Soter Vineyards

Tony and Michelle Soter founded Soter Vineyards in 1997. Before Oregon, Tony Soter built his career in Napa Valley, where he arrived in 1975 to make wine. In 1982 he was hired as Spottswoode's first winemaker, and by 1982 he had launched his own label, Etude. Consulting was his day job from 1980; his clients included Araujo, Dalla Valle, Niebaum-Coppola, Spottswoode and Viader. In March 1999 he was retiring from the consulting business, which his associate Mia Klein was set to run from April 1. Wine Spectator credits him with helping lay the groundwork for modern Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon in the 1980s. Michelle Soter (1964-2019) had over 20 years of advertising and marketing experience. Tony Soter's first Oregon vineyard was the Beacon Hill Vineyard in the Willamette Valley, which he found in 1997; that year he made sparkling wine, adding Pinot Noir in 1998. He bought Mineral Springs Ranch in 2001 and sold Beacon Hill in 2005. He sold Etude to Beringer Blass (now Treasury Wine Estates) in 2001, remained with Etude for five years and moved to Oregon in 2006. In the estate's own account, Michelle Soter's convictions on environmentalism, organics, biodynamics, nutrition and holistic living spearheaded the vision for Mineral Springs Ranch as it exists today.

• 1975: Tony Soter arrives in Napa Valley to make wine
• 1982: Spottswoode's first winemaker; Etude label launched by that year
• 1997: Soter Vineyards founded; Beacon Hill Vineyard found and the first sparkling wine made
• 2001: Mineral Springs Ranch bought; Etude sold to Beringer Blass
• 2006: Tony Soter moves to Oregon

Chris Fladwood is winemaker, Jess Arnold associate winemaker, Emily Rozga viticulturist, Antonio Verduzco ranch manager, Clayton Allen head chef, Kurt Johnson director of global sales and Mary Sarles-Hoeschen chief financial officer. Winemaker Chris Fladwood and winegrower Tony Soter lead the team that handles every step of winegrowing and production in-house. Fladwood joined Soter Vineyards' winemaking team in 2009 as cellar master and worked his way up to winemaker. He is responsible for the entire winemaking operation, from the Planet Oregon wines to the sparkling wines and estate Pinot Noirs. Kurt Johnson worked for Tony Soter on the Etude brand in California.

• Chris Fladwood: winemaker; joined in 2009 as cellar master
• Jess Arnold: associate winemaker, also active in the biodynamic viticulture program
• Antonio Verduzco: ranch manager, overseeing all farm and ranch operations at Soter Vineyards and property management for Mineral Springs Ranch
• Tony Soter: winegrower; with Fladwood, leads the in-house winegrowing and production team

Mineral Springs Ranch, at 10880 NE Mineral Springs Road in Carlton, Oregon, is Soter's 250-acre biodynamic farm, vineyard and tasting room in the Willamette Valley. A former cattle ranch in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA, it was planted to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay along the ridgeline in 2002 and 2003, and Mineral Springs Vineyard now consists of 50 acres of those two varieties along the ridgeline of the property. The vines grow in well-drained marine sedimentary sandstone on a south-facing slope, with rows running east-west. Pinot Noir clones include Dijon, Wädenswil and Pommard, and about 40 percent of the planting is a clone Tony Soter calls Heirloom. Beyond the home ranch, Soter now farms a 20-acre vineyard in Ribbon Ridge, another 20 acres in the Eola-Amity Hills and a small parcel in the Dundee Hills. The fourth edition of the Brut Reserve uses fruit from Mineral Springs Vineyard and from the certified biodynamic Tarren Vineyard in the Eola-Amity Hills. Soter calls fully estate-controlled sourcing for every wine that carries the Soter name a long-held goal.

• Mineral Springs Ranch: 250 acres in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA, a former cattle ranch
• Mineral Springs Vineyard: 50 acres of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay along the ridgeline
• Soils and site: well-drained marine sedimentary sandstone, south-facing slope, east-west rows
• Pinot Noir clones: Dijon, Wädenswil, Pommard and the Heirloom selection (about 40 percent)
• Other estates: Ribbon Ridge (20 acres), Eola-Amity Hills (20 acres), Dundee Hills (small parcel)
• Tarren Vineyard (Eola-Amity Hills, certified biodynamic): a fruit source for the fourth-edition Brut Reserve

The Soters converted their property into a certified biodynamic farm in 2013, and certification was achieved in 2016. Mineral Springs Ranch and all additional Soter vineyards are farmed with biodynamic practices, and Soter does not use synthetic fungicides, herbicides or fertilizers. Cover crops grow between the vine rows, a falconer works the vineyard during harvest for bird abatement, and ladybugs, predatory wasps and other beneficial insects are used against aphids and leafhoppers. Chickens, cows, pigs and ducks rotate through the ranch's pastures, with Scottish Highland cattle grazing among the vines, and the cows provide manure for the biodynamic preparations. In 2020 winemaker Chris Fladwood achieved a Demeter-certified production process, and Soter Vineyards maintains a LIVE-certified production facility.

