Premium Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from Oregon’s Willamette Valley, produced by Howard Rossbach (founder of Firesteed Cellars) at his estate Erratic Oaks Vineyard in the Mt. Pisgah sub-AVA — a 200-acre site holding all three of the Willamette’s coveted soil types.
About the Producer
Citation Wines is the higher-end label of Howard Rossbach, an Oregon wine industry veteran who has been in the trade since 1975 and previously founded Firesteed Cellars (sold to Vintage Wine Estates in 2017). Today he focuses exclusively on Citation, producing premium Pinot Noir and Chardonnay sourced from his Erratic Oaks Vineyard in the heart of Oregon’s Willamette Valley.
Erratic Oaks sits on the eastern edge of Oregon’s Coast Range, in the Mt. Pisgah sub-AVA on the Willamette’s western side, just across the road from the celebrated Freedom Hill Vineyard. First planted in 2007 and producing for Citation since 2009, the 200-acre estate is one of very few sites in the valley with all three of the region’s signature soil types — Marine Sedimentary, Volcanic, and Missoula Flood Sedimentary — including the rare granite “erratics” carried in by ancient Ice Age floods that gave the vineyard its name. Three-quarters of the property is planted to Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, and Riesling on gently rolling, south- and southwest-facing hillside, with the Coast Range moderating the maritime climate from 45 miles inland. The finest blocks of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay become Citation wines; the rest is sold to other notable Oregon producers.
Rossbach also produces a second label, WillaJory, named after the Willakenzie and Jory soils that define the Willamette Valley.
Portfolio Highlights
Oregon, USA
Oregon, USA
Oregon, USA