Sometimes ‘utopia’ is defined by the paradoxical phrase, “The perfect place. And no place.” Lingering in this space of the imagination, a utopia can be gestured to but never perceived directly. For Utopia Vineyards, this gesture rests in the ongoing process of bringing a dream to life, only to be sensed by the ephemeral experience of their unique wines that keep you coming back for more.
Utopia Vineyard and Winery is a family-owned producer of small-lot, handcrafted wines specializing in world-class Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Perfectly situated at an elevation of 500 feet in the heart of the Ribbon Ridge American Viticultural Area (AVA) in the Northern Willamette Valley, Oregon, Utopia consists of 16.8 acres of contiguous South-facing hillsides in one of the most prestigious wine growing regions in the U.S. To that end, Utopia Winery has been consistent over the last 20 years in avoiding all pretense and being “an approachable safe haven for the wine interested.”
The Story of Utopia
Utopia Vineyard and Winery began in the dreams of Dan Warnshuis. While he was working in Silicon Valley, his proximity to Napa Valley sparked a deep love for good food and wine. Dan was introduced to Willamette Valley Pinot Noirs on a business trip to the Pacific Northwest and quickly became one of the region’s early proponents. The raw beauty of the Willamette Valley wine country and his increasing love for Oregon Pinot Noirs ultimately drove Dan to go in search of the perfect place for his own wine making endeavors. He started his search in 1998 and two years later found what he was looking for in a horse pasture off Ribbon Ridge Road. As Dan puts it, “I knocked on the owner’s door and he sold it to me. It wasn’t on the market at all…[but] this place checked all my boxes.” After the soil tests confirmed the plot’s potential and the serendipitous sale went through, Utopia Estate Vineyard was born.
Dan produced Utopia’s first commercial vintage in 2006 with 413 cases of Estate Pinot Noir. A year later, owner/winemaker Dan and his family moved to the vineyard estate, officially making the operation a family enterprise. Kathy Warnshuis handles operations and behind the scenes affairs. Dan and Kathy’s oldest daughter Erin manages marketing and hospitality. You also might run into Duke and Duchess on the property, the Warnshuis’ two English Springer Spaniels and the mascots of Utopia.
