Gilstrap Brothers Vineyard and Winery
WINERY OVERVIEW
Gilstrap Brothers’ mission has been to produce superb wines in modest quantities while creating a niche and following within the wine community. As we expand our marketing efforts, our goal will always focus on quality and a reputation for producing premium wines.
To accomplish this, we have gone a few miles north of our locale to secure the most premium fruit available for our Bordeaux, Burgundy, and Rhone style wines. You will notice that on each bottle of Gilstrap Brothers premium wines; an appellation is listed that corresponds to the locale where the wine grapes are grown.
The Pacific Northwest’s Columbia Valley is the locale that we have chosen to obtain our fruit due to their close proximity to eastern Oregon’s Grande Ronde Valley, just to the south. Wines of distinction have come from the many wineries within the appellations that make up the Columbia Valley. Our efforts have been to produce these wonderfully elegant wines.
The Grande Ronde Valley of eastern Oregon is higher in elevation while being just slightly south of the Columbia Valley. The climate that we enjoy creates significant challenges in our vineyard. Viticulture techniques vary to address these challenges. Additionally, the winemaker’s goal is to find a premium grape that endures our winters and embraces our summers, allowing for harvest prior to the late fall freezes. The Marechal Foch (Kuhlmann) grape is the predominant grape for Gilstrap Brothers Rio Grande Ronde. This Foch grape is extremely winter hearty, ripens well during our relatively limited growing season and produces a light, fruity red table wine that has been very popular in our winery. Our estate vineyard has recently been replanted to increase our production of Marechal Foch.
As Gilstrap Brothers grows, we will continue to pursue wine grape varietals that will stand up to our winters, while continuing to produce premium wines that have been the mainstay of our winery.
WINE CLUB
Become a member of Gilstrap Brothers Wine Club and start enjoying membership benefits today! Whether you live locally in eastern Oregon, or out of the area, Gilstrap Brothers Wine Club memberships keep you up on the happenings of at our winery. Receive periodic newsletters on winery events as well as new wine release information. Customize your membership to include wine shipments at discount prices in the quantities and frequency you desire.
WINES
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This highly sophisticated wine has a deep ruby color with a bouquet that hints of flower blossoms and fruit. A rich core of cherry and vanilla with silky smooth flavors expand on the palate to create an impressive finish. Varietal: Syrah |
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Gilstrap Brothers CSM wine shows the fine art of blending to achieve great complexity and balanced flavors. Full-bodied with color of deep garnet red, the bouquet is filled with dark fruit, spice, and oak. On the palate, layers of cherry, raspberry and vanilla produce a soft, Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot |
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Gilstrap Brothers 2003 Reserve Merlot is a full-bodied red wine elegantly balanced with dark cherry flavors. The bouquet reveals intense fruit, spice and wood smoke while supple tannins produce a round mouth- feel, and lingering, candy finish. Varietal: Merlot |
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Gilstrap Brothers 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon is a full bodied red wine, bold and distinctive, with a deep, dark cherry color. The bouquet initially hints of wood smoke, yielding to black cherry. On the palate, wonderful concentrations of orange and cherry flavors, rich and complex, result in a satin, long-lasting finish. Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon |
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Aged in select American Oak, Gilstrap Brothers 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon is blended with a small percentage of merlot to round out the opulent flavors of this intense varietal. Full bodied, assertive, and intense in flavors, this cabernet sauvignon has a deep bouquet of black cherry and wood smoke. Well balanced with a lingering finish, pair this bold Cabernet Sauvignon with rich and assertive dishes. Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon |
