Sokol Blosser selects Allied Works Architecture to design its world-class wine tasting facility

DUNDEE, OREGON (August 2012) - The Willamette Valley wine region has a new feather in its cap: Sokol Blosser Winery, one of Oregon wine country’s most innovative and respected vintners, has retained the architectural firm, Allied Works Architecture, led by renowned architect Brad Cloepfil, to design its new wine tasting facility. The 5,000 square foot project is set to open third quarter 2013.

Sokol Blosser, known for its top quality estate pinot noir and many contributions to organic and sustainable viticulture, also holds honors as a trailblazer in progressive winery architecture in Oregon: In 1978, they designed and opened the first purpose-built tasting room in the state. Topping this in 2002, theirs was the first LEED-certified winery building in the United States, a 5,800 square foot barrel aging cellar.  With the selection of Allied Works, Sokol Blosser is the first winery in the Pacific Northwest to commission an internationally renowned architecture practice to elevate the art of wine tasting.

“With his local roots and global vernacular, Portland native Brad and his team at Allied Works understand the significance of presenting our wines and family history in a context where winemaking, craftsmanship, environmental awareness and terroir are equally celebrated,” states Alison Sokol Blosser, co-president. “We share a belief that what’s outside the glass has a strong impact on the tasting experience. The wine tasting experience at Sokol Blosser has to be all encompassing.”

Cloepfil describes the design as “emerging from the upper terrace as a solid mass of earth and wood sliced open and carved out in response to natural light, serene views and the rituals of wine tasting.”

Allied Works Architecture, with offices in both Portland, Oregon and New York City, is best known for its contemporary museum work with recent celebrated projects including the Clyfford Still Museum in Denver, Colorado and the Museum of Arts and Design on Columbus Circle in New York City. In 2000, the practice made its hometown and national mark with a forward-thinking headquarters for Weiden + Kennedy, one of the world’s leading ad agencies, located in Portland’s Pearl District. Allied Works is in the process of making it’s next big cultural mark - the National Music Centre of Canada, located in Calgary, Alberta and breaking ground this winter.

With the addition of this important piece of architecture for the Pacific Northwest, Sokol Blosser Winery joins the world’s most distinguished wine producers in a kinship unified by design and sustainability values taking center stage alongside quality wines.  Sokol Blosser's estate wines, in concert with its new building, express its longtime commitment to the true nature of Willamette Valley, internationally recognized as one of the leading Pinot Noir producing regions. 

About Sokol Blosser Winery

For more than 40 years, before there was an Oregon wine industry, the Sokol Blosser family has been growing grapes and creating exemplary wines. Located on a certified organic, 100-acre property in Oregon’s Dundee Hills sub appellation, Sokol Blosser has consistently captured the terroir of the region as expressed through the brilliance of its estate fruit.  This resolute quest for excellence is also expressed in its environmentally-sensitive winemaking techniques, a core value for Sokol Blosser since the planting of its very first vines in 1971. The winery produces Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, and small quantities of Single Block Pinot Noirs under its Sokol Blosser brand name.  It also produces a white blend and red blend under the Evolution brand name.

 “We feel a sense of social responsibility in conducting our business and our lives the way we do.  This is the only way we could imagine doing it,” notes Susan Sokol Blosser, the winery’s founder. “Not only are our methods healthier for the soil, the vines, and those of us who work in the vineyard, they also lead to better wines.”

The winery is now under the care of sister and brother co-presidents, Alison Sokol Blosser and Alex Sokol Blosser. Sokol Blosser Winery is entering a new millennium of winemaking, tasting and sustainability in hiring Allied Works Architecture to design Sokol Blosser’s state of the art tasting room. The project is set for completion in the late summer of 2013. Please visit www.sokolblosser.com to shop online, for tasting room hours and more information about this award-winning vineyard. 

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