About Us

Meet Javier Marin

The story of Marin Wines and estate vineyard can be traced back to February 18th, 1990 when Javier Marin started working for Mark Benoit, then owner of Willamette Valley Vineyard Services and founder of present-day Willamette Valley staples OVS and Result Partners. Initially, Javier became involved in the wine industry out of necessity, driven by a love and desire to support his then growing family. He started out as a crew member learning everything involved in vineyard development and maintenance, full cycle from pruning to harvest.

He worked with Mark from 1990 to 1995 tending to dozens of different vineyards in the area, most notably helping to plant the iconic Shea vineyard. During this time, Javier worked as a crew member, tractor operator and foreman, soaking up vast amounts of viticultural knowledge along the way. In 1996 he became Vineyard Manager at Shea where he would spend the next thirteen years helping plant and tending to the vines, learning from many of the winemakers who would source fruit from the site exactly what they were looking for in order to produce the amazing grapes that would eventually become world class wines.

With all of the expertise gleaned from his time at Shea, Javier endeavored to start his own vineyard management company in 2010 JM Vinegrowers and in 2013 he acquired a 36-acre property in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA with the hopes of one day planting his

own vineyard. Slowly, and with the help of his son Erik, they started clearing the land in the evenings after long days working in the vineyards they maintained. The process was gradual, but after years of dedication, the land was finally ready for planting in the Fall of 2018.

Meet Erik Marin

Erik Marin, winemaker of Marin Wines, was raised in the vineyards. His earliest memories are bumping along in the back of a pick-up truck on many of the dirt and gravel roads that traverse the Willamette Valley. By age 15 he was spending all of his Winter, Spring and Summer breaks in the vineyard learning the finer points of pruning, shoot thinning, canopy management, dropping fruit and everything in between.

After finishing high school Erik attended the Chemeketa Viticulture Center, where he completed both the vineyard management and winemaking programs. After graduation, he began his full time career in the wine industry, working four consecutive harvests here in Oregon at Archery Summit, and One at Urlar in New Zealand . Erik now oversees all aspects of Marin Estate Vineyards, laboring among the vines every season along with his father and brother. He strongly believes boots on the ground, dedication, and attention to detail in the vineyard and in the winery facilitates continuous improvement in both the quality of the fruit and the resulting wines. At Marin Wines what they create has truly been planted, grown, and produced by the same hands.

The Marin Vineyard

The initial planting at Marin Estate Vineyard was done in the Fall of 2018 by Javier Marin and family, to four acres of Pinot Noir and two of Chardonnay. This was followed by an additional 7.25 acres in 2019, 3 acres in 2020 and 3.75 in 2021, bringing the site to twenty acres total, with eight being to Pinot Noir, seven to Chardonnay, two to Gamay, and three acres to Pinot Gris.

It is located in the southwest end of the Yamhill-Carlton AVA at an elevation of 250ft to 350ft, with sweeping 360-degree views of the Willamette Valley. Clonal material includes 777, Pommard, Wadenswil, 115, Chardonnay: 97,76, Heirloom/ suitcase clones.

Despite the relatively young age of the vines, the site is already yielding high quality fruit, owed largely to the over thirty years of experience. The vineyard was planted exclusively by members of the Marin family and continues to be worked on during the season by Javier and his two sons.

Harvest at Marin Vineyards in McMinnville, Oregon

Hand holding a cluster of Pinot Noir grapes

Pinot Noir grape clusters hanging on the vine

The Idol

The idol on our label is based on a true archaeological find in Guanajuato Mexico, where Erik’s parents are from. Erik’s acquaintance found the idol himself in the outskirts of Guanajuato. Thought to date back hundreds of years, the original idol has an ear of corn and a bowl in one hand, which is the dominant crop un Guanajuato. In reference to the idol, we changed the crop from an ear of corn to a cluster of pinot, and the bowl to a glass of wine.