Willakenzie Estate
WillaKenzie Estate is a family-owned, estate-driven winery located in the heart of Oregon’s Northern Willamette Valley. Since breaking ground more than 25 years ago, they have been passionate about crafting Pinot Noirs that convey a sense of place. The name WillaKenzie, describes the ancient sedimentary soils on which the vines are planted.
The estate sees an incredible diversity of soil, aspect, elevation, slope and vine selection which enables them to bottle multiple single-vineyard expressions of Pinot Noir from a single 420-acre estate. Small-lot fermentations, along with gentle handling of the grapes via their gravity flow winery and gentle punch down process enable minimal disruption to the expression of the grape.
Erik Kramer leads team at WillaKenzie. A scientist by training, Kramer worked as a hydrogeologist in the petrochemical industry before realizing he could apply his precision and passion for balance to a subject he was more personally enthusiastic about: wine.
Erik began his career in the wine industry twenty years ago. Following several harvest seasons as a cellar worker in Washington, Erik pursuing a Postgraduate Diploma in Viticulture & Oenology at Lincoln University in New Zealand. After graduating with honors, Kramer crafted wines in New Zealand before discovering his calling in Oregon’s Willamette Valley—where he could continue to focus on cool-climate winemaking.
Kramer joined WillaKenzie Estate in January of 2017, bringing over thirteen years of Willamette Valley winemaking experience to the Estate. During his time in time the Willamette Valley, Erik has crafted numerous highly-acclaimed Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays, developing a reputation for terroir-driven winemaking and his refined wines of finesse and balance.
The estate sees an incredible diversity of soil, aspect, elevation, slope and vine selection which enables them to bottle multiple single-vineyard expressions of Pinot Noir from a single 420-acre estate. Small-lot fermentations, along with gentle handling of the grapes via their gravity flow winery and gentle punch down process enable minimal disruption to the expression of the grape.
Erik Kramer leads team at WillaKenzie. A scientist by training, Kramer worked as a hydrogeologist in the petrochemical industry before realizing he could apply his precision and passion for balance to a subject he was more personally enthusiastic about: wine.
Erik began his career in the wine industry twenty years ago. Following several harvest seasons as a cellar worker in Washington, Erik pursuing a Postgraduate Diploma in Viticulture & Oenology at Lincoln University in New Zealand. After graduating with honors, Kramer crafted wines in New Zealand before discovering his calling in Oregon’s Willamette Valley—where he could continue to focus on cool-climate winemaking.
Kramer joined WillaKenzie Estate in January of 2017, bringing over thirteen years of Willamette Valley winemaking experience to the Estate. During his time in time the Willamette Valley, Erik has crafted numerous highly-acclaimed Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays, developing a reputation for terroir-driven winemaking and his refined wines of finesse and balance.