About Us
Welcome to Purple Cow Vineyards where we strive to utilize uncommon varietals and techniques to give you a unique Oregon perspective on wine. We focus on educating ourselves and our customers in all areas of wine production whether grape growing or different methods of making wine to the history of the varietals we produce. Our mission is to endear our customers with a unique Oregon prospective, ongoing education and honored quality.
One of the most common questions asked when talking about Purple Cow Vineyards is, "how did you get your name?" When Jon Armstrong’s (founding Member) youngest daughter, Sophie, was 18 months old she was playing with a plastic purple cow in the bathtub. It was obvious to everyone in earshot that she knew cows weren't supposed to be purple when she started shouting, "It's a PUR-KLE COWww!" It wasn't a flash of light for Jon, but it was a memory that stuck.
Jon went on line to search for other wine businesses by that name he discovered that there are lots of businesses with Purple Cow in their name but none in the wine industry. There is also book, a marketing book, by Seth Godin that makes a case for the approach our business had been taking intuitively. This was seen as a sign that this was meant to be. With many other businesses referencing Purple Cow in their names there seemed to be a generalized cult of non-conformity that we are happy to join.
Our first estate grapes were planted in 1998. We started by planting Pinot Noir and Marechal Foch and quickly expanded to Muscat and Tempranillo. By 2010 we had 8 acres under cultivation in Oregon and while we continue to explore unique varietals it is not always possible to grow them in this particular region. With that limitation in mind we grow grapes in other regions in order to be able to fulfill our mission of providing our customers with a unique Oregon prospective, ongoing education and time honored quality.
Purple Cow’s Oregon Vineyard is located on Highway 6 near both Banks and Forest Grove Oregon.
In August 2013 we moved our tasting room and offices to Newberg Oregon the Gateway to Oregon Wine Country. In the following months we moved all of our winery operations into the same facility.
It is our hope that you will take the time to explore some of the unique wines we offer and that you will enjoy our labor of love.
