A Family Affair

Balsall Creek welcomes guests to new tasting room

By Andi Prewitt

Sometime during the past decade, “Rosé all day” became the summer slogan. From Instagram hashtags accompanied by photos of blush-hued wine glasses to the emergence of slushie blends dubbed “frosé,” it seems everyone holds a pink drink in their hand from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day. But there’s another wine you might not know you needed in your summer rotation: Aligoté.

Known as “Burgundy’s other white grape,” Aligoté is a rare gem in the Willamette Valley. Far more common are its traditionally more respected (and expensive) regional cousins, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. However, a winery on the northwestern fringe of Newberg cultivates and crafts Aligoté, quickly becoming one of its best sellers.

“A lot of people have found it more approachable,” says Balsall Creek co-founder Jon Owens, who began welcoming guests to the tasting room in April. “It’s a very easy-drinking wine and I feel it is introducing people to Burgundy whites easier than, say, a Chardonnay would.”

In 2023, Owens, with wife, Lesli, released Balsall Creek’s first 79 cases of Aligoté, whose grapes are grown in two small blocks— less than one acre in total. They oversee 20 acres planted with five additional varietals off Northeast Calkins Lane in the Chehalem Mountains American Viticultural Area. The sloping vineyard, framed by rolling hills with patches of farmland and dense forest, comprised of familiar grapes like Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. However, there are rows devoted to other less common plants, including Pinot Meunier, unique for its stunning silvery-white leaves that stand out like a disco ball at a square dance.

Balsall Creek’s modest-sized parcel boasts remarkable variety. When the Owens purchased the property three years ago, 15 acres of grapes were already established. They planted five additional acres of hand-selected clones. The entire vineyard is LIVE Certified, Salmon Safe (ensures land management practices preserve water quality for fish and their ecosystems) and Bee Friendly Farming (a similar certification for pollinators).

“It’s really important to us that what we put in the soil is safe, and clean,” says Lesli. “We’re drinking the wine. We don’t want a bunch of chemicals in it.”

Given the existing vineyard and ease with which the tasting room materialized—construction ended a mere nine months after last June’s groundbreaking— Balsall Creek seems to have emerged quickly. But the Owens’ journey to winery owners actually began over 30 years ago when they were simply wine enthusiasts—albeit highly committed ones traveling the globe tasting and touring. The couple began seriously considering joining the industry while living in England, where they became friends of their au pair’s family, fifth-generation French winemakers.

“We fell in love with the lifestyle and the business,” explains Jon. “So, we looked at vineyards over the years. We almost bought one 20 years ago near Salem but decided we didn’t have the time to devote to it. When I retired in 2020, we thought, ‘Now we have the time.’”

Life’s other commitments were no longer an obstacle— primarily Jon’s career at Portland-founded Esco Group, a steel casting company for mining and construction. But the Owens still had one issue: “We’re not winemakers,” says Jon. Enter Laurent Montalieu, founder of NW Wine Company in Dundee, a mere eight miles south of Balsall Creek. All the label’s wines are produced at his custom-crush facility, where the door is open for the Owens to participate in barrel tastings and provide feedback.

“It’s been a nice collaboration,” says Lesli. “It’s been great to be a part of that. They’ve been wonderful to listen about what kind of wine we want to produce. I don’t think many people have an experience like ours. They hire a winemaker and he makes your wine.” Besides the Aligoté, Balsall Creek features another unconventional wine: a rosé made with Gamay Noir, more fruit-forward and robust than those using Pinot Noir. In July, after the Oregon Wine Press tasting panel evaluated 71 Cellar Selects rosé submissions, it was chosen as the panel pick.

Much of the rest of Balsall Creek’s leadership team is the Owens family. The couple’s daughter, Emily Yensen, is director of marketing and sales; their son, James Owens, tends to the vineyard and tasting room; and son-in-law, Zac Yensen, adds the finance and business operations while also working full-time at Adidas. For the Owens, Balsall Creek always was a family affair.

“We both concluded that we only wanted to do this if the kids were all in,” explains Jon, “because we’re getting on in our lives and don’t want to work hard forever.”

Lesli is a sixth-generation Oregonian while Jon’s family called Oregon home before statehood. His great-great-great-grandfather arrived on the Oregon Trail and homesteaded some 15 miles from where the tasting room now stands. They hope to keep the Balsall Creek brand in the bloodline and continue both families’ Oregon legacies.

“We wanted it to be something generational that the kids would run someday,” says Lesli. “That their kids would take over after them.”
“In the future, I hope to introduce my grandson as my winemaker,” adds Jon.

If the next generation realizes their grandparents’ wish, they’ll inherit a tasting room with a stark white interior that exudes opulence, yet somehow also feels laid-back. The space contains three sections: an airy sampling area with a soaring ceiling and walnut bar; a lounge with leather club chairs and brass light fixtures; as well as a full kitchen with a gleaming 13-foot-long counter. Any chef the caliber of Carmy Berzatto in The Bear would find it suitable for plating. A spacious rear patio has Adirondack chairs facing toward the bucolic scenery and a sheltered stone fireplace, making outdoor wine tasting pleasant even during drippy Pacific Northwest winters.

Currently, the terrace remains the ideal place to enjoy that Aligoté, with a whisper of peach sweetness punctuated by notes of tart apple. Its effervescence would be a welcome attendee at any late summer picnic, backyard porch gathering or dinner party. It’s the kind of wine to savor on long, lazy days because it’s so serene—a vibe that Balsall Creek’s tasting room delivers year-round.

“Everything about the design was very intentional, from the waving grasses to the bubbling fountain. Standing in the foyer, you look straight out into the vineyard through the big doors,” says Lesli. “I think people get busy with their daily lives and say, ‘Oh, let’s go wine tasting,’ but they’re running around frantically. We want people to decompress as soon as they turn off the road. By the time you step through the front door, you are relaxed and ready to experience the space and our wines.”

BALSALL CREEK
18430 N.E. Calkins Ln., Newberg
Thursday - Monday 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
balsallcreek.com
(503) 687-1888

Andi Prewitt is an award-winning writer and native Oregonian who covers the state’s trifecta of fun: craft wine/beer, dining and outdoor recreation. She has been an editor at Willamette Week and Oregon Beer Growler magazine and a contributor to other publications, including Portland Monthly, Kansas City magazine and Travel Oregon. Semi-healthy obsessions include sparkling wine, shoes and creating excessively busy travel itineraries. Her claim to fame is being named princess of Newberg, and it’s all been downhill from there.