Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/688647
{ SOMMjournal.com } 71 wines compare objectively with some of the globally famous white wine producers." King Estate's trajectory has been one of ongoing refinement; like a marble sculptor sanding a statue, changes made over time polish wines whose features have long been determined.The fine-tuning can be seen in the range of the winery's initiatives supporting everything from their pending Biodynamic certification to better understanding the age - ability of Pinot Gris. For winemaker Kevin Sommelet—who was raised in Burgundy, a region with more AOCs than any other major wine growing area in France, and whose fence lines have been mapped and charted over centuries, not decades—King Estate's structured framework and somewhat codified tradition suit his Old World palate. Sommelet followed in his father's footsteps, studying environmental engineering, and he worked successfully as an engineer in France, California and Oregon. In high school he began to drink and appreciate wine with his father. "It's such a beautiful activity," he mused; "I lost my dad to cancer in 2006." There was a long pause before he continued, "He planned to make wine when he retired. He gave me such a passion for it." It was his father's passing that instilled in him a sense of urgency; Kevin quit his engineer - ing job to enroll in Oregon State University's Viticulture and Enology program. While studying for his degree, he worked part-time at Van Duzer. He feels that growing up in Burgundy has allowed him to work with Oregon wines in an "elegant way." Following graduation, he moved on to Benton Lane in 2008 as an enologist. He later joined the team at King Estate in 2011. While chatting with Kevin, we strolled through the estate's underground barrel room; neatly stacked barrels flank the main walkway crowned in dramatic quadripartite vaults. Kevin's eyes lit up as he led me to a section of French oak barrels containing some of his favorite Pinots from the 2014 vintage. "I love the acid and how it spreads across the palate," he says. Thief in one hand and a pair of stems in the other, it's very clear that he takes enormous pride in his work. "Right now the 2014s are very fresh; the glycerol will show up later as the wine matures." Kevin's counterpart at King Estate is Spencer Spetnagel—he's recently been promoted from assistant winemaker to being in charge of the Estate's red wines. Like Kevin, his wine - making roots lie elsewhere. As with so many, the magnetic pull toward winemaking began in service. Spencer waited tables while studying for a degree in marketing in Georgia. "That's when I started going to tastings, and got more and more involved in wine lists. I never wanted to work in a cubicle," says Spencer. "When I finally came to the conclusion that wine was it, I moved to Sonoma, started work at Ravenswood. I worked a couple of years in the cellar before finally taking the plunge to go into winemaking." Spencer's thirst to become a winemaker ultimately led him to enroll in the Viticulture and Oenology program at Lincoln University in New Zealand. After completing his degree, Spencer returned to Ravenswood as contract winemaker. In 2009, he took an assistant winemaker position at Bargetto, which bears the distinction of being the oldest winery in the Santa Cruz appellation. It was here that Spencer met his future wife. The couple relocated to Eugene in 2012, so that his wife could pursue her post-doctorate degree at the University of Oregon. "I've had to retrain my palate. Santa Cruz Mountain Pinot Noir is an entirely different beast compared to Oregon Pinot Noir, though certainly in the last few vintages ripeness has not been a problem," says Spencer. Both Kevin and Spencer were keen to note that the estate still ferments in small lots, despite increasing in scale. Eight-ton fermenters are the standard, and each season the win - ery manages up to 300 separate lots. "We're not at all like a large-production winery from California; we have tons of small tanks. This helps us build complexity into our wines. The process of watching wines develop from harvest to the end of fermentation till it's bottle- ready two, three or five years down the road, that's incredibly rewarding," says Spencer. For the team at King Estate, the winery that put Oregon Pinot Gris on the map, a bright future lies ahead. Guests at the winery's visitor center and tasting room are now able to taste and enjoy some of these alluring older vintages, and the estate's Tower Club members have recently been given the opportunity to buy them. Spencer Spetnagel has recently been promoted from assistant winemaker to being in charge of the Estate's red wines. King Estate proprietor Ed King with his wife, Jodee.