ABOUT US
Trudy and Pete Salerno purchased the land in Monroe, Oregon, which would become Dragon’s Vineyard in 1997 with the decision to raise their young family in a rural/small town environment. At the time Pete and Trudy were both heavily involved in professional careers that demanded a lot of their time. Trudy graduated from Oregon State University with a Baccalaureate Degree of Science in Agriculture followed by a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine in 1990. She later returned to Oregon State University to complete course work in Enology and Viticulture. She retired from clinical practice in 2013 and from the US Army as a Colonel in 2014. After twenty-seven years of military service including three combat tours, Trudy enjoys the peaceful tranquility of work in the vineyard. She occasionally recruits the help of her husband Pete and son Devon. Her vision is sustainable farming with an emphasis on growing healthy grapes.
In 2011 with retirement in sight Trudy planted Dragon’s Vineyard, a small, 3-acre vineyard of Dijon clones of Pinot Noir located in the mid-Willamette Valley. In order to pay tribute to the community Dragon’s Vineyard was named after the Monroe High School mascot. This is dragon country! It produced its’ first commercial crop in 2014, which was sold to a local winery. Dragon’s vineyard continues to sell grapes locally. In 2016 Dragon’s Vineyard and Wine Company was established and began producing wine under its’ own label. It is a member of the Monroe Hills Winery Association. The coastal peaks of the Monroe hills provide a rain shadow and a slightly warmer micro-climate than the surrounding area, often referred to as the tropics of the Willamette Valley. The grapes grown on this well tended vineyard of Jory and Willakenzie soils produce a high quality Pinot Noir. Our philosophy is good wine can only be made from good grapes. The grapes are hand picked, hand sorted and the wine is hand crafted in small batches under the direction of Matt Shown, wine maker of Brigadoon Wine Company.
Our 2016 Pinot Noir is full bodied, balanced with bright acidity and hints of blackberry and warm spice. Only 100 cases of this marvelous wine were produced so it won’t last long!
Wine can be purchased through this web site or can be ordered and picked up on site by appointment only through the following contacts: (541) 847-6132 or dragon’svineyard@gmail.com.