Kelley Fox Wines is a small winery based out of Oregon created by a father-daughter duo Kelly Fox and Garson Stearns in 2007. The first vintage started with 100 cases and now, annual case production ranges between 2700 and 3000 cases.
Kelley Fox left her pHD program in Biochemistry to pursue her passion for wine FULL time in 2000. She learned winemaking not from a classroom or textbooks, but, “directly from Oregon winemakers who had put in some serious time.”
Kelley did not cut any corners herself. She spent many years learning and refining her craft and passion for winemaking under industry experts prior to starting her own winery. Her winemaking experience includes Torrii Mor, Hamacher, & Eyrie. She also spent 10 years as a winemaker at Scott Paul Wines.
She was deeply influenced by her friend and former employer, the late David Lett of The Eyrie Vineyards. “David was the ultimate iconoclast who pioneered the Oregon wine industry in the 1960’s,” says Kelley.
Shop our selection of Kelley Fox wines.
KELLEY FOX NERTHUS
This is a lovely partial skin-contact white wine (that is actually pale pink) made of 75% old vine early muscat from Eola Springs Vineyard and 25% pinot gris from Maresh and Weber Vineyards.
All of the fruit was hand-picked. About 75% of the early muscat fruit was pressed as whole clusters. The rest, including all of the pinot gris, was destemmed into small fermentors and pigeage (punch-down) was done once per day. The whole cluster pressed early muscat fermented in a stainless-steel tank. After less than seven days, the free run of all fermentors was moved into the early muscat tank, with no press wines used. The Nerthus was allowed to complete malolactic fermentation. Élevage was in a stainless tank until bottling.
The Nerthus has delightful, pale rosy pink colour with hints of peach and beautiful, brilliant transparency. It’s visually very pleasing. The nose is full of fresh peach and apricot (stone-fruit) notes with floral and mineral notes. Though bone dry, there is mouth-watering peach and apricot fruit that is carried nicely by the racy acidity. This alpine-fresh wine is a real joy bringer. ONLY 515 CASES PRODUCED.
KELLEY FOX WILLAMETTE BLANC
The Willamette Blanc 2020 is made from 70% old vine Weber Vineyard pinot noir and 30% chardonnay from three vineyards that in any other year would have been bottled as single vineyard wines of place. The wine is produced as a blanc de blanc Champagne would be, but without the secondary fermentation to create effervescence. All of the pinot and chardonnay in this bottling were pressed immediately after picking to avoid any skin contact.
The Willamette Blanc is a brilliantly transparent, very light rose-gold colour. One can easily see that this is a blanc de noir! It is not a rosé. The nose smells of fresh oceanic air, sweet rain and minerals. There are touches of citrus, blossoms, and strawberry, and it is a solid white everyday table wine.
$28.99 in our WHITE BLEND section
KELLEY FOX FREEDOM HILL V’YARD PINOT BLANC
This pinot blanc has youthful, pale golden colour and brilliant transparency that is pleasing to the eye. The nose is full of minerals with delicate citrus and floral notes. It’s lovely. Though bone dry, there is a sweetness-of-fruit in the mouth that nicely balances the racy acidity. This wine evokes an alpine white, with all of the freshness and rarified air along with the smell of mountain snow. ONLY 250 CASES PRODUCED.
$32.99 in our WHITE BLEND section