Jul 28 2023
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Founded in 1997, Tony and Michelle Soter brought years of experience in the California wine business to the Willamette Valley. The husband and wife team put forth Tony’s ‘genius for crafting award-winning wines over his four decades of innovative winegrowing’ and Michelle’s ’20 years of advertising and marketing experience,’ as well as ‘her ardent and abiding convictions in environmentalism, organics, biodynamics, nutrition, and holistic living’ to launch their business at Mineral Springs Ranch, or Soter Vineyards. In 2019, Michelle Soter passed away after a long and courageous battle with cancer. Her work lives on at Soter where Tony continues to model their business on natural systems, be it farming, winemaking, business development, or human experience.
Their values are conveyed through respectful farming and craftsmanship that allow a unique voice to emerge from these ancient soils and temperate climates. After years of diligence, they accomplished one of their ultimate goals in 2013, converting their 240-acre property into a certified biodynamic farm and a haven for growing world-class wines. Certification was achieved in 2016. In addition to being mindful stewards of the land, they provide an unrivaled workplace, sustaining a compassionate team that makes Soter Vineyards what it is today.
Want a tasting with a killer view? Soter Vineyards at Mineral Springs Ranch has a 360-degree view of the Willamette Valley. Not to mention, they have a fully functioning farm with Scottish Highland Cows.
The Mineral Springs Road sign isn’t all that clear, so driving up the gravel road to the tasting room, you might be wondering if you are in the right place. But once you reach the top, you will see three small houses. The center house is the tasting room. When you walk up to get checked in, you are instantly greeted with a glass of Rose. Being greeted in such a warm manner really sets the tone for the rest of the experience. There is also a resident cat named Bill who walked up right when I did, and he sat and waited for the team to open the door for him. I couldn’t stop laughing. Maria, our tasting associate that day, was joking that she works for a cat as she opened the door for Bill to come inside. I was a bit early for my tasting and waiting for my friend to arrive, but that gave me a chance to see another party experience, the Provisional Tasting Experience, which is a food and wine pairing. I watched a very happy party of four women deeply enjoying what was just a parade of food hit the table, delivered by a great server who guided them through all their dishes and the wines paired with each. What was also fun to hear was that the food they were serving all came from the Mineral Springs Ranch. Naturally, I will be back to have that experience!
Once my friend arrived, they took us inside the tasting room. In the center are some beautiful wood tables set with all the tasting glassware. To your left is a gorgeous fireplace and to your right is an open kitchen with a busy culinary team. Out the glass doors would take you to the patio that has the full view. Maria was our tasting associate and guided us through the wine. She was incredibly knowledgeable and spoke about the 240 acres of the property, discussing all manner of detail about it, such as the 26 diverse soil types, biodynamic farming that’s been in place since 2016, working with the lunar calendar, the bee preserve, the cow horn fertilizing practice, and much much more. There is so much happening at this place. She also went into a lot of detail about the Soter family and their philosophy. What stuck out most to me was Tony Soter’s belief that it’s imperative to“care about your people and care about your land.” I think we can all agree that we live in a world that we sometimes just wished was kinder. The wish that we might take better care of each other and the planet endeared Soter to both my friend and myself. And Soter truly lives that philosophy. That is something they do with the Planet Oregon wine they make, where a dollar from every bottle sold goes to the Oregon Environmental Council. They put their money where their mouth is on their commitment to investing in their people and their land.
Once you have finished the tasting, you have a great understanding of not only the grapes in your glass but everything that had to happen to make it. Maria was incredible and could talk all day about the property and how everything is done here. It felt like a fun science class where I learned about soil types, clones, and the animals on the property, and I got to drink wine the entire time! It is really impressive to see how much this vineyard and business, started in 1997, has come. Their focus on biodynamic farming is paving the way for the rest of the wine world to follow.
The Soter wine tasting will be unlike any tasting you have ever had before. The knowledge of the team here is remarkable. You walk in thinking you’re just going to have a glass of wine with an amazing view but what you leave with is much more.
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