No Pinot? No Problem.
Before his winemaking career found a base in Oregon, Blair Trathen journeyed across the world in search of adventure. Skiing in the Alps, drifting through Egyptian deserts, and hiking his way across India. “I used to be a backpacking ski bum,” he says. “Traveling helped me look at the world in a different way.”
By 1999, wanderlust had fermented into a calling. Trathen returned home to New Zealand, enrolled in a postgraduate program in winemaking and viticulture at Lincoln University, and inadvertently stumbled into a life of harvest-hopping across hemispheres.
“I’d do up to three vintages a year: New Zealand, South Africa, then Oregon,” he recalls. “It always kept things interesting.”
By 2001, he landed in Oregon’s Willamette Valley for the first time. The state’s reputation for Pinot Noir was already beginning to ripple beyond the Northwest. “My first harvest was at Beaux Frères,” he says. “Back then, the industry was still in its infancy. Tasting rooms were rare.”
Over the next two decades, Trathen built a serious Willamette Valley resume, working at wineries like Archery Summit, A to Z Wineworks and Shea Wine Cellars. But it wasn’t until 2022, when he stepped into the role of director of winemaking at Abbey Road Farm, that he found the freedom to fully experiment.
Located on a 82-acre estate in Carlton, Oregon, Abbey Road Farm was founded in 2017 by Daniel and Sandi Wilkens with the goal of creating a one-of-a-kind wine country destination. The property includes a modern tasting room, an award-winning bed-and-breakfast housed in renovated grain silos, and a former horseriding arena now transformed into a sought-after event venue.
The vineyard was planted in 2018-19, and now spans more than 45 acres. It was planted with a radical idea: defy Oregon convention by not focusing on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Instead, they planted over 16 grape varieties: some familiar, some almost unheard of in the Willamette Valley.
“To my knowledge, we have the only Trousseau Gris and Godello in the valley,” Trathen says. “Even Mencía and Mondeuse are incredibly rare here.”
The planting decisions weren’t entirely philosophical. Some were logistical. “You can only plant what’s available in nurseries at the time,” Trathen explains. But the underlying motivation was clear: enter the saturated Oregon wine market with something different.
“It was a bit of a shotgun approach,” Trathen admits. “They looked at varietals from places like Galicia and the Loire – regions with some climate overlap – and just went for it.”
Fast-forward to today, and many of those gambles are paying off. Gamay Noir has been a standout red. Albariño, Aligoté, Grüner Veltliner and Chenin Blanc are thriving in the whites. Even Cabernet Franc, historically a gamble in Oregon’s unpredictable weather, is proving viable. The increasingly warm, extended summers, a clear sign of climate change, have helped these varieties ripen to full maturity more consistently.
“In 2022 we got hit with frost,” Trathen says, “but otherwise, we’ve consistently had the heat units to ripen everything to full physiological maturity.”
The winery is also reimagining Oregon rosé. Beyond the typical Pinot Noir rosé, Trathen produces one from Gamay and another from a 50/50 blend of Trousseau Noir and Trousseau Gris, a style he believes is entirely unique to Abbey Road Farm in the Willamette Valley.
“There are some great Pinot rosés out there,” he acknowledges. “But I find wines made from other varietals more compelling. You get a different tannin structure, more complexity.”
The winery’s approach is working. They make just one barrel of Godello now, but it sells out quickly. So quickly, in fact, that Trathen is looking to top-graft some of the existing Pinot and Chardonnay vines to expand production.
“We’ve had a lot more market success with these lesser-known varietals,” he says. “When you’re one of a thousand wineries in Oregon, doing something different helps you stand out.”
Abbey Road Farm’s cellar isn’t just home to unique grapes, it also houses unique vessels. Fermentation happens in amphorae, acacia barrels and concrete eggs, depending on the varietal. It’s all part of the winery’s experimental ethos.
But behind all that novelty is serious intention. Trathen’s wines are farmed with organic and biodynamic principles in mind and every decision, from pruning to packaging, is rooted in long-term sustainability.
“It feels a little pioneering,” he says. “We’re building something new, something the valley hasn’t quite seen before.”
As Oregon’s climate warms and the market becomes increasingly saturated with Pinot and Chardonnay, Abbey Road Farm could offer a glimpse of the region’s future. And for Trathen,who spent years crisscrossing the globe in search of something meaningful, this eclectic vineyard on a Carlton hillside is the perfect place to settle in and break the rules.
Featured image by John Valls
