Abacela

{{Short description|American winery estate}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2026}} {{Infobox Winery | winery_name = Abacela | winery_logo = Abacela Logo.jpeg | location_city = Roseburg, Oregon | location_country = USA | wine_region = Southern Oregon | appellation = Umpqua Valley AVA | former_name = | other_labels=  | year_founded = 1994 | first_vintage = 1998<ref name="Project">{{cite web|title=The Project|url=https://abacela.com/Story/Project.html|website=Abacela|access-date=12 February 2017|archive-date=30 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160530020811/http://www.abacela.com/Story/Project.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> | key_people = Earl & Hilda Jones, Founders <br/>Gregory V. Jones, CEO<br/>Andrew Wenzl, Winemaker | parent_company = | cases_per_year = 12,000 | signature_wine = Tempranillo | varietal1 = Albariño | varietal2 = Grenache | varietal3 = Malbec | varietal4 = Syrah | varietal5 = Tinta Amarela | varietal6 = Tannat | varietal7 = | varietal8 = | varietal9 = | varietal10 = | other_product1= | other_product2= | other_product3= | other_product4= | other_product5= | homepage= [http://www.abacela.com www.abacela.com] | distribution= | tasting=  Open to Public, By Reservation }}

'''Abacela''' is an American winery estate owned by Earl and Hilda Jones that is located in the Umpqua Valley American Viticultural Area (AVA). It was the first winery to commercially grow and produce wine from Spain's Noble Tempranillo grape in the Pacific Northwest.<ref name="Project"/><ref>{{cite news|last1=Sinks|first1=James|title=Vine Dreams|publisher=Roseburg Oregon News Review|date=12 Jan 1997|location=Section B|page=7}}</ref><ref name="Abacela">{{cite web|url=https://www.abacela.com/The-Abacela-Story|title=The Abacela Story|website=Abacela|access-date=2026-02-02}}</ref>

== History == frameless|left|middle|upright=.5 As of 1990 Tempranillo had been cultivated for over one hundred years in California's Central Valley where the growing season is both hot and long. Learning that the resulting wine was blended away or distilled and varietal wine had not been produced caused the Joneses to research what made it possible to grow and produce fine Tempranillo in Spain. There they learned that the best Tempranillo wines were grown in Rioja and Ribera del Duero where the soils were different yet they shared very similar climates characterized by hot summers and one of the shortest red wine growing seasons in Spain. This suggested that climate, not soils, was critically important for growing Tempranillo grapes from which high-quality varietal wine could be produced.

frameless|right With data in hand, the Joneses searched America, identified a Rioja/Ribera homoclime in Southern Oregon, purchased land, planted Oregon's first Tempranillo in 1995,<ref name="Kelly2008">{{cite news|author1=Kelly, Christina |url=https://www.sfgate.com/wine/article/New-World-conquers-Tempranillo-The-noble-grape-3267205.php|title=New World conquers Tempranillo: The noble grape of Spain is finally achieving its potential on the West Coast of America|work=SFGate|date=2008-10-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203081701/https://www.sfgate.com/wine/article/New-World-conquers-Tempranillo-The-noble-grape-3267205.php |archive-date=2023-02-03 |url-status=live}}</ref> and used third leaf fruit from these hectares to produce Abacela's and the Pacific Northwest's first commercial Tempranillo wine.<ref name="Project"/><ref>{{cite news|last1=Scripps|first1=Jim|title=Spanish Delight|publisher=Roseburg Oregon News Review|date=26 July 1999|page=12}}</ref>

== Winegrowing and Winemaking == One year later, using fourth leaf grapes, Earl crafted America's first varietal Tempranillo to win first place internationally at the 2001 San Francisco International Wine Competition, besting all 19 Spanish Tempranillo entries.<ref name="SFWine">{{cite web|title=About|date=10 February 2022 |url=http://sfwinecomp.com/about}}</ref> Doing so clearly established the critical role of variety-site climate matching to production of quality Tempranillo wine. This was confirmed when their 2005 Reserve became America's first varietal Tempranillo to receive a gold medal in Spain's own Tempranillo al Mundo competition.<ref>{{cite web|title=TEMPRANILLOS AL MUNDO|url=http://www.federacionenologos.es/tempranillos-al-mundo/|accessdate=12 February 2017}}</ref>

