We spent several hours yesterday tasting with Will Hamilton of Violin Wine in Amity, Oregon and it was one of the best and most informative tastings we have ever experienced. I won’t go into details of the specific wines we tasted from the 2021 vintage which were all fantastic but Will is dialed in on his Pinot’s and Chardonnay’s and willingly shares his expertise and reasoning for the wine making decisions he makes in a very accessible and knowledgeable fashion. Will’s knowledge of the intricacies and nuances of the Willamette Valley is impressive and his passion comes through in the tasting as well as in his wines. Walking out with wine purchased from such a skilled wine maker and one who so passionate about what they are doing is a great feeling. If you are in the Willamette Valley for tastings, you would do well to contact Will and and arrange a visit.
I’m booked to go there on Sun 7/28! Looking forward to the visit.
For you folks who have been buying Will’s wines for some time now, is there any sort of discount with purchasing a case or more? Never mind - I just went to fill out the purchase order form information and see there is a 10% case discount!! So, will get an order in!! 
Brad’s note on the 2021 Koosah Pinot Noir the other day inspired me to open one of mine the other night. What a “WOW!” wine. So, thinking of picking up some more of the various 2021s. 
Methinks Terry hit the lottery this year - buying a shit ton of OR wines this year!
I have been purchasing quite a bit (for me) of the 2021 Oregon Pinot Noirs. Something about them is just kicking my ass (in a good way!). If they end up shutting down . . . I hope it’s neither hard nor for any significant number of years. But, for young wines they keep blowing me away. I’ll probably try to purchase some more before it’s all said and done.
As I’ve mentioned a number of times, I am “new” to Oregon Pinot Noir and, for that matter, Pinot Noir in general. In some ways, after 40+ years of drinking red (mostly) wine I’d become a bit bored with it. For me, discovering some of these Oregon Pinot Noir folks and their wonderful wines really brought back some of the excitement and just pure joy/pleasure I experience in opening and devouring a bottle of wine.
And to think . . . I probably would have missed out on all of it had I not finally looked into this “Berserker Day” sales thingy that had been happening right under my nose for all those years . . . . 
Will is a great guy to taste with. His 2021 WV chard is fantastic and a steal for the price. It certainly holds it’s own against other much more expensive bottlings from the valley. Also, there isn’t a lot of it to go around, but I had his 2023 First Man rose yesterday and it is really great, I’m not usually a big Oregon PN rose fan, but it’s pretty special, I’ll be buying more here very soon, highly recommended if you see it.
I’ll just say I had the same spectacular experience when I tasted with Will last summer. Not only is Will one of the kindest and most down to earth producers I’ve met, his wines perform at seriously high level, both for reds and whites. The 2021s, as others noted, are incredible (I especially love the Polk County Cuvee and Sojeau bottlings). I just took shipment of Will’s 2022s and I popped the entry level WV bottle a few days ago and it’s excellent. Overall, I find Will nails the more restrained style, while still delivering great concentration and complex, lively aromatics.
IMO Will is one of the top wine makers in the valley. Red or whites the wines are balanced and elegant. He threads the needle between concentration and weightless very well. I also appreciate the time he puts into vetting and managing his fruit sources.
I also love the ‘21 vintage. There is a very pleasing textural element to many of the wines. For me it’s how the soft integrated tannins frame the fruit yet allow for a long finish.
The Willamette Valley is full of very talented wine makers and I feel fortunate so many participate on this blog.
FWIW- Will’s chardonnay inspired the Oregon Chardonnay thread.
We love tasting with Will-we were tasting with him 2 days before you!
What a wonderful thread to read. Thanks so much Tim and others for the very kind words.
The evolution of our journey around wine and how these tastings consequently exist is something of a mystery to me in that it was hardly “planned”. I suppose they are some intersection between hospitality, social and intellectual engagement, geographical and geologic inquiry, and pure vinous delight. They have to be at least the latter, and hopefully some of the former for folks who like to engage like that. Which I think most of you on this thread do. And we appreciate it. Engaging directly about our process gives us the best chance to be transparent and genuine with respect to the product.
We are flattered and glad to get praise for the stuff we spend so much of our time working hard on. It is gratifying to know that people around the country, (and in other countries), believe in what we do and are willing to share that excitement with others. The brand’s twelfth vintage would not be close to possible without the support.
Our lease is now signed and we will be moving facilities for the '24 vintage (our 20th in the WV!). We are re-doing the tasting room there in the Eola Hills and hope to take our hospitality opportunities further, and trust we will see some of you there over the coming years.
Cheers and thank you!
I’m visiting Will next month, looking forward to it!
At the new place to boot! See you soon Brian
Drank Will’s 21 and 22 Sojeau Chardonnay over the last few nights. These are some of the finest chardonnays being made in Oregon today, though no doubt part of that is stylistic preference. There is significantly less reduction than some of the better known labels. The wines are proper WV, but would fool many in a blind tasting with good burgs, imho.
And his berserkerday pinot is terrific, though I’m trying to keep my hands off.
Love Sojeau vineyard and I think it’s been my favorite vineyard that Will makes wine from (though 2019 Lewman Pinot is special too).
Hope to be opening one of Will’s 2021 Sojeau Vineyard Pinot Noirs sometime in the next couple of weeks. Opened the 2021 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir this week and it was quite nice the first night and even filled out a bit in richness and flavors the second evening with zero indications of having been opened the evening prior. Really nice stuff.
Me and my lady visited with Will at his picnic table in May. My favorite stop on the trip. Will has quite a knowledge of WV geology that was very interesting and fantastic wines. Like hanging out with an old buddy. The sojeau chard is straight fire!!! Hope to get back there soon. Anyone in the area should go!!
Question regarding Will’s reds: do you folks generally decant them to give them some air prior to enjoying them? And, if so, what sort of time in the decanter?
I’ve been enjoying some of the 2021s (of course ) and without exception they’ve been great PNP. But they also seem to just blossom over the course of the evening. I am thinking of decanting and giving them a couple of hours before enjoying them, but was curious about what others have been doing. Thanks!
I’ve had great success opening about 6 hrs ahead of dinner and then double decanting back into the bottle. A little air seems to bring out the aromatics, but I don’t think they generally need tons of exposure either.
I haven’t decanted but I did notice a softer expression with a Witness Tree after a couples hours into the bottle.
Late to the party, but 100% in agreement with this thread. Will is one of my favorite winemakers in the Valley, and Megan and I both love the wines.
Will is also has one one of the most widely experienced Willamette Valley palates that I know of and really can dial in the differences of terroir between wines. Talking with him about his own wines and Oregon wines in general is enjoyable and very enlightening.
Now if we can just find him a Ribbon Ridge site to work with…