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. The acquisition gives the winery additional vineyard acreage and land for future guest experiences, though owner and winemaker Maggie Harrison says the purchase will not result in a significant increase in production.
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.
Despite the scale of the acquisition, Harrison said Antica Terra will remain a small-production winery. Speaking with the Portland Business Journal, she estimated the acquisition may allow production to increase from roughly 4,000 cases annually to about 4,500 cases over the next five years. The winery has no plans to substantially scale production and will continue relying on fruit from several longtime vineyard partners throughout the Willamette Valley. 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.
