Brick House Vineyards

Brick House planted its first vines around the old brick house on the property in the sunny spring of 1990, Pinot Noir first, then Chardonnay and Gamay Noir. Doug and Melissa were relatively early arrivals in the Willamette Valley in 1990. Both spent years working as broadcast journalists: Melissa Mills in the Pacific Northwest for ABC affiliates, Doug Tunnell as a foreign correspondent for CBS News. Doug Tunnell is Founding Winemaker and Owner. The winery occupies a ninety-year-old horse barn turned winery at 18200 Lewis Rogers Lane in Newberg, and visitors are welcomed by appointment only.

• First vines planted in the spring of 1990 around the old brick house: Pinot Noir first, then Chardonnay and Gamay Noir
• Doug Tunnell: Founding Winemaker and Owner
• Melissa Mills worked as a broadcast journalist for ABC affiliates in the Pacific Northwest; Doug Tunnell as a foreign correspondent for CBS News
• Winery housed in a ninety-year-old horse barn; visits by appointment only

Savannah Mills is Winemaker, Casee Clark is Director of Hospitality & Membership, and Doug Tunnell is Founding Winemaker and Owner. Mills, Melissa's niece, joined the harvest crew in 2013, worked a harvest in New Zealand, and returned to the Brick House cellar, serving as assistant winemaker before taking on the role of Winemaker in 2025. Clark joined Brick House in August 2025 after more than a decade at R. Stuart & Co. in McMinnville, where she became Director of Consumer Sales & Membership. Brian Dooley works in direct sales and hospitality.

• Savannah Mills: Winemaker since 2025; joined the harvest crew in 2013
• Doug Tunnell: Founding Winemaker and Owner
• Casee Clark: Director of Hospitality & Membership since August 2025
• Brian Dooley: direct sales and hospitality

Brick House farms on Ribbon Ridge, a 3,500 acre sub-AVA. The converted barn winery sits in one of the upper reaches of the Ribbon Ridge AVA at 400 to 500 ft (120 to 150 m) elevation, and soils are marine sedimentary. The estate's southeast facing slopes host 45,000 vines within a forty-acre vineyard. In May 1990 the founders pledged to give up the herbicides and other powerful chemicals then common in Oregon's vineyards and certified the entire forty acres for organic production; the first commercial certified organic crop came in 1993, and by 2005 the farm had achieved Demeter Biodynamic certification. Brick House does not buy in fruit. The Dijon block, a former pasture for pack ponies at 450 feet, was planted in the early spring of 1995 to Pinot Noir clones 113, 114 and 115. Halliday Hill is a 1.4-acre block across the street from the Brick House estate, made since 2006.

• Ribbon Ridge, a 3,500 acre sub-AVA; marine sedimentary soils
• 45,000 vines on southeast facing slopes in a forty-acre vineyard
• Entire forty acres certified for organic production; first commercial certified organic crop 1993; Demeter Biodynamic certification by 2005
• Dijon block planted early spring 1995 to Pinot Noir clones 113, 114 and 115 at 450 feet
• Gamay Noir plantings over 5 acres, from clones #358 and #509 since 2020

In May 1991 Joel Myers, who propagated Gamay cuttings in his Vinetenders nursery in Dayton, delivered 4,608 own-rooted, ungrafted vines to Brick House: 720 of clone #282 and 3,888 of clone #284. Tunnell told Decanter that when he first started selling Gamay it took so much talking because people did not know what it was. By 2020 phylloxera had become increasingly noticeable and replanting began; the original Gamay vineyard had to be pulled out because of phylloxera, and the 2022 Brick House Gamay came to just 100 cases against the usual 800. The Due East block, on a steep east facing hill above the winery, was first planted in 2011 entirely to Gamay clone #358. Since 2020 all Brick House Gamay wines have come from clones #358 and #509, and Gamay Noir plantings have grown to over 5 acres. Jewel's Block, a quarter acre block of Gamay Noir in front of the brick house, is named for Jewel, the estate's yellow labrador. Decanter's Anne Krebiehl MW listed the Brick House 2015 Due East Gamay Noir from Ribbon Ridge among her top five Oregon Gamay wines to try.

