Argyle Winery

Argyle was founded in 1987 by Texan winemaker Rollin Soles and Australian wine entrepreneur Brian Croser, the founder of Petaluma in the Adelaide Hills. The two had identified the Willamette Valley as a cool-climate region with the potential to produce world-class méthode champenoise sparkling wine, and they established the project in a repurposed hazelnut roasting house in downtown Dundee. The first vintage focused on sparkling wines built on the high-elevation Knudsen Vineyard, then already 13 years old, and the early Argyle bottlings established what was possible from Oregon for traditional-method sparkling wine. Soles became one of the defining figures of Willamette Valley winemaking through the 1990s and 2000s, and the Argyle sparkling program has remained the appellation's benchmark.

• Founded 1987 by Rollin Soles (American winemaker) and Brian Croser (Australian, founder of Petaluma)
• Located in a repurposed hazelnut roasting house in downtown Dundee, Oregon
• First-vintage focus: méthode champenoise sparkling wines from the high-elevation Knudsen Vineyard
• Established the Willamette Valley as a credible source for world-class traditional-method sparkling wine

Argyle's three primary vineyard sources together cover most of what made the early Willamette Valley a credible sparkling wine region. The Knudsen Vineyard, planted in 1972-1974 by Cal and Julia Knudsen, is one of the oldest Pinot Noir vineyards in Oregon and sits at high elevation in the Dundee Hills, conditions ideally suited to the long, slow ripening that méthode traditionnelle requires. Argyle has worked Knudsen since 1987 and acquired the vineyard outright more recently. The Stoller Vineyard, an 8-acre parcel planted in 1995, adds a separate Dundee Hills source. The Lonestar Vineyard, a 160-acre site located 15 minutes south of Dundee and planted primarily to Dijon clones of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, anchors the still wine program. The cross-section gives Argyle the largest contiguous Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vineyard footprint in the Dundee Hills.

• Knudsen Vineyard: 120 acres, planted 1972-1974, one of the oldest Pinot Noir sites in Oregon, primary source for sparkling wines
• Stoller Vineyard: 8 acres, planted 1995, additional Dundee Hills Pinot Noir source
• Lonestar Vineyard: 160 acres south of Dundee, planted primarily to Dijon clones, anchor of still wine program
• Combined footprint is the largest contiguous Argyle vineyard holding in the Dundee Hills

Argyle's sparkling wine program follows traditional méthode champenoise: secondary bottle fermentation with extended lees aging before disgorgement. The flagship wines include Brut, Brut Rosé, Blanc de Blancs, and the Vintage Brut and Extended Tirage bottlings, the latter showing the long-aged biscuit and toast development that the Willamette Valley's bright acidity supports. Across the portfolio, annual production is approximately 50,000 cases with roughly 60% allocated to still Pinot Noir, 35% to sparkling, and 5% to white wines including still Chardonnay and Riesling. The dual-stream production allows Argyle to maintain serious sparkling wine volume while also building a credible Dundee Hills still wine program.

• Méthode champenoise sparkling program with extended lees aging before disgorgement
• Sparkling lineup: Brut, Brut Rosé, Blanc de Blancs, Vintage Brut, Extended Tirage
• Annual production approximately 50,000 cases, the largest sparkling wine production in the Willamette Valley
• Production split: ~60% still Pinot Noir, ~35% sparkling, ~5% white wines

Argyle is the foundational Willamette Valley sparkling wine producer and one of the rare US sparkling specialists outside California's Carneros and Anderson Valley. The 1987 founding decision proved the appellation could make méthode traditionnelle at internationally serious levels, and the Argyle Brut and Vintage Brut have served as the gateway sparkling wines for tens of thousands of consumers exploring Oregon's cool-climate offerings. The Knudsen Vineyard's age and the depth of the Lonestar plantings give Argyle a vineyard footprint that few peers can match, and the dual-stream production maintains the estate's relevance in both the still and sparkling Willamette Valley conversations.

• Foundational Willamette Valley sparkling wine producer; first major US sparkling specialist outside California
• Knudsen Vineyard is one of Oregon's oldest Pinot Noir plantings (1972-1974)
• Largest sparkling wine production in the Willamette Valley at ~50,000 cases annually
• Dual-stream still and sparkling production maintains the estate's broad relevance in the appellation