A number of months ago, Adrian Cornejo contacted us to have us check out his wines. Adrian’s story is fascinating (read the italicized text below, pulled from his website), and along with his brother Herman, he crafts stellar low-intervention wines from fruit in the Columbia Gorge. Having spent his adolescence and young adulthood on what is now Hiyu Wine Farm, Adrian is a dude who lives, breathes, and moves through this world as nothing short of an impassioned, brilliant artisan. Apart from his expertise in caring for Hiyu’s vineyards and producing wine under his label Nueva Aventura, Adrian is a fierce advocate for vineyard workers.
At this tasting, Adrian will be pouring 8 of his wines, some of which are more traditional varietal bottlings, others of which are more experimental blends, and all of which are enchanting. Come meet the winemaker and dive into some amazing juice.
The following is from Adrian’s website:
Our story begins with our Father, Manuel, working as a Forman for an organic pear & apple orchard named Pheasant Valley for about 33 years. Over time the orchard evolved into Pheasant Valley Vineyard & Winery, which we spent well over 2 years chopping down 18+ acres of pear and apple trees to create a beautiful organic vineyard from scratch. So naturally, growing up we became farming boys thru and thru.
I, Adrian and my bother Hernan spent much of our time caring for the land, harvesting & packing its fruit, crafting a drinkable work of art, selling that art and everything in between.
Eventually we both worked our way into the cellar. And there we stayed, learning, shadowing and picking up all kinds of techniques from an array of different winemakers. Now working alongside Hiyu Wine Farm, we have been given an opportunity to purchase locally grown grapes from around the area to produce and express our version of quality wine.
With our extensive experience and excitement to embark on new adventures, Nueva Aventura Wines was born! Founded in 2015, we have produced over 10 different vintages in small lots using natural authentic practices and local quality grapes.