InspirED BY galicia, made in oregon

Sacred Shore was founded in 2021 by Andrew Riechers and John Soares to explore a shared admiration for the wines of Galicia and the parallels between that Atlantic landscape and Oregon’s Willamette Valley. What began as long conversations over bottles of Albariño and Mencía evolved into a simple question: if these varieties thrive in Galicia’s rain-soaked river valleys, what might be possible here in Oregon?

42.5751° N
8.1339° W

THE WINES

These wines are given time, often spanning two full winters in élevage, and are made with the same level of care and attention typically reserved for benchmark Willamette Valley Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Sacred Shore is an ongoing exploration of place and possibility, rooted in a belief that these varieties can find a meaningful expression in Oregon.

WHITE WINES

2024 Oregon Albariño

Willamette Valley + Columbia Gorge

  • Sourced from two distinctive vineyards spanning 150 miles across Oregon's defining river valleys, this Oregon Albariño captures the breadth and nuance of the region. The wine was fermented and aged in neutral barrels (mainly 500 L) for a full year. Barrel selections from Treos Vineyard and Three Mile Vineyard were then blended and rested in tank for 9 months before bottling, remaining on their lees throughout. The result is a vibrant, expressive Albariño that showcases its potential here in Oregon.

    Suggested Retail Price: $27

2024 TREOS VINEYARD Albariño

Willamette Valley

  • Treos Vineyard, located south of Monmouth on Airlie Road, benefits from cooler Pacific air funneled through the Van Duzer Corridor. The soils are extremely old marine sediments overlain by loess deposits, imparting minerality and structure. The fruit was crushed by foot and pressed with gentle, oxidative extraction. After a brief settling, the juice and fine solids were fermented in neutral oak barrels of varying sizes (mainly 500 L). In keeping with our philosophy of preserving vineyard expression, the wine remained in contact with the solids throughout its time in the cellar. Following a full 12-month élevage in barrel (with complete malolactic fermentation), the wine was racked — again with solids — into stainless steel for an additional 4–6 months, allowing it to refocus and sharpen its natural tension.

    Suggested Retail Price: $40

2024 ThREEMILE VINEYARD Albariño

Columbia Gorge

  • The grapes were crushed by foot and pressed intuitively with extraction and early oxidation in mind. After a brief settling, the juice along with the entirety of its solids were gravity fed to neutral French oak barrels, where it fermented dry in a reductive environment. The wine then completed a full 12-month élevage in barrel before being racked — again with solids — into stainless steel for an additional 4–6 months prior to bottling. Threemile Vineyard lies inland, perched above a canyon carved by receding glaciers and the resultant flooding. Massive diurnal shifts keep ripening in balance. A wine of texture and tension.

    Suggested Retail Price: $40

2024 ThREEMILE VINEYARD CHENIN BLANC

Columbia Gorge

  • Sourced from a three-acre block on Cherryhill Loam soils at the north-facing peak of the vineyard, this is likely the only corner where Chenin Blanc can truly thrive. Snow often lingers here for an additional month into spring, extending the growing season and influencing the grape's natural acidity. A native cover crop, sourced from plants onsite, continues to foster soil health and biodiversity. The grapes were crushed by foot and pressed with gentle, extractive, and oxidative techniques. After a brief settling, the juice and fine solids were transferred into neutral oak barrels of various sizes for fermentation. The wine then completed a full 12-month élevage in barrel before being racked — again with solids — into stainless steel for an additional 9 months prior to bottling. The result is a Chenin Blanc of clarity, tension, and mineral depth, fully expressive of its unique site.

    Suggested Retail Price: $35

RED WINES

2024 Oregon MENCíA

Willamette Valley + Columbia Gorge

  • Sourced from two distinctive vineyards spanning 150 miles across Oregon's defining river valleys, this inaugural Oregon Mencía captures the breadth and nuance of the region. Two thirds of the blend comes from Three Mile Vineyard with the balance being Eola-Springs. Roughly 50% whole cluster inclusion, and aged on its lees in large neutral French oak for twenty months. Brambly, peppery, and wild, identifiably Mencía, with a distinct Oregon imprint.

    Suggested Retail Price: $30

2024 THREEMILE VINEYARD MENCíA

Columbia Gorge

  • Mencía continues to thrive at Three Mile Vineyard, where its character finds kinship closer to Bierzo than Ribeiro. The extreme diurnal shifts and persistent winds here highlight the mineral depth and tension we cherish in this grape. The vines are planted on Cherryhill Loam soils, facing east-northeast at the vineyard's farthest edge, where snow often lingers into early spring. A native cover crop, sourced from plants onsite, helps nurture soil health and biodiversity. For vinification, we employed two distinct approaches. Half the fruit was sorted into the fermenter as whole clusters, spending ten days with gentle pumpovers and light pigeage to achieve delicate extraction. The other half was destemmed and left on its skins to ferment with targeted aeration for thirty days, building structure and resolving tannins. Each lot was pressed and aged separately for a 22-month élevage before racking and blending for bottling. The result is a Mencía of balance, minerality, and textural intrigue — fully expressing this unique site.

