Grants Pass, OR: The historic Troon Vineyard winery business in Oregon’s Applegate Valley has been acquired by Dr. Bryan and Denise White of Arlington, Texas., subject to customary regulatory approvals. The Whites previously purchased the vineyard adjacent to Troon, which is now known as White Family Vineyard. The Whites will be combining the two properties as they convert Troon to become a producer of exclusively estate bottled wines of world-class quality.
Troon Vineyard was established in 1972 by founder Dick Troon becoming the second vineyard in the region and the first to plant zinfandel in the Applegate Valley. Over the last several years, Troon Vineyard has transformed itself into one of Oregon’s premier wine producing properties and today Troon is a leading producer of natural wines focused on distinctive varieties like vermentino, tannat, malbec, the classic Rhône valley varieties and orange wines. In the last two years Troon Vineyard wines have received more than fifty reviews of 90 or more points and been featured in over a dozen feature articles by wine writers from around the country and even Sweden.
“We didn’t find Troon, It found us,” says the new owners of Troon Vineyard, Bryan and Denise White. Friends introduced the Whites to the Applegate Wine Trail in early 2017, “We were mesmerized by the raw beauty of the Valley and quickly began researching the property and discussing the possibilities. We were compelled by something external to do this.”
Dr. Bryan and Denise White married in 1996. They reside in Texas where they’ve raised four children. Their eldest, Amber, is married to Robert Bean and live in Grants Pass, Oregon. Andrew is a sophomore at U.T.A. and the twins, Thomas and Jennifer, are in high school. Now they will be dividing their time between Texas and Oregon. “Bryan and I really wanted to reconnect with nature,” says Denise. “We felt like something was missing from our lives.”
The Whites plan to continue the L.I.V.E. and Salmon Safe sustainable certifications as well as building on the natural sustainable growing and winemaking philosophy that is currently in place at Troon. Says Bryan, “We aspire to put full biodynamic practices in place. We believe in the principles of natural farming and sustainability and hope that biodynamic certification is a natural progression of that process.”
The combined Troon and White Family Estate vineyards will include 95 acres, of which 40 are currently in vines. An aggressive planting and grafting program is planned to ensure only the best varieties for the Kubli Bench are planted. Total production under the Troon Vineyard label will be 7500 cases.
The estate will continue to be led by fine wine industry veterans Craig Camp as general manager and Steve Hall as winemaker. “This is a whole new era for Troon Vineyard,” said Camp. “The vision of the Whites is to make exceptional wines and our Kubli Bench vineyards in the Applegate Valley have proven their potential to make truly compelling, memorable wines. Everyone at Troon is excited by this opportunity to reach for the stars with our wines.”