• May 1991: 4,608 own-rooted, ungrafted Gamay vines delivered (720 of clone #282, 3,888 of clone #284)
• Replanting began after phylloxera became increasingly noticeable by 2020
• Due East block first planted in 2011 entirely to clone #358
• Jewel's Block: a quarter acre of Gamay Noir named for the estate's yellow labrador
• Decanter's Anne Krebiehl MW included the 2015 Due East Gamay Noir in her top five Oregon Gamays

The current release portfolio comprises Select Pinot Noir, Pinot Noir, Les Dijonnais Pinot Noir, and Evelyn's Pinot Noir; Chardonnay and Cascadia Chardonnay; Gamay Noir, Due East Gamay Noir, and Jewel's Gamay Noir; and the Intentional Rosé of Pinot Noir, made from 100% Pinot Noir. Halliday Hill Pinot Noir, Ribbon Ridge Pinot Noir, and Block Three Chardonnay also appear among the estate's reviewed wines. Les Dijonnais is a single-block selection from the three Dijon clones planted in 1995; Evelyn's is made only when the right blend is there; the Select Pinot Noir is sourced from all sections of the vineyard; and Block Three Chardonnay uses nearly 100% free-run juice. Cascadia Chardonnay represents clonal selections from the entirety of the estate vineyard.

• Pinot Noir: Select, Pinot Noir, Ribbon Ridge, Les Dijonnais, Evelyn's, Halliday Hill
• Chardonnay: Chardonnay, Cascadia, Block Three
• Gamay Noir: Gamay Noir, Due East, Jewel's
• Rosé: Intentional Rosé of Pinot Noir (100% Pinot Noir)

Brick House describes its approach in its own words: "We view our farm as a living organism, an extension of ourselves, seeking balance and good health." In the cellar, Tunnell has never used a bought-in, cultured yeast, and there is no formula for the proportion of stems discarded, which could be anything from 0 to 100%. The estate credits yellow jacket wasps with contributing to the multiplication and movement of its native yeast strains. The 2022 Select Pinot Noir saw varying degrees of whole cluster, on average 35%, with 8 to 10 months in French oak barrel, very little new wood, and all ambient-yeast fermentation. The 2022 Cascadia Chardonnay was fermented in French oak (under 10% new) and one new acacia barrel, then fined but not filtered. The estate describes Cascadia as "Richly textured and laser-focused."

• Never a bought-in, cultured yeast
• Stem inclusion anywhere from 0 to 100% with no set formula
• 2022 Select Pinot Noir: on average 35% whole cluster, 8 to 10 months in French oak with very little new wood
• 2022 Cascadia Chardonnay: French oak (under 10% new) and one new acacia barrel, fined not filtered

Production peaked at 5,200 cases in 2014 and later dropped to 3,500 cases. The 2023 harvest brought sixty-two tons of estate grapes picked, sorted, fermented, pressed off and stored in barrels over fifty days; in his 2023 Harvest Report, Doug Tunnell called the young wines "some of the most promising young wines in our thirty-three-year history." The 2022 Brick House Gamay came to just 100 cases against the usual 800, and the original Gamay vineyard had to be pulled out because of phylloxera.

• Maximum production of 5,200 cases in 2014, later down to 3,500 cases
• 2023 harvest: sixty-two tons of estate grapes over fifty days
• 2022 Gamay: 100 cases against the usual 800

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://brickhousewines.com/, https://brickhousewines.com/our-story, https://brickhousewines.com/team-brick-house, https://brickhousewines.com/dougs-field-notes-1/history-of-gamay, https://brickhousewines.com/visit-brick-house, https://brickhousewines.com/dougs-field-notes-1/to-our-vineyard-love-doug, https://brickhousewines.com/trade-resources, https://brickhousewines.com/dougs-field-notes-1/jewels-block, https://brickhousewines.com/press-articles/whizz-around-willamette, https://brickhousewines.com/press-articles/oregons-ribbon-ridge-defined, https://brickhousewines.com/dougs-field-notes-1/dijon-and-horseshoes, https://brickhousewines.com/featured-wines, https://brickhousewines.com/dougs-field-notes-1/2023-harvest-report, https://brickhousewines.com/directions-info. Secondary sources: https://www.decanter.com/wine-reviews-tastings/oregon-gamay-374981/. Last verified 2026-10-12. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.