Sokol Blosser was recently named a "Most Admired" company by The Portland Business Journal! The article was originally published in the Portland Business Journal and written by Robert Goldfield

People, planet and profit are part of the philosophy at Sokol Blosser Winery in Dayton.

“We’re making choices to serve all three,” said Alex Sokol Blosser, co-president. “Employees, the earth and the profitability to stay in business.”

Sokol Blosser was ranked No. 10 among agricultural and forest products companies by Oregon CEOs surveyed as part of the Business Journal's 2012 Most Admired Companies project.

Contributing writer Maria L. Kirkpatrick recently spoke with Alex regarding the company’s sustainability initiatives and filed this report.

Green is indeed taken seriously and sustainability is common sense for a business that relies on the earth for its product.

Growing organically is a rigorous, costly process but for vineyard founders Susan Sokol Blosser and Bill Blosser it made sense.

“Mom and Dad always felt they were good to the earth,” Alex said. “This meant different things at different times.”

Sustainability is ever changing as new information is discovered. The winery strives to be aware of its impact on people and earth.

In 1996 it became the first winery to be certified Salmon Safe for not using chemical pesticides that could harm salmon through runoff. In 2002, it became the first U.S. winery to receive Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification. And 2005 saw the winery receive full USDA organic certification. Solar panels to provide the business with natural energy went live in 2007. In 2009, Sokol Blosser product became Oregon Certified Sustainable Wine.

Under construction is a new tasting room that will offer several spaces and a tailored hospitality experience. Relaxing seating will be available for those who want to sip and savor as well as a service counter to serve those who want to quickly taste and move on.

Upon completion this summer, it should be the first Living Building Challenge certified structure in Oregon.

The biggest challenge this year, Alex said, has been to find new people to replace key employees that moved on to bigger and better opportunities. Business in 2012 has been good. Things are moving forward and siblings Alex and Alison Sokol Blosser are working to take it to the next level.

Susan Sokol began the winery with her husband Bill Blosser in 1971, before Oregon had a wine industry. Today, the winery spreads across 125 acres, employs 25 and annually produces 80,000 cases of wine.

The original article can be found here: http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/blog/2012/12/sokol-blosser-winery-becomes-a-most.html?&page=all

Labels: awesomeness alex article sokol blosser congrats portland recognition wine vineyard

 

The Evolution of Sokol Blosser Wines
by Mary Orlin for The Huffington Post

Alison Sokol Blosser is in Portland, Oregon at the Wine Bloggers Conference (WBC) instead of being on her honeymoon. She just got married on the August weekend before the start of the conference at her family's winery in Oregon's Dundee Hills AVA (American Vitacultural Area), which is about an hour outside of Portland. As the winery's co-president along with her brother Alex, she's at WBC to pour for nearly 400 bloggers during an activity called live blogging, which is more like speed dating. Then she's hosting a bus-load of bloggers from the conference at Sokol Blosser Winery for a dinner with several other local wineries pouring. With all that going on and with harvest underway, Alison says she'll go on her honeymoon after the fall craziness is done.

The winery was founded in 1971 by Alison's parents, Bill Blosser and Susan Sokol Blosser. The winery led the way in caring for the environment by employing green and sustainable practices -- organically farming their grapes and becoming the first winery in the U.S. to receive LEED certification, which they were awarded for their underground barrel cellar. The Sokol Blosser motto: Be good to the earth.

Sokol Blosser is known for balanced pinot noirs with a sense of place, as the grapes all come from the winery's estate vineyards. The wines are best described as having soft tannins. Sokol Blosser is also known for a white wine blend called Evolution, a wildly popular wine. Made from nine white varietals, this wine doesn't carry a vintage. Each year is a new "edition" of the wine, as the percentages of each variety depends on the vintage. Right now Evolution is in its 16th edition. Evolution is a fun wine, with pithy statements on the label, such as the instructions to "Chill. Pour. Sip. Chill. Think about how you might evolve." The wine is aromatic with white flowers, stone fruit, tropical fruits and a rich body.

If that isn't enough, Sokol Blosser is also building a new tasting room. They broke ground on September 10 and plan to open it in the summer of 2013. The building will be unique for two reasons. First, the design is being done so that it appears that the tasting room building itself is coming out of the ground. Alison says "there will be terraced wall and then the structure would be virtually all wood paneling inside and out with a green roof. So literally it's stone, wood and green like it grew up out of the earth."

Another unique aspect of Sokol Blosser is that they are going for a new certification called the Living Building Challenge. Alison says it's a fairly new certification, which "looks at the materials," and the scope of the project and is much more rigorous and comprehensive than LEED certification. "There's a red list of materials you cannot use anywhere in the building." She believes Sokol Blosser will be the first U.S. winery to get this certification. It's another way the winery stays at the forefront of sustainability and being good to the earth.

For now, the focus is on the 2012 harvest, which started at Sokol Blosser on September 29 and is winding down this month.  Then maybe Alison can take a break and head off on her honeymoon.

Thanks to Mary Orlin for a great article on all the exciting things happening here at Sokol Blosser!

Stay tuned for more information about our new Tasting Room coming soon!

Labels: awesomeness alison sokol blosser rockstar evolution winery events