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The Domaine Story
Our initial business concept placed the customer on the throne. What did the
customer want? In general terms, people want good value, which means a very high
quality product for a reasonable price. It means a consistent product, providing
good value year after year. And it means an available product - one that the
consumer can expect to find where he or she regularly shops for wine.
Since we started with a business plan that included buying the very best fruit we could find from over forty growers throughout the state, and since our own initial vineyards were small and not yet productive, our emphasis has been on blending the very best lots of wines into a final King Estate vintage. But as the years have gone by, our plantings at Lorane have grown to over 230 acres and have become commercially productive. This means we now have an opportunity to develop wines that are exclusively from our vineyards on the Estate.
And our vineyards are truly unique. Arguably, all vineyards are unique in some way; however, I would say that ours are more unique! Here's why: We have carefully matched vinifera selections with rootstocks and in turn matched the resulting plant with particular soil profiles. And soil is key. Our efforts to recycle and compost winemaking by-products and feed our soils the natural nutrients they need means that they in turn can feed the vines a complete and natural diet. Bottom line? You have to see and taste these wines — they are more brilliantly colored, more fragrant, more complex, and more age-worthy.
Even though production is quite limited, we felt the Domaine wine deserved its own package. No wine more truly represents all we have strived for. As we thought through the packaging, it became obvious we should actually put the names of those who literally touched this wine on the label. The new label has the signatures or the personal stamps of the individuals who led its crafting. Production details are on the back.
If this wine has the impact that we believe it will, you may be looking at a winemaking approach that will dominate fine Oregon wine production for the foreseeable future.
Ed King, III
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