier and Riesling, the Estate Reserve wines blend fruit from the estate vineyards, and the Willamette Valley wines are the introductory tier. The Riesling program began in 1988 at the Knudsen Vineyard and now draws on Lone Star; one Riesling is made from the last fruit harvested each season, handpicked by the cellar interns. The Ojo Brilloso program, launched in 2021, invites the vineyard supervisors to each select a small block of Pinot Noir, and a portion of proceeds benefits ¡Salud!, AHIVOY and The Roots Fund.

• Nuthouse Pinot Noir: Eola-Amity Hills, with Lone Star Vineyard as its backbone since the 1999 vintage
• Spirithouse Pinot Noir: Dundee Hills, made only in selected vintages; Spirithouse wines debuted in 1998
• Tiers: Single Vineyard, Estate Reserve, Willamette Valley
• Ojo Brilloso: vineyard-supervisor Pinot Noir blocks, launched 2021

As of February 2013, Argyle was the only winery to have reached the Wine Spectator Top 100 for white, red and sparkling wines. At that time its Extended Tirage Brut had been the top-scoring U.S. sparkling wine for six years running and had earned Top 100 spots in four of those years, and its Nuthouse Pinot Noir Willamette Valley 2003 and Chardonnay Willamette Valley 2002 had been in the Top 100 in 2006 and 2005 respectively.

• Wine Spectator Top 100 for white, red and sparkling wines (only winery to do so, as of February 2013)
• Extended Tirage Brut: Top 100 in four years, as of February 2013

Argyle's stated commitment for its sparkling wines is to create wines that not only show immediate quality but also improve with age. For Pinot Noir, its stated approach is to build house styles from a mix of high-density clones grown in the Dundee and Eola-Amity Hills at different elevations. Argyle's own note calls the 2023 Nuthouse Pinot Noir bold and brambly, with grippy tannins and a juicy burst of fruit.

The Argyle Tasting House at 691 OR-99W in Dundee is built on the site of Argyle's original production facility. Visitors reach it through the historic crush pad, past the four original fermentation tanks, named after The Beatles and still in use. Materials from the former winery were reclaimed for the building, and its tables, shelves, bar tops and wall siding were built from repurposed Douglas fir rafters from above the original cellar. As of October 2026, the Tasting House is open Monday to Thursday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://argylewinery.com/, https://argylewinery.com/about/, https://argylewinery.com/about/viticulture/, https://argylewinery.com/about/winemaking/, https://argylewinery.com/about/winemaking/pinot-story/, https://argylewinery.com/about/winemaking/sparkling-story/, https://argylewinery.com/about/winemaking/riesling-story/, https://argylewinery.com/about/winemaking/ojo-brilloso/, https://argylewinery.com/about/environment/, https://argylewinery.com/visit/, https://argylewinery.com/collection/extended-tirage-collection/, https://argylewinery.com/blog/argyle-news/acclaimed-winemaker-kate-payne-brown-named-head-winemaker-for-oregons-argyle-winery/, and the product pages https://argylewinery.com/product/2023-nuthouse-pinot-noir/, https://argylewinery.com/product/2023-spirithouse-pinot-noir/, https://argylewinery.com/product/2022-knudsen-vineyard-brut/, https://argylewinery.com/product/2015-extended-tirage-brut/, https://argylewinery.com/product/2022-vintage-brut/, https://argylewinery.com/product/2022-vintage-brut-rose/. Secondary source: Wine Spectator (Harvey Steiman, 6 February 2013, https://www.winespectator.com/webfeature/show/id/48015). Last verified 2026-10-19. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.