Fossil & Fawn

Fossil & Fawn Hi there,

This is a Fossil & Fawn. We are a teeny-tiny wine label that started somewhat accidentally. Our unofficial motto: Get weird; suck less.

Now more than five vintages old, I guess we can say it's intentional now. We make Pinot noir and Pinot gris and a few other odd projects from grapes grown on a small vineyard property in the Eola-Amity Hills of the Willamette Valley. We have made our wine all over the place, including Portland, Dundee, and now Gervais, Oregon. Our ethos is to make wines that speak of where they're grown, which mea

ns the F&F approach is low-intervention, or "natural," if you will. We use native yeasts cultured from the vineyard site itself, minimal sulfur and new oak, and generally don't use filtration. We aren't dogmatic about it, though, instead we focus on making our wines the best combination of interesting and delicious.

05/21/2026

Vetch, please...

05/17/2026

To be honest, we haven't done a great job of shouting from the rooftops about Lightwave...but, what exactly is Lightwave?

It’s a baby orange wine.

It’s also a richly textured, aromatic white.

Most importantly, it’s our solution to the 'Muscat Problem.' Muscat Canelli (i.e. Moscato Bianco) is a polarizing grape (one that we love!). When ripe, it often suffers from low sugar, nearly zero acidity, and aromas so bonkers they can feel like being attacked by the Nordstrom's perfume counter. In conventional cellars, winemakers fix the first two problems with bags of sugar and tartaric acid.

Our approach is structural not chemical. We treat Muscat as a magical blending component that simply needs the right supporting cast to find its balance.

For the 2024 vintage of Lightwave, we leaned into skin contact and thoughtful blending to create a wine that is clean, focused, and generous. It is comprised of:

*50% Pinot Gris: Direct-pressed to provide the foundational weight and palate presence.

*28% Riesling: Carbonically macerated wholecluster for four weeks to provide the necessary spine of acidity and high-toned aromatics.

*22% Muscat Canelli: Carbonically macerated wholecluster for six weeks.

The result is more textural than tannic; by blending these components, we’ve created a wine that offers the phenolics of an orange wine with a more approachable grip. The unmistakable Muscat perfume is there, but it’s held in check by its cépage mates. Instead of being cloying, it’s enticing. It’s an orange wine that favors texture and focus over raw tannin and funk.

To find a bottle, inquire at your local high-quality purveyor, OR visit us at our Portland Tasting Studio.

05/03/2026

Nature is making up for lost time. Following a strangely dry winter, our damp April was a gift...and the vines know it. We’re currently operating at "speed of light" growth levels, but we aren't mad about it. Being out among these iridescent young shoots is the best office we could ask for. Back to work! 🍷🧤

04/13/2026

Only Always is our liquid love letter to one of our favorite humans: Luci Wisniewski.

In 1980, at just 26 years old, Luci and her husband Tom Owen purchased Sunnyside Vineyard. At the time, it was a modest five-acre parcel already a decade into its life. Today, it stands as the oldest site we work with.

Without the cushion of generational wealth, Luci (a Forestry Department rookie) and Tom (a high school science teacher) poured their middle-income salaries and endless sweat equity into what has become one of Oregon's most singular sites.

Perched at 700 feet on iron-rich, volcanic Jory soil, Sunnyside is a relic of a different era. The gnarly, own-rooted vines are planted in the “wrong” orientation (east/west vs. the Oregon standard of north/south) and dry-farmed exclusively by Luci and Tom. Even after 46 vintages, their zeal hasn't flickered. We regularly receive text updates from Luci - photos of her and Tom pruning in the winter chill, or hedging the canopy under the summer sun.

At the winery, we affectionately call Luci "human Prozac." Her optimism is infectious, her energy is boundless, and her passion is the north star for everything we do at Fossil & Fawn.

Only Always is a co-fermented blend of Auxerrois, Gewürztraminer, and Riesling. The process is as spirited as the woman behind the fruit:

*Luci personally delivers the fruit on a flatbed truck, usually singing at the top of her lungs behind the wheel.

*We foot-tread the Auxerrois, allowing it to macerate for several hours before pressing. The following day, the Gewürztraminer is direct-pressed and added to the tank.

*About two weeks later, the Riesling is picked, direct-pressed, and blended into the juice, which is by then mid-spontaneous fermentation.

*Just before the wine reaches dryness, we barrel-down into a mix of neutral French oak, neutral Oregon oak, and a kiss of new Oregon oak barriques for 10 months.

We don't force a recipe. Instead, we let the vintage dictate the percentages. Some years the Gewürz leads; others, the Auxerrois takes the floor. We find that letting nature "do the thinking" results in a wine that is more honest and infinitely more exciting.

