The Naumes Family in their first vineyard, behind them you can see the pear orchards that are the family’s legacy. Back row (from left): Sean, Mike, and Laura. Front row: Cynthia, Sky, Zoe and Joe.
After nearly 70 years in the fruit growing business, Mike and Laura Naumes decided to branch out, and in 2012 their first wine grapes were planted on 15 acres of recycled orchard land near their home. They saw the potential that many others have seen throughout our premium wine-growing region, and added their names to the ever-growing list of new vineyards budding throughout the Rogue and Applegate Valleys. With successive plantings every year since the first, there are now over 60 acres of Pinot Noir, Grenache and Chardonnay spreading their vines over lands originally planted in pears, the backbone of the Naumes family’s success. The planting work is far from over, with new acres planned for the next several years, with a goal of around 200 by 2020.
Laura Naumes enjoys the first harvest with Vinyard Manager Chris Hubert
Every vine in a Naumes Family Vineyard is planted after months of labor to make sure each and every plant has the best growing conditions possible. Each is trained to grow so that it will produce the best grapes possible. Many have been trained by Laura Naumes who can regularly be found out in the vineyards in the early mornings trimming the dew-covered vines by hand. Not only is this because Laura has a passion for wine and grape growing, but also because the family believes that in order to best manage something, they need to understand every step of the process, from field to consumer.
Training the chardonnay vines.