About Us:
Since 1942 the Ingram family has farmed the same piece of land. Nestled between the Cascade Foothills and the Willamette Valley lies the Mt. Hood Territory. Marvin Ingram moved our family to this slice of heaven to reconnect with the land. But he also did so to heed the advice of his Dr. who advised him to escape the atmosphere surrounding the paper mill he worked at next to the mighty Willamette Falls. Many describe Oregon to be God’s Country. And we agree. Grandpa Marvin purchased the 40 acres in 1941 for a little less than $2000. Marvin was born in Butteville, OR which you can see from the tasting room looking to the West.
2017 marked 75 years for our family farming this same piece of land. From 1942 until the 1960’s the Ingram family farmed all sorts of crops including most of what the family needed for food. For a brief period the family even kept dairy cattle until converting to pasture fed, grain finished Black Angus cattle ranching. Ranching on the farm continued for 3 decades through the ‘70’s, ‘80’s and ‘90’s. Recognizing the resurrection of the Oregon Wine industry, Grandson Darin Ingram approached David and Sheri Ingram with the vision of planting a vineyard. In 1999 the family teamed up to plant the first 1.3 acres of vines of Pommard Clone Pinot Noir.
Oregon Winemaking and grape growing in this part of the North Willamette Valley finds it's roots as far back as the mid 1850's in the Milwuakie area just South of Portland. Driving down McGloughlin Blvd from Oregon City to Portland one finds several clues to this history in the street names. Near the Oak Grove Cinemas a driver will cross both Vineyard Rd and Concord Rd where one of the oldest nurseries for grapes in Oregon once lived. However, many heirloom varieties were grown in back yards and on farms prior to and at present. Today the 2nd, 3rd and 4th generations of Marvin Ingram’s family focus on Hand Crafting Vintage, Estate Grown Wines on the Estate Vineyard, Winery and Amphitheater.
In 2003 the family agreed to formalize the vineyard effort and formed King’s Raven Winery, Inc. And for 2 years bought and traded for grapes from Namaste Vineyards for the 2003 and 2004 vintages. 2005 Marked the first Estate vintage, but it would be 2 more years before product was aged and ready for sale. Sales to the public began in Dec 2006 from total production of less than 200 cases.
2018 marks our 19th year we have grown wine grapes here. Deep, self-rooted Pinot Noir, MareÌchal Foch, Leon Millot, Chelois, Phoenix, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Riesling and Gewürztraminer all express amazing wines unique to the soil, micro-climate and dry land farming techniques integral to our stewardship of the land. We are excited to add to this story as our little family winery grows. Join us at the tasting room and become a part of our story.
