Freed Estate Vineyards is the dream of Michael and Pamela Freed. Mike and Pam bought 36 acres of unplanted land in Umpqua Valley's Winston, Oregon, on the Umpqua River in 2000, with hopes of planting grape vines to harvest and use to make wine for a business during his retirement years.
Freed Estate Vineyards planted its first grapes in 2000, experiencing its first harvest in 2002. The varieties that we grow are Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo, Semillon, and Viognier.
In 2005, our Freed Estate Vineyards 2002 Merlot won the Bronze medal at the Oregon State Fair.
From the beginning, Freed Estate has truly been a family business. Pam manages a crew seven months out of each year to prune, irrigate, and harvest the grapes for production. Mike has started spending four to five months each year assisting with production. Each summer, Bryan, the Freeds' youngest son, has run a pruning and irrigation crew. Fall 2006 was the first time Bryan spent harvest at the vineyard and helped to reap the rewards of all his hard work. Chris, the Freeds' oldest son, has helped with pruning and harvesting at the vineyard.
In 2007, Bryan came to live in Oregon and take on more of the vineyard responsibilities. In Fall 2008, he plans to begin Oregon State University's Viticulture program.
Also in 2007, the Freeds' daughter Candice, and her husband, Joey, and daughters, Tania and Talula, came to live in Winston. Joey is a carpenter and has been working with Mike's right-hand man, Jim, to build the new barn and tasting room!
The plan for this blog is to update quarterly with photos and the latest in Freed Estate Vineyards news.