• Biodynamic conversion 2013; certification 2016
• No synthetic fungicides, herbicides or fertilizers; cover crops between rows
• Falconer at harvest; beneficial insects against aphids and leafhoppers
• Livestock: chickens, cows, pigs and ducks, including Scottish Highland cattle
• Demeter-certified production process (2020) and a LIVE-certified production facility

Sparkling wine came first at Soter: the first wine produced as Soter Vineyards was the 1997 Brut Rosé, and the estate has made traditional-method sparkling wine since that first vintage. The Brut Rosé and Blanc de Blancs are produced in extremely limited quantities from the biodynamically farmed Mineral Springs Vineyard and are always single-vintage wines. The base wines are barrel fermented, the wines are aged at least three years on the lees before disgorgement, and every bottle is hand-riddled on site by the cellar master. The Brut Rosé is the first wine harvested each vintage and the last released. The 2017 Mineral Springs Blanc de Blancs is 100 percent biodynamically farmed Chardonnay, aged on the lees for six years before hand disgorgement, with a dosage of 3 g/L. The sparkling range also includes the 2016 Mineral Springs Micha Blanc de Noirs, made entirely from Mineral Springs Pinot Noir, and the Soter Estates Multi-Vintage Brut Reserve, whose fourth edition blends 62 percent 2020 fruit with 38 percent reserve wines.

• First Soter wine: the 1997 Brut Rosé
• Brut Rosé and Blanc de Blancs: single-vintage, from Mineral Springs Vineyard, at least three years on the lees
• Barrel-fermented base wines; every bottle hand-riddled on site
• 2017 Blanc de Blancs: 100 percent Chardonnay, six years on the lees, 3 g/L dosage
• Brut Reserve, fourth edition: 62 percent 2020 fruit and 38 percent reserve wines

Soter's Pinot Noirs include the Mineral Springs Ranch Pinot Noir and the Soter Estates Pinot Noir, made entirely from the estate holdings. The 2024 Soter Ribbon Ridge and Savannah Ridge Pinot Noirs are sourced entirely from estate-farmed fruit, and each is a core building block of the Estates Pinot Noir blend. The Mineral Springs White Label Pinot Noir is produced only in the most compelling years and returned with the 2023 vintage after no release since 2018. The Chardonnays are the Soter Estates Chardonnay and the Mineral Springs White Label Chardonnay; the 2023 White Label is the second bottling of still Chardonnay solely from Mineral Springs Vineyard, barrel fermented with extra lees. The Soter Estates Pinot Blanc grows on the Ribbon Ridge estate from three genetically distinct selections of white Pinot and sees no oak. Planet Oregon is Soter's separate Willamette Valley label, with 1 percent of its sales donated to 1% for the Planet, and its range includes a White Field Blend.

• Pinot Noir: Mineral Springs Ranch, Soter Estates, Ribbon Ridge, Savannah Ridge, Mineral Springs White Label
• Chardonnay: Soter Estates and Mineral Springs White Label
• Pinot Blanc: Soter Estates, from the Ribbon Ridge estate, unoaked
• Planet Oregon: separate label; 1 percent of sales to 1% for the Planet

Soter calls itself a winegrowing company and names biodynamic grape growing as the key to creating rich flavor and substance in its wines. Its winemaking practices are time-honored, small-lot methods, using new French oak with restraint, and Soter credits Chris Fladwood with wines of firm structure, vibrant acidity and varietal purity. As of a 2022 Wine Spectator profile republished on the estate's site, Soter's Pinot Noirs seldom rose above 13.8 percent alcohol, used a significant percentage of whole-cluster fermentation and were generally aged 10 to 12 months in French oak, typically less than 40 percent new. In that profile Tony Soter put it this way: "In Oregon, there’s a notion of savoriness and complexity. I reference other things rather than fruit." Wine Spectator selected the Mineral Springs Ranch Pinot Noir 2012 (95 points) as its No. 17 wine of 2014.

• Biodynamic grape growing named as the key to flavor and substance
• Small-lot methods; new French oak used with restraint
• 2022 profile: alcohol seldom above 13.8 percent; significant whole-cluster share; 10 to 12 months in French oak, typically less than 40 percent new
• Mineral Springs Ranch Pinot Noir 2012: 95 points, Wine Spectator No. 17 wine of 2014

Tastings at Mineral Springs Ranch are by reservation. The Estates Experience, a guided tasting of four current-release wines grown across the three Soter estate vineyards, costs $40 per guest as of October 2026. The Provisions Experience is a guided culinary experience designed to immerse guests in the bounty of Mineral Springs Ranch, with head chef Clayton Allen cooking from the farm's abundance. Soter's membership ships to over 40 states.

• Reservations required for tastings
• Estates Experience: four current-release wines from the three estate vineyards, $40 per guest
• Provisions Experience: guided culinary experience built around the bounty of Mineral Springs Ranch
• Address: 10880 NE Mineral Springs Road, Carlton, Oregon

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://www.sotervineyards.com/, https://www.sotervineyards.com/founders/, https://www.sotervineyards.com/legacy/, https://www.sotervineyards.com/biodynamics/, https://www.sotervineyards.com/winemaking/, https://www.sotervineyards.com/team/, https://www.sotervineyards.com/visit-soter-vineyards/, https://www.sotervineyards.com/collection/pinot-noir, https://www.sotervineyards.com/collection/sparkling, https://www.sotervineyards.com/collection/chardonnay, https://www.sotervineyards.com/collection/white-ros-, https://www.sotervineyards.com/collection/planet-oregon. Secondary sources: Wine Spectator (Jeff Morgan, March 17, 1999): https://www.winespectator.com/articles/tony-soter-to-leave-napa-wine-consulting-business-20218; Wine Spectator (Kenny Martin, October 27, 2023): https://www.winespectator.com/articles/oregon-pinot-noir-tony-soter-ny-wine-experience-2023; Wine Spectator (Tim Fish, June 30, 2022 issue): https://www.winespectator.com/articles/a-grower-of-wine-tony-soter-063022. Last verified 2026-10-21. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.