Welcome to Purple Cow Vineyards where we strive to utilize innovative varietals and techniques to give you a unique perspective on wine. We focus on educating ourselves and our customers in all areas of wine production whether grape growing or different methods of making wine to the history of the varietals we produce. Our mission is to endear our customers with innovative products, country values, and sustainable practices.
Purple Cow Vineyards is a small (by local standards) vineyard right on the way to the beautiful Oregon Coast. We are right off of Highway 6 near both Banks and Forest Grove. Purple Cow is located on 12 acers.
One of the most common questions asked when talking about Purple Cow Vineyards is, "how did you get your name?" At risk of eliminating some easy conversation topics, I thought I would post the official story here.
Jon's youngest daughter, Sophie, was 18 months old at the time. She was playing with a plastic purple cow in the bathtub. It was obvious to everyone in earshot that she knew cows weren't supposed to be purple when she started shouting, "It's a PUR-KLE COWww!" It wasn't a flash of light for Jon, but it was a memory that stuck. Later Jon went on line to search for other wine businesses by that name, no problem. One thing came back that made an impression on Jon. There is a book, a marketing book, by a gentleman named Seth Godin. It turns out this book makes a case for the approach our business had been taking intuitively. Jon viewed that as a sign that this was meant to be our name.
Jon later discovered that there are lots of businesses with Purple Cow in their name. Over 100 are registered in Oregon alone (although most have likely ceased to operate). It seems to be a generalized cult of non-conformity that we are happy to join.
Our first estate grapes were planted in 2000. We started by planing Pinot Noir and Marechal Foch quickly expanded to Muscat and Tempranillo. By 2010 we had 8 acres under cultivation and while we continue to explore unique variatels it is not always possible to grow them in this particular region. With that limitation in mind we continue to work with other growers in a variety of regions in order to be able to fulfill our mission of providing our customers with innovative products, country values, and sustainable practices.
It is our hope that you will take the time to explore some of the unique wines we offer and that you will enjoy our labor of love.