    Suggested Retail Price: $40

2024 EOLA-SPRINGS VINEYARD MENCíA

Eola-Amity Hills

  • We are honored to be a partner in carrying forward the 48 year history of this vineyard. A source of some of the most pedigreed Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in the Willamette Valley, a few pockets of the vineyard were reserved with an eye towards a diverse future. The fruit was 20% destemmed with 80% whole clusters sorted on top. Native yeasts carried out a fermentation that included primarily aerative pumpovers and a few targeted pigeage. The wine saw 20 months élevage in neutral French oak on its lees before being racked to steel before being bottled unfined and unfiltered.

    Suggested Retail Price: $40

2024 ‘ROSSO’ TREOS VINEYARD SANGIOVESE

Willamette Valley

  • Apparently, we have found it our lot in life to make cool-climate Sangiovese a thing. Its combination of tannin and acid needs a bounty of sunshine to fully resolve — and our terroir provides just enough, which is exactly what we extract. Just enough time on the skins to craft a wine built to be the perfect all-around table red. The fruit was destemmed into two small fermenters, where native yeasts slowly began fermentation. Over ten days, light extraction developed structure and texture before the wine was pressed to neutral barrels to finish fermentation. It then completed a 22-month élevage in neutral barrels before being bottled unfined and unfiltered, preserving its bright, approachable, and food-friendly character.

    Suggested Retail Price: $35

2021 ‘CLASSICO’ TREOS VINEYARD SANGIOVESE

Willamette Valley

  • Our inaugural vintage working with Treos Vineyard, located south of Monmouth on Airlie Road (adjacent to Loubejac Vineyard), where extremely old marine sediments under loess deposits impart structure and minerality to the wines. Few vintages in the Willamette Valley provide enough sunshine to fully soften Sangiovese, and 2021 just crossed that threshold. Abundant heat helped round the tannins and gently ease the acidity, even as the fruit lingered on the vine for several additional weeks. 

    Whole clusters were sorted into a large 3½-ton Sonoma cast stone concrete fermenter, where pumpovers and pigeage took place over eighteen days. The wine then spent twenty months in barrel, some once-used, before being blended, settled, and bottled. Following an additional two years in bottle, this Sangiovese emerges with balance, texture, and approachable elegance — a true reflection of both vineyard and vintage. 

    Suggested Retail Price: $35

WHERE TO FIND SACRED SHORE

All wines will be available on the website soon, but in the mean time please support our local restaurants, retailers and distributors. Below is a list of accounts that are offering our wines in the Pacific Northwest.

THE VINEYARDS

We work with a small number of growers across a handful of sites, currently centered on Treos Vineyard in the Willamette Valley and Three Mile Vineyard in the Columbia Gorge. Recent vintages include fruit from Eola Springs Vineyard in the Eola-Amity Hills, further expanding our work within the Willamette Valley.

Treos

Willamette Valley

Three Mile

Columbia Gorge

Eola Springs

Eola-Amity Hills

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE VINEYARDS:

  • Treos Vineyard is situated south of Monmouth on Airlie Road in the western Willamette Valley, neighboring Domaine Loubejac and shaped by the cooling influence of the Van Duzer Corridor. The site is owned and farmed by two retired engineers whose curiosity, generosity, and thoughtful stewardship immediately drew us in. What began as a source for Albariño eventually became the foundation of Sacred Shore itself.

    The vineyard sits on extremely old marine sedimentary soils overlain with loess, neighboring the same striking white, chalky formations that define Domaine Loubejac. Formed roughly 45 million years ago from ancient seabed deposits, these soils impart a distinctive mineral tension and acidity that often feel more reminiscent of limestone-based regions than classic Willamette Valley volcanics. Combined with the long growing season and cooling Pacific influence flowing through the Van Duzer Corridor, the site consistently produces wines defined by freshness, salinity, and structure rather than weight.

    The climate and overall feel of the site often recall the Atlantic landscapes of northwestern Spain, particularly Rías Baixas. Rainfall, maritime influence, and long growing seasons shape wines of energy and mineral depth, and we have found Treos to be a remarkably natural home for Albariño in Oregon.

    In addition to Albariño, Treos also contains a small block of Biondi-Santi selection Sangiovese planted near the upper edge of the property beneath an old oak savanna. While not part of our original Galician focus, working with one of the few sites in the Willamette Valley planted to Sangiovese has further expanded our understanding of what these cooler Oregon climates are capable of producing. The variety has proven uniquely compelling here, combining the structure and savory character we love in Sangiovese with the tension and freshness that define the site.


