In the late summer of 2015, a last minute change in plans led a couple from Chicago to Oregon’s Willamette Valley. They made an appointment at one of their favorite wineries, a bottle of which they shared on their first date. Over the course of a three and a half hour tasting, only two and a half hours longer than planned, they came to know a young winemaker there who shared his enthusiasm for the world of wine while pulling cork after cork. Proprietor Teal Walker ultimately partnered with this winemaker, Andrew Riechers, to found Audeant Wines in 2016.

Leaning on winemaker Andrew Riechers’ relationships with farmers and vineyard owners throughout the valley, a small brand was formed around a handful of rows, in a few of the most challenging and compelling vineyard sites in the Willamette Valley. Whether older own rooted vines, or unirrigated and organically farmed at high elevation, they believe the margins are where place and time are reflected most beautifully.

The work is many faceted, yet transparent. They maintain absolute respect for the individual site, and are attentive and sensitive to the responses of the vines to their environment throughout the growing season. They carry the impressions of that sensitivity into the cellar during harvest, allowing them and past impressions to dictate our responses to the fruit itself, its fermentation, and the resultant wine.