Grape Ink Wines

is the project of Jarad Hadi, a winemaker and poet based in North Plains, Oregon. His winemaking philosophy is deeply personal and intuitive, blending a rigorous academic background from Bordeaux with a hands-on, low-intervention approach. The name "Grape Ink" reflects his belief that wine is a living, artistic expression of the land and the vintage.

Technical Philosophy and Practices:

• Vineyard Farming: Hadi is a farmer first, managing his own five-acre vineyard and consulting on neighboring high-elevation properties in the Tualatin Hills AVA of the Willamette Valley. He is committed to organic and Biodynamic practices, with a focus on building a healthy, living ecosystem in the vineyard. He employs animals like pigs and alpacas for natural mowing and fertilization.

• Terroir and Site-Specific Focus: His wines are intended to be "authentic portraits of the land." He believes that great wine is made in the vineyard and that his role is to gently guide the process, allowing the unique soil, elevation, and climate of each site to express themselves.

• Minimal Intervention Winemaking: Hadi's approach is defined by a "zero-sulfur" philosophy during the winemaking process. He adds a tiny amount of SO2 only at bottling to ensure stability.

  • Native Yeast Fermentation: All fermentations are spontaneous, using only the native yeasts present on the grapes and in the cellar.

  • Unfined and Unfiltered: His wines are bottled without fining or filtration, preserving their natural texture, color, and aromatic compounds.

  • Aging and Vessel Selection: Hadi uses a variety of neutral vessels, including open-top neutral barrels and stainless steel fermenters. For his reds, he allows for 10-30 days of skin, stem, and seed contact, followed by aging on the lees for up to 18 months in a cave to develop complexity.