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Gilstrap Brothers 2002 Merlot, blended in Bordeaux style, is aged in American Oak for one full year. Bold and full of fruit, this medium bodied merlot has a soft and lingering finish with subtle texture on the palate. Blended with a small percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon, for increased body and texture, Gilstrap Brothers 2002 Merlot will age wonderfully into the future while being completely drinkable now. Ted’s Pick! Varietal: Merlot |
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Cabernet Sauvignon is a wild, beast of a grape, so complex and rich that in winemaking, this varietal lives on its own timetable. From hang time on the vine, through harvest, to aging in the bottle, Cabernet Sauvignon relents to no one. For the winemaker and connoisseur with patience, Cabernet Sauvignon finally mellows to a wonderful, opulent, rich, and full-bodied wine of distinction. Aged in American Oak for twelve months, Gilstrap Brothers 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon is dark ruby red in color with an initial bouquet of wood smoke, yielding to dark ripe fruit with black currant and black cherry. Dense, powerful, and assertive, this hugely complex grape has a distinctive, lingering, slightly tannic finish and will compliment robust foods, and in turn, is greatly complimented by such foods. Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon |
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Gilstrap Brothers Rio Grande Ronde is a non-vintage fruity red table wine with a flowery cherry blossom bouquet. This delicate wine exhibits a ruby color, is light in texture, and is aged for twelve months in American Oak. The roots of this grape have shared the soil with long-standing cherry orchards overlooking the Grande Ronde Valley of eastern Oregon, which is home to the Gilstrap Vineyards. Our estate bottled Rio Grande Ronde red table wine may be enjoyed as a cocktail wine, or is easily paired with light to robust fare. |
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Gilstrap Brothers 2B10 is the result of premium Columbia Valley merlot grapes processed white wine style with fermentation interrupted nearing completion for residual sweetness. This semi-sweet blush wine exhibits a brilliant peach color and fruity bouquet. On the palate, Gilstrap Brothers 2B10 lacks the tannins normally associated with the fermentation of a red wine style merlot. Prior to bottling, this wine has already been popular in our winery during “tank tasting.” 2B10 will be primarily available to our wine club members and winery visitors early in 2005 with official release at our 2005 Spring Release Wine Festival in May. Be sure to ask the winemakers how a sweet blush wine is made from intense dark fruit. Varietal: Merlot |
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Gilstrap Brothers 2001 Merlot exhibits a color of dark plum. The bouquet suggests dark black cherry, black walnut and spice. On the palate, the peppery spice texture of full, ripe dark fruit and toasted oak yields a rich, elegant, well-balanced finish. Refined with soft tannins, Gilstrap Brothers 2001 Merlot appeals to all and is easily drinkable, complimenting all fares. Varietal: Merlot |
Please visit www.gilstrapbrothers.com for full winemakers’ notes on all of our wines.
WINERY SPECIALTIES
- Wedding facilities include Gazebo overlooking the Grande Ronde Valley
- Reception Area overlooking the vineyard
- Food and Wine Pairing classes offered monthly
- Gilstrap Brothers Wine Club offers 20% discount!
Visit www.gilstrapbrothers.com and check out the "Happenings" for up to date listing of our wine releases and scheduled activities.
LOCAL INTERESTS
Cove, Oregon is a town of 600 plus residents. Situated in the southeast corner of the fertile Grande Ronde Valley of eastern Oregon, Cove has been known for its bountiful fruit harvests for more than a century. Locally, Cove is known for its annual Cherry Fair, celebrating the primary agricultural crop that contributes greatly to the regions local economy. Many century farms- farms that have remained intact as family farms for a century or more- are scattered throughout the Grande Ronde Valley. These family century farms contribute to the rich history and heritage of Cove and the many small towns that make up eastern Oregon.
Cove is the southwest gateway to the pristine Eagle Cap Wilderness Area. Abundant hiking and pack trails through the Eagle Cap meander like the many streams through the high lakes of the Wallowa Mountains. Across the Wallowas from Cove is the beautiful Wallowa Lake and Resort. Wallowa Lake is just outside the town of Joseph, known for its bronze foundries and abundant tourist amenities. Further east from Joseph and the Wallowas lies the Hells Canyon National Recreation area along the Snake River that divides Oregon and Idaho.
