Antica Terra, one of Oregon’s most coveted and hard-to-get wine labels, has acquired the 298-acre Willakia Vineyard located at 6457 SE Amity Rd in the Eola-Amity Hills, bringing its total contiguous estate to 484 acres, which is the largest in the region. Co-owner and winemaker Maggie Harrison is exploring new guest programming, and a public-facing taproom where visitors can walk in and taste on-site is among the possibilities.
The new land would like to open the door to more immersive guest experiences that are becoming increasingly common among top-tier Oregon wineries. Harrison confirmed to the Portland Business Journal ideas like horseback rides through the property, tastings held in groves of white oaks, and foraging for morels in the surrounding forest.
That would be a significant shift for a brand that has built its mystique on scarcity and exclusivity. Antica Terra currently produces just 4,000 cases a year and has long operated on a model of saying no more than yes, according to the Portland Business Journal. Most of its wine goes to a private mailing list, while whole markets, countries, and continents have been turned away simply because there isn’t enough to go around.
The property, which previously sold its grapes to Antica Terra among others, sits directly adjacent to the winery’s existing holdings but rises 300 feet higher in elevation. The Willakia property’s existing grape will continue selling to longtime buyers for the next two years while Harrison and her team take stock of what comes next.