📸 #1 by

03/21/2026

Something rare is coming to 🍷

We’re heading to Savannah to join our friends at on March 26th and 28th. Aside from the stunning views and historic charm, we’re bringing the good stuff; including a few super-limited bottles that have never been seen in Georgia...until now.

It’s going to be intimate, delicious, and very, very rare.
Book your spots: Contact today. Don't say we didn't warn you.

02/24/2026

Every year we release 10 to 15 unique wines, and at nearly every tasting, we get the same question: "Which one is your favorite?" We usually pivot, insisting it’s like picking a favorite child.

But today? We’re playing favorites. Say hi to Dark Wave!

The Blend

Inspired by the classic Passetoutgrains style, Dark Wave is a seamless blend of Pinot noir and Gamay noir from Marin Estate Vineyard. Fermented 100% wholecluster with daily pumpovers for a full month, it’s a study in texture and patience.

The Site

There’s a common myth that only older, high-elevation vines produce greatness. Marin Estate proves otherwise. It’s a young site at a modest elevation, yet it yields fruit with searing acidity and incredible depth. Think: juicy, sanguinous red and blue fruit with aromas of crushed chalk, violet candies, and white pepper. The overall feel is lifted, elegant, and concentrated.

The Magic

The real secret isn't just the soil, a mix of volcanic and marine sediment—it’s the hands in the dirt. Javier Marin and his sons, Erik and Alex, farm this land organically with a level of precision that is rare to find. The result? Tiny berries with thick skins that punch way above their weight class.

We’re lucky to work with the Marins. We hope you’ll feel lucky to have this in your glass.

Ready to catch the 🌊🌊? Shop our newly revamped webstore at the link in our bio or find a bottle at your local favorite retailer. 🍷

First image: photo by , food styling by , set design by .dimarco

02/19/2026

While we dream of spring being just around the corner, there is still plenty of time to enjoy a languid winter meal with friends.

One of our favorite cozy dinners features hot dogs paired with "hot dog water" - otherwise known as our 2025 Piquette. This year’s release is made from the pomace of our upcoming "Do Nothing," featuring a blend of Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Muscat Canelli, and Sauvignon Blanc skins and stems. By adding a touch of sugar, water, and Riesling juice, we’ve created a beverage that is fun, fizzy, and low in ABV.

It is seriously delicious, seriously fun, and—much like us—hardly ever serious. Ask for it at the finest getting spots so you too can enjoy a perfect winter's dinner.

(or, of course, you can always buy it from our website).

#🌭

02/05/2026

We enjoy monitoring malolactic conversion using paper chromatography. It is a rewarding process that combines 'technical' analysis with a visual result (middle school science project is about as technical as we get).

To begin, we pull a barrel sample with a capillary tube and dab a drop of wine onto the chromatography paper. After all the samples have been dabbed, the paper is rolled into a tube and placed into a jar of developer. As the solvent wicks up the sheet, it separates the constituent acids of the wine, each moving at a different rate.

After 24 hours, the sheet is removed and allowed to dry which reveals an image that speaks to the wine's composition:

- Tartaric Acid: Represented by the row of yellow dots about one-third of the way up from the bottom.

- Lactic Acid: Represented by the faint yellow dots near the top of the page.

- Malic Acid: Indicated by faint yellow dots appearing between the tartaric and lactic spots.

Currently, several of our white wine barrels are still in process (i.e. conversion is not complete yet), but we are chuffed that all of our red wines are through.

12/17/2025

Here's our annual reminder that we make Chardonnay. Please don't recoil in terror or disgust. We know that many people have a lot of hard feelings about Chardonnay. In our opinion, the best salve/panacea/who-knows-what to help you get over that hurt is a bit of Oregon Chardonnay. We can't prove it, but we believe it.

Our 2024 Willamette Valley Chardonnay is a blend of fruit from two organically farmed vineyards - Marin Estate and No Clos Radio. The vines at Marin are younger (but a unique clonal mix) and planted in marine sediment and volcanic soils. The fruit from No Clos is from own-rooted plants dating back to 1975 in windblown loess. Both sites are farmed without irrigation and with love and care. The wine is spontaneously fermented and aged in a mix of Oregon and French oak barrels, but fret not, it is not overtly oaky or buttery. It's a wine of tension and racy cidity with just the right amount of spice and weight to give it cohesion.

Everyone has had a Chardonnay that has hurt them. It's time to heal that wound. We can help you move on.

11/20/2025

Dormancy in the vineyard is beautiful. The plants get to rest...and we get to focus our attention on the cellar...and catching up on all the emails/tasks we put off during harvest.

Address

6200 NW Gales Creek Road
Forest Grove, OR
97116

Website

http://www.fossilandfawn.com/

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