    AVA: Willamette Valley
    Location: Airlie Road, south of Monmouth
    Climate Influence: Van Duzer Corridor / Pacific maritime influence
    Soils: Ancient marine sedimentary soils with loess deposits
    Varieties: Albariño, Sangiovese
    Farming: Sustainably farmed

  • Three Mile Vineyard is located just South of The Dalles at the eastern edge of the Columbia Gorge, where the maritime influence of western Oregon begins to give way to the arid interior of the Pacific Northwest. The site was planted by the Mitchell Wine Group as a long-term exploration of what varieties might thrive in this dramatic and still largely uncharted growing region. Persistent wind, intense sunlight, volcanic soils, and extreme diurnal shifts create one of the most distinctive vineyard environments in Oregon.

    The vineyard is remarkably diverse in both exposure and geology, with individual blocks carefully matched to subtle changes in elevation, aspect, and soil composition. Much of the site is planted on volcanic basalt and Cherryhill loam, producing wines with pronounced mineral structure, preserved acidity, and depth without heaviness. Snow can linger well into spring in the higher elevations of the vineyard, extending the growing season and contributing to the freshness and tension found in the resulting wines.

    While our Willamette Valley sites often recall the Atlantic climates of Galicia, Three Mile pushes us toward something different;  a landscape and growing environment that at times feels closer in spirit to Bierzo. The combination of warmth, elevation, wind, and dramatic day-to-night temperature swings consistently produces wines with darker mineral tones, broader structure, and a more expansive character.

    AVA: Columbia Gorge
    Location: Near The Dalles, Oregon
    Climate Influence: Columbia Gorge wind corridor / continental transition zone
    Soils: Volcanic basalt and Cherryhill loam
    Varieties: Mencía, Chenin Blanc, Albariño
    Farming: Sustainably farmed with native cover crops

  • Eola Springs Vineyard is located on the western slopes of the Eola-Amity Hills, directly influenced by the cooling winds that funnel through the Van Duzer Corridor. Originally planted in 1972, it remains one of Oregon’s historic vineyard sites and has long been recognized for producing noteworthy wines.

    The vineyard is defined by an unusually complex convergence of volcanic basalt, ancient marine sediment, and glacially deposited loess, creating a layered and highly expressive terroir. Compared with our work at Treos, Eola Springs brings a darker and more volcanic expression of the Willamette Valley while still retaining the tension and freshness that define the Eola-Amity Hills.

    Beginning with recent vintages, Eola Springs has become an important part of Sacred Shore’s continuing exploration of Spanish varieties in Oregon. The Mencía block in particular stands out as one of the most compelling terroirs within the vineyard, combining volcanic soils, persistent wind, and long daylight hours to produce wines with both savory depth and lifted aromatics.

    AVA: Eola-Amity Hills
    Location: Western slope of the Eola-Amity Hills
    Climate Influence: Van Duzer Corridor / Pacific maritime influence
    Soils: Volcanic basalt, marine sediment, and glacial loess
    Varieties: Mencía
    Farming: LIVE Certified Sustainable

ABOUT US

Sacred Shore was founded in 2021 by Andrew Riechers and John Soares out of a shared fascination with the wines of Galicia and the striking parallels between that Atlantic landscape and Oregon's Willamette Valley — both defined by marine air, persistent rainfall, and long growing seasons. Galicia's river valleys funnel in Atlantic moisture much the way the Van Duzer Corridor and the Columbia Gorge funnel in the Pacific's, and that shared rhythm of rain and long, cool ripening led Andrew and John to a simple question: would Albariño and Mencía find a home here in the Pacific Northwest, the way they have for centuries in northwest Spain?

We are all aware that the rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain — but in truth, Atlantic moisture surges up the chiseled river valleys of Galicia, depositing rainfall at levels strikingly similar to those of the Willamette Valley. The Pacific's influence here mirrors the Atlantic's there: marine air, persistent moisture, and long growing seasons that yield wines of nervous tension and layered depth.

Terroir though, is much more than weather, and as banal as it is to say we are in pursuit of Burgundian Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays in the Willamette Valley, it would be just as wearisome to reference the Gallegos as anything other than the culture that shapes wines that we love. These cultivars will thrive here, and from them, we will make wines we want to drink, and are beyond proud to share with you.

Andrew has spent two decades making Pinot Noir and Chardonnay alongside winemakers including Maggie Harrison (Antica Terra), Jim Prosser (J.K. Carrier), Ted Lemon (Littorai), and Claire Naudin in Burgundy. Now Andrew is the steward of a number of highly respected brands in the Willamette Valley. John has spent years representing top-tier import portfolios (Becky Wasserman, Kermit Lynch, Dressner, José Pastor, De Maison) in the Oregon market.

The project began with the 2021 harvest at Treos Vineyard near Monmouth, and expanded in 2022 to Three Mile Vineyard at the eastern edge of the Columbia River Gorge, and most recently to Eola-Springs Vineyard in the Eola-Amity Hills. 

About the Label Art

The incredible artwork that you see on our labels is the product of John’s college printmaking professor, Yuji Hiratsuka, who taught at Oregon State University for over 30 years. Yuji has shown his multi-coloured intaglio prints all over the world and we are beyond thrilled that his beautiful images grace our labels. 

https://www.yujihiratsuka.com/