Teutonic

At Teutonic Wine Company, Barnaby and Olga Tuttle craft Old World-style wines from some of Oregon and Washington’s finest cool-climate vineyards. Inspired by the whites of Middle-Mosel, Alsace, and Irouléguy, their minimal intervention practices yield vibrant, high-acid, versatile wines.

Barnaby’s winemaking epiphany came in the form of 14 Mosel Rieslings, delivered to the long-standing Portland restaurant where he worked as a wine buyer. Those wines catalyzed a career change—Barnaby absolutely needed to make high-acid, low-alcohol wines just like them. And the Willamette Valley’s verdant hills presented a perfect opportunity. Barnaby honed his craft for two years at Laurel Ridge Winery, learning the technical side of winemaking. Then, in 2005, he and Olga planted Oregon’s very first coastal vineyard—a two-acre, 2,000-vine plot in Alsea—and began scouting high-elevation sites elsewhere in the Pacific Northwest.

The Tuttles’ bold venture delivered plenty of lessons, hard-earned expertise, and consistent year-over-year growth. Today, they’re making 4,000–6,000 cases per year, and their urban winery in Southeast Portland is an irreplaceable part of the community. The duo even gave local musicians work in their vineyards when they couldn’t perform in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic—and discovered that a few had a real knack for winemaking.

Regardless of the site or workers, every part of the Teutonic process is laser-focused on channeling Old World nuance and charm into wines while adding an edge of New World creative flair. They source grapes exclusively from dry-farmed, practicing organic vineyard sites that completely eschew pesticides and herbicides. In the cellar, they employ native yeasts and a range of fermentation vessels to develop the singular character of each vineyard and variety. Even as they’ve scaled up their production, Barnaby and Olga haven’t lost sight of their ultimate goal: distinctly Old World wines from cool-climate sites.