Mauro Hernandez and Ken Morrison, K & M Wines
Our vineyard was planted in 1983 on the South slopes of Parrett Mountain – the vision of Fred & Jill Newton. Ken is on the left and Mauro is on the right. We love wine and food and living in the country. Before K & M, we were living in San Francisco, tasting wine for fun, attending graduate school, and working in Marketing for corporate America. After a conversation about moving back to Oregon where we met, Ken said no chance but that he would if he could find a place like Fred and Jill’s. He loved when he harvested grapes from this vineyard in 1997 after Ken and Mauro first met and Ken was making wine as a hobby with his friend Chris Jones.
A quick craigslist search ‘vineyard Oregon’ pulled up Fred and Jill’s property listing. Some things are meant to be! K & M purchased the vineyard in 2006 – and have been stewards of the land, and Fred & Jill’s vision since. We renamed the vineyard Alchemy Vineyard: meaning transformative change to reflect the lifestyle change of a move from city to country and the transformation a vineyard and winery project represent.
We are a small 4 1/2 acre vineyard, self-rooted and planted with Pommard and Wädenswil clones of Pinot noir and the Wente clone of Chardonnay. Fred purchased the Pinot noir cuttings from Myron Redford of Amity Vineyards, an Oregon wine pioneer. The vineyard uses the Geneva Double Curtain trellising method. Uncommon in the Willamette Valley but beautiful and unique.
Assisting in the vineyard management are our two miniature sheep: Houdini and Gromit. They are Babydoll or Southdown sheep. Full of personality they have allowed us to cut back on mowing as they eat most weeds, keep the grass mowed and assist with grape sucker removal.
In 2014 we cleared an additional acre and a half of land – which was planted with a mix of Chardonnay and Pinot noir in 2019 and is trellised the more traditional way. Not as aesthetically pleasing, but easier to manage and farm.
What was once blackberries and scrubby trees – is now a fruitful vineyard.
K & M is Ken’s primary occupation with Mauro working in aging and assisted living.
We love entertaining. The vineyard is open by appointment – and is the setting for our annual Alchemist garden party and Alchemist dinners.
