Kirsten and Ned Lumpkin, co-founders of Carlton Winemakers Studio, “thief” some of their 2008 Lazy River Vineyard pinot noir from a barrel to determine development.
Marcus Larson/News-Register

Visitors coming through the front entrance of the eco-friendly Carlton Winemakers Studio in Carlton first encounter the tasting room, which features wines from all eight tenant wineries.
Marcus Larson/News-Register

Winemaker Robert Brittan of Brittan Vineyards watches as his 2009 pinot noir slowly settles. The process takes several days before the wine is siphoned off into barrels.
Marcus Larson/News-Register

Aaron Hemphill, left, and Justin Van Zanten inspect a broken pump to diagnose needed repairs.
Marcus Larson/News-Register

CWS Wine Director Jeff Woodard talks with customers in the tasting room about the various wines they are sampling.
Marcus Larson/News-Register

Tom Fitzpatrick, assistant winemaker for Hamacher, Lazy River and Retour, samples wine to detect possibile flaws before using it to top off other barrels.
Marcus Larson/News-Register

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When Eric Hamacher and wife Luisa Ponzi teamed up with Ned and Kirsten Lumpkin back in 2001, they designed to launch a business featuring a new and untried model. Convinced of the need, and confident they could fill it, the partners pushed ahead despite the lack of any precedent.

Hamacher was a talented young Oregon winemaker and Ponzi had taken over the winemaking reins at her family’s pioneering Washington County winery. The Lumpkins were experienced business people, longtime owners of a general contracting company, who loved wine and owned the 36-acre Lazy River Vineyard west of Yamhill.

Hamacher wanted to build a winery, while the Lumpkins wanted someone to make wine for them. That starting point evolved into a plan to provide nascent wineries with space and equipment they could share, hoping that would enable them to take root and blossom like young vines.

Hamacher envisioned an environment as much as a physical facility — one where winemakers could interact to exchange ideas, discuss problems and assist each other when needed. In many ways it would be like an artist’s cooperative — a shared studio.

The partners found a suitable site conveniently located at the northern end of Carlton. Hamacher recruited eight winemakers who needed a place they could make their wine and the Lumpkins oversaw construction of a state-of-the-art facility.

The facility was not only efficiently designed and outfitted with top quality equipment. It was laid out to incorporate energy-saving attributes and components meeting LEED standards.

Natural lighting was a major design element. Doors and countertops were fashioned from recycled material.

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As the 2002 harvest approached, completion of the Carlton Winemakers Studio was well enough along to process its first vintage. The facility officially opened to the public for the first time on Thanksgiving weekend of that year.

Proudly pouring wines in their shared tasting room were seven of the original eight: Hamacher Wines, Andrew Rich Vintner, Penner-Ash Wines, Soter Vineyard, Domaine Meriwether, Dominio IV and Bryce Vineyards.

Wines from the eighth, Lazy River Vineyard, were made for the Lumpkins by Hamacher. But weren’t ready for market until a couple of years later.

Given an annual production capacity of 18,000 to 20,000 cases, and the logistics of rotating proprietorship, Hamacher felt he could accommodate no more than 10 wineries in the 15,000-square-foot facility.

Ten has, in fact, been the largest number of wineries sharing CWS at any one time during its seven years of operation. But production was pushed to 23,000 cases for the prolific 2006 vintage.

A total of 17 wineries have called the facility home over that period. Five of them — Penner-Ash, Scott Paul, Soter, Domaine Meriwether and Resonance Vineyard — left the incubator to develop their own facilities.

Dominio IV now operates from another facility. Bryce Vineyards closed following the death of owner and winemaker Bryce Bagnall.

Others getting their start at CWS include Boedecker, Ribbon Ridge and J. Daan.

Three of the original wineries — Hamacher, Lazy River and Andrew Rich — are still happily producing their wines under the eco-friendly roof to this day. They have been joined by Brittan Vineyard, Wahle Vineyards and Cellars, Ayoub Vineyard, Retour Wine Company and Montebruno, making a total of eight wineries currently collaborating there.

After 16 years at Stags Leap Vineyard in the Napa Valley, Robert Brittan returned to Oregon and a challenge that has long eluded him — the opportunity to craft great pinot noir, which he grows in the McMinnville AVA.

In addition, Brittan makes pinot noir for Mo Ayoub and Winderlea Vineyard, both located in the Dundee Hills.

McMinnville native and Linfield graduate Lindsay Woodard worked for IPNC and Ponzi Vineyard before moving to California as a marketing manager with the internationally known Riedel wine glass company.

Woodard returned to her roots in 2004, determined to put her mark on pinot noir, and struck a deal with Hamacher to produce wine at CWS under the Retour label.

New Yorker Joseph Pedicini’s Italian heritage motivated him to begin making wine. Though he still lives and work in New York City, he regularly comes to Oregon to look after his newest baby, a 2008 gewürztraminer.

Pedicini shipped most of his first commercial oenological effort, a 250-case lot of 2006 pinot noir, back to the Big Apple for distribution there under the Montebruno label. It’s his mother’s family name, from a clan in southeastern Italy.

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Mark Wahle hails from a family that first planted grapes near Yamhill back in 1974. A graduate of UC Davis, he and his wife planted winegrapes in the Eola-Hills in 1999.

Total acreage of the site is 310 acres, so, though Wahle Vineyards and Cellars is currently at the Carlton Winemakers Studio, the couple may have something considerably more sizable in mind for the future.

Despite a struggling economy, CWS seems to be on pretty solid ground.

Ned Lumpkin said, “We had a great tasting room season. I’m gratified to say that our sales are up 20 percent over last year.”
His wife, Kirsten, expressed her enthusiasm about the prospects for a CWS wine club, which is now ready for launching.

“It’s a first for us,” she said. “With the large base of customers from our tasting room, we feel it will really benefit everyone.”
Brittan, who has just gone through his first crush at CWS is already a true believer.

“It’s a unique and energizing environment,” he said. “We don’t just share resources, we exchange ideas.

“I’ve learned more about Oregon’s wine culture more quickly here than I could have any other place. I’ve found a piece of property from which I believe I can craft great wine. And Carlton Winemakers Studio is a great place for me to do it.

“As far as I’m concerned, the book is still out on what the potential for Oregon pinot noir can be. And I want to be in the forefront of those who are determined to find out.”

Karl Klooster, the News-Register’s regional editor and wine columnist, can be reached by e-mail at kklooster@newsregister.com or by phone at 503-686-1227.