Our Story Begins Along the McKenzie River...

Our story began in 2015 when two close friends decided to plant a small vineyard of Marechal Foch (a hybrid French-American grape) along the beautiful McKenzie River outside of Springfield, Oregon. In what has sometimes been dubbed "an experiment that went very, very right", the newly formed McKenzie Crest Wines went onto produce two fruit-driven expressions of Marechal Foch in 2018 and 2019.

Fast forward to 2020 and McKenzie Crest Wines fully came to life with the production of Pinot Noir, Tempranillo and Marechal Foch from the Willamette Valley. In addition, we introduced Merlot to our line-up from the exciting and diverse Columbia Valley AVA. The 2020 vintage brought forth two Rose wines, produced from Pinot Noir and Tempranillo; stand alone expressions of Pinot Noir, Tempranillo, Merlot, Marechal Foch, and a 50/50 blend of Tempranillo and Merlot appropriately labeled "Tempest". The 2021 vintage saw McKenzie Crest Wines scale up in production and wines became available for retail in 2022.

With Dan cheifly working on the local vines in Walterville and endeavoring to keep the winery project small, Chris sought to expand commercial interests and continue working with different varietals and hone skills in quality winemaking. By the beginning of 2026, the McKenzie Crest Wines label ceased and production has continued under the Freytag family label. Chris continues to craft quality wines with the help of eager friends and family, and credits many commercial winemakers in Oregon and Washington for their hands-on help and valueable insights.

Winemaking with Quality Fruit and Quality Style

Punch down being performed on a red wine fermentation

Glass of red wine poured from a barrel sample

Freytag Cellars produces wines with minimal intervention. We celebrate the fact that every vintage is different. Each wine is a reflection of that vintage's growing season, unique weather, distinct location and soils. And we strive to harvest at a time when the grape's natural sugar and acidity is at the best balance possible.

Our goal is to produce wines with deep color, round and rich tannins, yet we still allow the fruit to speak for itself. While we use French and American oak to impart good structure and mouthfeel to our wines, we aim to never allow the oak to mask quality fruit character. Most all of our wines go through Malolactic Fermentation and we utilize different yeast strains to create several desirable nuances in our wines.

Grapes are picked and meticulously processed, all by hand. Our popular "Wildflower" line-up features wines that undergo at least 30% wild fermentation with indigenous yeast and microflora.

Common Varietals Produced:
Barbera, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, Marechal Foch, Merlot, Muscat, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah, Tempranillo, Blends, Rose wines, and fruit wines from Strawberries and Blackberries.

Our Story Begins Along the McKenzie River...

Winemaking with Quality Fruit and Quality Style

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