== Vineyards and Varietals == Today, Abacela's Fault Line Vineyards cultivates {{cvt|76|acre|0}} producing Tempranillo and an array of other site-climate matched grape varieties Albariño, Grenache, Malbec, Syrah, Tinta Amarela, and Tannat.<ref name="Project"/>

== Climate Research == Earl and his son Gregory Jones, Abacela's chief executive officer appointed in July 2021,<ref>{{cite web |title=Abacela winery names Gregory Jones as its new CEO |url=https://www.oregonlive.com/wine/2021/07/abacela-winery-names-gregory-jones-as-its-new-ceo.html |website=oregonlive.com |date=23 July 2021 |publisher=The Oregonian |access-date=July 23, 2021}}</ref> have played an important role in research on the effect of climate on wine grape production.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Jones|first1=G.V.|last2=Davis|first2=R.E.|title=Climate Influences on Grapevine Phenology, Grape Composition, and Wine Production and Quality for Bordeaux, France|journal=American Journal of Enology and Viticulture|date=2000|volume=51|issue=3|pages=249–261|doi=10.5344/ajev.2000.51.3.249 |s2cid=56106339 }}</ref> Their findings show that "climate, plays a very significant role in determining the style and overall quality of wine from a given region, even within a vineyard (mesoclimates), and that year-to-year variations in the quantity and quality of vintages are controlled by climate variability."<ref>{{cite web|title=XI International Terroir Congress|url=http://swp.sou.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2016/07/Congress-Program-July-8-2016.pdf|accessdate=12 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170213091900/http://swp.sou.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2016/07/Congress-Program-July-8-2016.pdf|archive-date=13 February 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Accolades == Abacela has received numerous awards both for individual wines and as an organization. In 2009 Wine Business Magazine ranked Abacela as a Top Ten Hot Small Brand in America.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Penn|first1=Cyril|title=Hot Small Brands of 2009|url=https://www.winebusiness.com/wbm/?go=getArticle&dataId=72742|website=Wine Business Monthly|accessdate=12 February 2017}}</ref> In 2013 Abacela was named Oregon Winery of the Year by Wine Press Northwest magazine.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Degerman|first1=Eric|title=2013 Oregon Winery of the Year: Abacela Winery|url=http://www.winepressnw.com/2013/03/07/2310095_2013-oregon-winery-of-the-year.html?rh=1|website=Wine Press Northwest|accessdate=12 February 2017|archive-date=13 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170213164205/http://www.winepressnw.com/2013/03/07/2310095_2013-oregon-winery-of-the-year.html?rh=1|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2015 Abacela was a Wine Enthusiast magazine finalist for American Winery of the year.<ref>{{cite web|last1=ENTHUSIAST|first1=WINE|title=Wine Enthusiast's 2015 Wine Star Award Nominees|url=http://www.winemag.com/2015/08/27/wine-enthusiasts-2015-wine-star-award-nominees/#newworld|website=Wine Enthusiast|date=27 August 2015 |accessdate=12 February 2017}}</ref> In 2015 Earl and Hilda Jones were honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Oregon Wine Industry.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Kavanagh|first1=Vickie|title=Industry Notes: Katherine Carter, Mark and Ann Edlen, Earl and Hilda Jones, Chad Vargas and other award winners|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2015/03/industry_notes_13.html|website=Oregon Live|date=5 March 2015 |accessdate=12 February 2017}}</ref>

== Stewardship and Community Activity == Abacela believes in working with nature and has established a 125 hectares (~300 acres) Nature Conservancy on the estate and in 2009 became one of only 14 Oregon wineries to meet the Carbon Neutral Challenge.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Elmore|first1=Mat|title=CNC Hits Its Stride|url=http://www.oregonwinepress.com/article?articleId=368|website=Oregon Wine Press|date=3 May 2010 |accessdate=12 February 2017}}</ref> Abacela is also a Salmon Safe winery.<ref>{{cite web|title=Wine List|url=https://www.salmonsafe.org/livewell/wine-list|accessdate=12 February 2017}}</ref> Furthermore, Abacela and their neighbor, the Wildlife Safari, have a long-term relationship in which hay is exchanged for elephant manure which Abacela composts with grape pomace to create an important soil amendment.<ref name="Project"/>

== References == {{reflist|2}}

Category:Wineries in Oregon