Landmass Wines 'St. Morand Vineyard' Chenin Blanc, Rogue Valley, Oregon 2025

Landmass Wines was founded in 2018 by partners Melaney Schmidt and Malia Myers, first-generation winemakers who left careers in Los Angeles — fine dining and film production — after a single visit to Illahe Vineyards in the Willamette Valley convinced them winemaking was their calling. Schmidt trained formally at Chemeketa Community College in Salem, sponsored by Illahe, while Myers worked two harvests there gaining hands-on cellar experience. Based in Cascade Locks in the Columbia River Gorge, with a tasting room in Portland's Beaumont neighborhood, Landmass sources fruit across 350 miles of the Pacific Northwest. The St. Morand Vineyard Chenin Blanc has been central to the Landmass lineup since 2019 — a rare Oregon expression of a variety more commonly associated with the Loire Valley and South Africa.

• WINEMAKER: Melaney Schmidt, with Malia Myers
• FARMING: LIVE Practicing Sustainable
• VARIETY: 100% Chenin Blanc
• TERROIR: St. Morand Vineyard sits at 1,900 feet elevation in the Rogue Valley of southern Oregon. The combination of ample daytime sunshine and significant diurnal temperature shifts — a hallmark of high-elevation Rogue Valley sites — preserves the variety's naturally high acidity while allowing full phenolic ripeness. Chenin Blanc thrives in these conditions, producing wines with the balance of ripe fruit and bright structure that defines the Landmass style.
• TASTING NOTES: Nectarine, saltwater taffy, melon, and alpine strawberry. Vibrant and fruit-forward with bright natural acidity and a clean, fresh finish.
• FOOD PAIRINGS: Grilled fish, fresh oysters, Thai cuisine, soft ripened cheeses.