King Estate Organic Buena Vista Lavender Harvest & Distillation
We are best known for our exceptional wines (obviously), but we also grow and harvest exceptional organic lavender. Garden manager Jessie Russell and her crew care for more than ¾ of an acre of lavender. Varieties include white ‘Cape Blanco,’ a small crop of ‘Provence,’ and our most prevalent variety, ‘Buena Vista.’ ’Buena Vista’ was developed by Dr. Don Roberts, a retired professor from OSU and a lavender farmer himself. It is an exceptional varietal of lavender. Roberts distills the organic King Estate lavender at Premier Botanicals in Independence, Oregon.
This year, the estate produced 3.25 gallons of essential lavender oil which we will use to make lotion, soap, body wash, shampoo, conditioner, and of course essential oil. You can shop for our estate lavender products by clicking here or by visiting the King Estate visitor center.
Watch the video to take a closer look at the lavender harvest and distillation processes:
Announcing the 1MW Solar Vineyard at King Estate Winery!
King Estate is teaming up with SolarCity, a national leader in solar power, as well as Lane Electric Co-op, and Advanced Energy Systems to install the largest solar power system at a winery in the Pacific Northwest. Construction on the 973.84 kilowatt (kW) solar system began this month.
Five years in the making, this is a very exciting time for the winery, the culmination of a lot of hard work between us and our partners in this project. This installation is a collaboration between King Estate and Advanced Energy Systems, which developed the project; SolarCity, which provided financing and integration support; and Lane Electric as the utility partner. The system’s 4,144 solar panels on about 4 acres of land should eliminate more than 38 million pounds of carbon dioxide over the next 25 years. According to estimates provided by the Environmental Protection Agency, this amount is equivalent to the annual greenhouse gas emissions from 3,381 passenger cars or 1.9 million gallons of gasoline. The King Estate solar power system is large enough to offset the annual power usage of approximately 100 residential homes.
King Estate Caters the 8th Annual FOOD for Lane County Empty Bowls Dinner & Auction
This year, King Estate had the pleasure of catering the 8th Annual FOOD for Lane County Empty Bowls Dinner & Auction which took place Saturday evening, October 1, in the FOOD for Lane County warehouse. Storage docks that normally hold boxes of food were transformed into a harvest fair complete with shops replete with colorful awnings and stocked with auction items for all to see and bid on. A live auction was conducted in between dinner courses in the dining area, where guests had the chance to win trips to Hawaii and Mexico, Oregon sunstone jewelry, season passes to the Bach Festival, and lots of other exciting packages. Watch the video below that played before the meal to get a closer look at the 5 course menu King Estate prepared and meet some of the farmers that supplied ingredients.
Win a One Year Supply of Wild Salmon & 12 Months of the KE Tower Club!
With 1,033 acres, King Estate is home to the world’s largest contiguous organic vineyard. Our organic certification was granted by Oregon Tilth, one of the strictest certifying agencies in the country. We have also been inspected and certified by Salmon-Safe, which recognizes that our farming inputs and practices have no negative impact on salmon and other aquatic life. This is of great importance here at King Estate because the natural springs that begin on our property flow to the Siuslaw river, and some are key tributaries.
To increase awareness of this fish-friendly certification we have partnered with the non-profit Salmon-Safe organization to bring you this exciting contest. All you have to do is pledge to sip Salmon-Safe wine and choose wild instead of farmed fish. You’ll be entered to win a year long membership in the King Estate Tower Club and a year’s supply of wild Bristol Bay salmon delivered right to your door.
Thanks to Your Support, The King Estate Restaurant Is Here to Stay!
This year King Estate faced a surprising challenge to our restaurant’s operation. Many of you know first-hand that our restaurant program is built on a firm dedication to support local sustainable agriculture, and it is just one of a great many rising businesses in Oregon’s food and wine industry that promote values like organic farming, fair wages, and fostering a vibrant local economy. In many ways the misguided appeal of our restaurant permit was aimed at senselessly undercutting the rising food and wine industry in Oregon.
With your very, very important support, which came in many forms: petition signatures, letters to legislators, blog comments and more, we undertook a major initiative at the Oregon legislature to protect ourselves and like businesses across this great state. As a result, we were not only able to protect our restaurant but we changed the law for the benefit of all wineries, and even paved the way for a few others in the state to establish their own full service restaurants. It was a profound success that began with a collective effort to speak up for common sense, for the future, and for responsible job creation.
Summertime in Oregon Wine Country
The summer season is in full swing at King Estate. Willamette Valley summers are exceptional, and there is never a better time to visit the estate and enjoy lunch with a bottle of wine on our terraces. The spring flowers on our organic fruit trees have transformed into small apples, figs, and cherries soon to be enjoyed by visitors ordering our cheese and fruit plate.
Weddings occur most often during the summer due to the Willamette Valley’s mild weather and King Estate’s beautiful, green vines. With full time event planners on site and catering from our restaurant and bakery, a wedding at the estate is a perfect celebration.
Springtime Brings Flowers and Sheep to King Estate Winery
With springtime comes new growth throughout the King Estate property. Our apple and plum trees have begun to flower, and the mustard and grass in the vineyard have been growing quickly. That’s where the sheep come in. King Estate uses sheep as natural lawn mowers. They enjoy munching on fresh shoots of grass and weeds, and we enjoy the fact that we don’t have to run tractors through the vines to trim the unwanted growth. In the process, the sheep also naturally fertilize the vines and help us reduce our carbon footprint.
VIDEO: Support the Restaurant at King Estate & Local Farmers!
Sign our petition and join our efforts to protect the restaurant at King Estate and the local farmers that we support, or click here to learn more about the issue.
Sustainable Food & Drink Part 2: The Restaurant at King Estate
At King Estate, the winery came before the restaurant, but we have always sought to enhance the experience of our wines with good, wholesome food. Since our inception, our culinary department has produced recipes, special dinners, and cookbooks with some of America’s greatest chefs. When we opened the restaurant in late 2005, we incorporated the organic ethic that drives our viticulture and farming. This ethic of organic production considers the impact our decisions will have on future ecological and economical harmony. It requires looking ahead and resisting the monetary benefits or “conveniences” offered by alternative approaches.
Environmentally friendly farming contributes to the quality of our food, wine, water, soil, and community. Sourcing local product supports local farms and ranches that are vital to food security. Communities everywhere are noticing these benefits and pursuing local, organic food.