Underwood Mountain Vineyard Pinot Noir
⏳ Drinking Window
Typically best enjoyed 3–8 years from vintage release.
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
roasted duck, wild mushroom risotto, cedar-planked salmon
✨ Technical Specifications
Perched on the steep, windswept slopes of an extinct volcano in the Columbia Gorge AVA, the Underwood Mountain Vineyard is one of Washington State's most dramatic and extreme viticultural sites. High above the icy waters of the Columbia River, this cool-climate vineyard is heavily influenced by alpine winds and glacial soils, producing a Pinot Noir of remarkable tension, high acidity, and ethereal delicacy. Kerloo Cellars coaxes this fruit into a wine that subverts the typical warm-climate expectations of Washington State, utilizing low-intervention winemaking to preserve the site's signature bright red-berried fruit, damp earth, and distinct volcanic minerality. The vineyard itself holds a legendary status among Pacific Northwest winemakers, who brave the challenging, high-altitude terrain to harvest fruit that beautifully mirrors the wild, rugged beauty of the Gorge.
🍾 About the Producer
Established in 2007 by winemaker Ryan Crane, Kerloo Cellars takes its name from the echoing call of the sandhill crane, symbolizing Crane's calling to craft authentic, terroir-driven Washington State wines. After studying viticulture and enology in Walla Walla and honing his cellar craft at Forgeron Cellars and Va Piano Vineyards, Crane built Kerloo around meticulous fruit sourcing from esteemed, sustainably farmed vineyard sites spanning the Walla Walla Valley, Yakima Valley, and Columbia Gorge. His cellaring philosophy prioritizes minimal intervention, foot-treading, native fermentations, neutral oak, and concrete maturation to highlight purity of site and varietal transparency. Kerloo built a devoted following for its cool-climate Rhone-style expressions and vibrant single-vineyard bottlings, including Celilo Vineyard Chardonnay, Boushey Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc, and single-site Grenache, Syrah, and Grenache Rosé from benchmark crus like Upland and Painted Hills.
🍇 Grapes
Pinot Noir