Just eight miles east of Cove on Highway 237 is the historic town of Union. While visiting, the Historic Union Hotel offers many quaint and unique rooms. Discover the rich western lore surrounding the hotel’s colorful history. The acclaimed Cowboys Then & Now Exhibit at the Union County Museum is a must see during your stay.
Baker City, within an hour of Cove, is home to the Oregon Trail and Interpretive Center. Baker City has many fine restaurants and accommodations. Stay at Baker City’s Geiser Grand Hotel and dine in their fine lobby restaurant. Baker City has many specialty shops and fine dining opportunities.
Across the valley from Cove sits La Grande. Known as a friendly, casual community, La Grande is enhanced culturally by the presence of Eastern Oregon University. Many lodging and dining amenities flavor La Grande’s rich heritage. Use La Grande as home base while exploring the many diverse sights of Northeast Oregon.
Gilstrap Brothers Winery looks forward to your visit while discovering eastern Oregon’s natural beauty. Bring your camera. Abundant photo opportunities exist around every corner of our many scenic byways.
UPCOMING EVENTS
- Please read our wine journal and blog to view upcoming events
OTHER INFORMATION
History of Gilstrap Brothers………
After a well-traveled career in the airline industry, proprietor Rod Gilstrap with wife Jeanne retired to their childhood roots in the Grande Ronde Valley. Together, Rod and Jeanne planted grape vines on the hillside above Cove. Their estate property in a long standing cherry orchard was chosen for its scenic beauty and situated such that Rod and Jeanne could look out over the valley, as well as their vines and watch their latest hobby grow. At just over three thousand feet in elevation, the Gilstrap Vineyards started as an experimental site. Just what type of wine grapes could we grow at three thousand feet and forty-five degrees north latitude? Rod had flown around the globe enough to know that the winters of eastern Oregon were no less severe than the wine growing regions of Germany and northern France.
Rod was told that wine grapes would be a real challenge at these northern latitudes where they had built their estate home. What the nay Sayers didn’t know was that Cove has been home to some of the best fruit-growing efforts in all of the Pacific Northwest. Rod and Jeanne started their vineyard plantings with French hybrid vines- vines that would be winter tolerant as well as disease resistant. From these early plantings in 1993, first hobby wine vintages were produced in 1995. Some of these wines were actually drinkable!
From these roots, Gilstrap Vineyards have produced nearly a dozen different wines with the most recent being our Rio Grande Ronde produced primarily from the Kuhlman Foch grape that ripens early in the growing season and tolerates our hearty winters. The bulk of our current vineyard has been replanted to produce more of this wine that has been so popular in our winery. See our winemaker’s notes for further description of our Rio Grande Ronde.
Gilstrap Brothers yearly production is just over fourteen hundred cases. We invite you to participate in our growth with our wine club memberships. Come on out to the winery for some tasting fun. Stroll our grounds and see where we’re going next in our winemaking and marketing opportunities.
Gilstrap Brothers Today
Brothers Warren and Ted Gilstrap head up today’s production and marketing efforts at our winery. Wine tasting and tours are available daily. Gilstrap Brothers has now become a wedding destination with our beautiful gazebo overlooking the Grande Ronde Valley. Our reception facility sits just above our vineyard. Enjoy the ambiance! Food and wine pairing classes are scheduled monthly. Gilstrap Brothers wine club offers substantial discounts and direct shipping is now available to most states.
CONTACT US
Please feel free to contact us should you have any questions/comments regarding our wines, this website,
or the winery itself. We want to hear from you!
Gilstrap Brothers Vineyard and Winery
69789 Antles Lane
Cove, Oregon 97824
Hours of Operations and Tours:
Daily May through October, by appointment November through April
Telephone:
541-568-4646
Toll Free:
866-568-4200
Fax:
541-568-4450
Email and Reservations:
Click here to email us
Website:
www.gilstrapbrothers.com
MAP and DRIVING DIRECTIONS
Map of
69789 Antles Ln
Cove, OR 97824-8202
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