Brick House Vineyards

Doug Tunnell built an unusual path to winemaking. He spent the years from 1975 to 1992 as a CBS News foreign correspondent, covering events across Europe and the Middle East from postings in Bonn, London, and elsewhere. The European posting exposed him to the wines of Burgundy and the Loire, and on returning to his native Oregon he and Melissa Mills acquired land in what would later be designated the Ribbon Ridge AVA. The first vines, Pinot Noir, were planted in the spring of 1990 around an old brick farmhouse in the middle of the property; Chardonnay and Gamay Noir followed in subsequent years. The estate's name comes directly from that brick house, which remains a visible feature of the property today.

• Doug Tunnell worked as a CBS News foreign correspondent in Europe and the Middle East from 1975 to 1992
• Tunnell and Melissa Mills founded Brick House Vineyards in 1990
• First vines (Pinot Noir) planted spring 1990 around the old brick farmhouse that gives the estate its name
• Chardonnay and Gamay Noir added in subsequent years, completing the founding varietal mix

Brick House sits in the Ribbon Ridge AVA, a small sub-AVA of the Willamette Valley near Newberg distinguished by its uplifted marine sedimentary Willakenzie soils, conditions different from the volcanic basalt sites of the Dundee and Eola-Amity Hills. The estate has been farmed under certified-organic principles since first plantings in 1990, an early commitment in the Willamette Valley. Doug Tunnell began biodynamic farming in 2002 and achieved Demeter biodynamic certification in 2005, putting Brick House among the first Oregon estates to operate under formal biodynamic certification. The combination of Ribbon Ridge soils, organic-then-biodynamic farming, and the unusual Gamay Noir plantings have given the estate a distinctive identity within the Willamette Valley.

• Located in the Ribbon Ridge AVA on uplifted marine sedimentary Willakenzie soils, distinct from volcanic basalt sites elsewhere in the valley
• Certified organic from first plantings in 1990
• Began biodynamic farming in 2002; achieved Demeter biodynamic certification in 2005
• Among the foundational biodynamic estates in the Willamette Valley alongside Cooper Mountain and a small handful of contemporaries

The Brick House range centers on Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Gamay Noir, an unusually broad varietal mix for a single Willamette Valley estate of this scale. Pinot Noir is the dominant variety with several single-block bottlings from the estate, including the heritage parcels planted in 1990. Chardonnay is produced in both an estate and a Cuvée du Tonnelier-style style with Burgundian aging. Gamay Noir is the most distinctive bottle, made from the rare Willamette Valley plantings of the variety and produced in a serious, structured style closer to a Cru Beaujolais than to the Beaujolais Nouveau template. The cellar approach is consistent across the range: indigenous-yeast fermentations, classical aging, and the lower-intervention style that biodynamic farming naturally encourages.

• Pinot Noir is the dominant variety; single-block bottlings draw on heritage 1990 plantings
• Chardonnay produced in both estate and more concentrated Burgundian-aged styles
• Gamay Noir is the estate's most distinctive bottle; structured serious style closer to Cru Beaujolais than Nouveau
• Indigenous-yeast fermentations and classical aging consistent across the range

Brick House occupies a distinctive position in the Willamette Valley as one of the appellation's foundational biodynamic estates, an early Ribbon Ridge planting decision, and one of the few Oregon producers to make Gamay Noir at a serious level. Doug Tunnell's path from CBS correspondent to biodynamic vintner is one of the more unusual personal stories in modern Oregon wine, and the estate's combination of organic-from-day-one farming and Demeter biodynamic certification has set a benchmark that later Willamette Valley estates have followed. The 2025 transition to Savannah Mills as winemaker marks the first significant generational change at the estate in 35 years.

• Foundational biodynamic estate in the Willamette Valley; certified organic from 1990, Demeter biodynamic from 2005
• Early Ribbon Ridge planting decision on uplifted marine sedimentary Willakenzie soils
• One of the few Oregon producers to make Gamay Noir at a serious commercial level
• Savannah Mills named winemaker in February 2025, marking the first significant generational transition in 35 years