Featured Wines
-
Named for George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” and sourced from Bieze Vineyard in the Eola-Amity Hills AVA, this jazzy white wine was aged sur lie in stainless steel tanks for 6 months to produce a fuller-bodied wine. No malolactic fermentation allows crisp acidity, subtle minerality and spicy characteristics to take center stage.2017 RhapsodyEola-Amity Hills AVA Pinot Blanc -
Sourced from the first-ever harvest of Bells Up's estate vineyard in the Chehalem Mountains AVA, this fuller-bodied rosé is named for Franz Liszt’s “Symphonic Poem No. 3: Les Preludes.” It features equal parts heritage clone Pommard and Dijon clone 667 soaked on the skins for 24 hours, then pressed prior to fermentation—producing a fuller-bodied rosé. After fermentation, the wine was transferred to neutral French oak barrels for an additional malolactic ferment to smooth its acidity.2017 Prelude - Our First Estate Wine!Estate Vineyard ∞ Chehalem Mountains AVA Rosé of Pinot Noir -
Named for Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 in D Major “Titan,” this edition of Bells Up's flagship Oregon pinot noir mingles 42% Yamhill-Carlton Pommard (6-year-old vines) with 29% each of Yamhill-Carlton Dijon clones 115 and 777 (16-year-old vines), all grown in sedimentary Willakenzie soil. Aged 7 months in French oak (30% new), this bold, fruit-forward, well-structured Pinot is a result of 2015’s extremely hot summer, with 25 days of 95-plus-degree heat during the growing season and very little rain. The small clusters and berries yielded intensified flavors and aromas. WINE ENTHUSIAST SCORE: 90.2015 TitanWillamette Valley Pinot Noir
The Bells Up Story:
“If you’re this successful in a career that makes you sick, stressed and miserable… how much more successful would you be doing something you love?”
That’s the question Sara asked Dave nine years ago, following his mental and physical breakdown from more than a decade as a successful corporate tax attorney. This, while watching Sara’s professional mentor battle pancreatic cancer at age 40.
The answer, for us, was that life is too short to spend unhappy. So we turned the basement hobby that brought Dave joy — winemaking — into Bells Up Winery.
Dave left the legal field, dedicating himself full-time to learning the business of making wine as a professional at Henke Winery while we lived in Cincinnati, Ohio.
After Dave won two different amateur national winemaking competitions with two different wines, we decided to relocate to Newberg, Oregon. In 2013, we established Bells Up Winery and our winemaking dreams took root.
Today — micro-boutique, un-domaine and always open by appointment — Bells Up composes handcrafted, classically-styled Oregon Pinot Noir with grapes sourced primarily from micro-growers located on the northern side of the Willamette Valley.
The name “Bells Up” refers to a dramatic moment in classical music where the composer instructs French horn players to lift the bells of their instruments up and project sound with maximum intensity. Dave, a French horn player who performed throughout high school and college, says the winery is his “Bells Up” moment.
As one of Newberg’s newest labels, we make approximately 400 cases annually and offer a small selection of Oregon-grown and produced varietals. All Bells Up wines are sold directly from our tasting room with limited availability in select Oregon wine shops.