Winemaker Notes
Husband and wife, Moe and Flora Momtazi, are Maysara winery and vineyard’s co-founders. Moe was born in Iran’s capital, Tehran, and was raised by a family of farmers and educators. Moe’s grandfather was a farmer and tended to his land without the use of herbicides or pesticides. Everything he took from the land he returned, demonstrating to his grandson the value of reciprocity when working with the earth.
Moe and Flora immigrated to the U.S. in the early 1980s and in 1997 purchased what is now the 532 acre Momtazi Vineyard estate. Today, Maysara Winery is truly a family affair. Moe and Flora's three daughters, Tahmiene, Naseem, and Hanna have all played an instrumental role in building the winery as winemaker, head of sales & distribution, and event manager respectively. The Momtazis have employed most of their workers for over 30 years, highlighting the bond of their relationships.
At Maysara Winery and Momtazi Vineyard, they are committed to capturing the true expression of their land and conveying it to you through the premium quality found in every bottle. They practice low-impact, holistic farming methods in their Demeter certified Biodynamic vineyard and carry this philosophy into the cellar, where their Biodynamic winemaking practices produce wines with intensity and elegance while maintaining natural harmony between fruit and earth. The Momtazis practice old world winemaking by holding vintages until the wine is fully evolved, rather than releasing chronologically. Each vintage is unique and should mature on its own timeline.
Stretching southwest from the city of McMinnville, the AVA with the same name covers about 40,000 acres across 20 miles until it meets the Van Duzer Corridor. This corridor is the only break in the Coast Range whose gap allows the cool Pacific Ocean air to flow eastward into the Willamette Valley.
The Pacific's moderating winds hit McMinnville’s south and southeast facing slopes where cool-climate varieties—namely Pinot noir and Pinot blanc thrive on ridges at between 200 to 1,000 feet in elevation.
Soils here are primarily uplifted marine sedimentary loam and silt, with alluvial formations; McMinnville receives less rainfall than its neighbors to the east because it is situated in the rain shadow of the Coast Range.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”