David Jackson Lowrey founded our vineyard, planting some of the region's first grapes in 1869 - starting a tradition that Edwin David Lowrey and Howard Borden Lowrey succeeded until 1984 when Howard Wesley Lowrey planted five rows of Pinot Noir, spiriting Wesley David Lowrey to craft wine.
FIVE ROWS CRAFT WINE OF LOWREY VINEYARDS
Though we see the soul of our winery as inseparable from the vineyard, we carry a different name. Five Rows Craft Wine is inspired by the five generations of spirit and hard work that has carried 65 acres of farm land through a long history. The people, the winters, the hardship of farming and the harvest of good fortune — a proud family tradition.
In 1984, my father, Howard Wesley Lowrey was convinced by the region's grandfather of wine - Karl Kaiser — to rip up their livelihood of tender fruit and juice grapes and plant wine grapes — vinifera. Taking a deep breath and a lot of chance, he planted five rows of Pinot Noir — our winery's namesake gesture. And so it began, our life in wine.
If there is one recurring current or theme that comes to me in the vineyard while relishing in the joy of the first buds, or when drawing my cap tight over my eyes in a blinding rain on the tractor, it's that I am only a steward to this land — well into my shift before handing over the keys to the next rightful servant. For five generations the Lowrey family has understood their relationship with the land and has consequently treated it with kindness, honesty and reverence. As a result the land has been good to us.
Growing Sustainably
With only 35 acres of land under vine, the excess and demands of high volume wine production is not our concern. Rather we are afforded more natural and gentler approaches to managing our vineyards and vines.
By limiting artificial pest control and resisting temptation to fertilize, we allow the earth to do its job while we invite the hard work of dealing with the vines by hand. We understand that this philosophy will limit the amount of wine we can produce, but at the end of the long day, that's exactly how we like it.
The Wines At a Glance
Our portfolio focuses on six main varietals that have been selected based on their unique style and expression of the Lowrey Vineyard. Pinot Noir accounts for the majority of our planting while Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Gris, Syrah, Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc make up the remaining rows.
Each vintage we select the individual rows and vines of each varietal that will be used for our Five Rows wines, then sell the remaining fruit to other client wineries. Through a focus on vine balance, thinning and hand work, our yields are very low, resulting in only small batches of wine being crafted. It's our belief that this results in fruit and ultimately wine that is highly concentrated with the character of the terroir — the soil, minerality, local flowers and occasional tears in the pinot.
To mirror the handmade philosophy we employ in the vineyard, every label that adorns a Five Rows bottle is hand-applied and given a personally written bottle number. We feel that each bottle is a tangible representation of our vineyard and should be treated as such.
Every person that we connect with through our winery is a partner and steward of Five Rows and we are forever appreciative of those who believed and invested in us through the wine.
We invite all who have experienced our wine to register their unique bottle number and vintage release online with us. This is simply a list of those individuals who have experienced our wine and the beginning of a long friendship through our craft. Bottle Registry
The story of our continuing evolution as a farm and winery can be read in our Winemaker’s Journal, along with detailed notes and stories on previous vintages.