P.O.Box 639, Bend, OR 97709, US
About Us
Terrior . The Land and Climate,
My Winery Dream began as a Winery/Country Club real estate project. In order to sell the idea we needed to make a few sample wines to show our capabilities. We made 3 wines in fall of 2008. When the real estate market crashed we still had wine. Two years later in 2010 we bottled the wines as Merrill Cellars. They tasted darn good, so we sent them to Wine Spectator. They were very kind awarding us with 91 Points and a generous story including a photo centerfold, and story calling me the leader of the southern Oregon wine movement.
My Story
As Robert Mondavi said in his Autobiography Harvest of Joy, "Wine to me is a passion. It's family and friends. It's warmth of heart and generosity of spirit. Wine is art. Wine is Culture. It's the essence of civilization and the art of living."
My first wine related job was in 1972. I had great friends and mentors with volumes of knowledge about wine, and I was an inquiring mind and palette wanting to learn. There my adventure began. Thus my adventure continues. Restaurant jobs, wine jobs, and dreams led me to making wine to my taste, based on mostly European wines and their food compatibility. The wines speak for me and for the terrior.
2016 Garnacha "BEST OF SHOW" Newport Seafood and Wine Festival Competition. 2015 Merrilltage Gold MEDAL and 2020 Runner-Up Best of Show
Our wines are about the Terrior being the best for the variety of grape and style of wine we desire. We source most or all of our grapes from repeated grape growers who we feel do a superior job, and provide the best fruit to us.
Our Varietal Specialties are Spanish, Rhone, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and of course Oregon's most famed Pinot Noir. We pride ourselves that all our wines are excellent and strive to maintain that consistency.