Hiyu’s pours buzz with the energy and verve of ancient practices.

AT FIRST GLANCE, it’s the colors that catch your eye. From bright whites to light carbonic reds to skin-contact oranges to deeply dark and dusty reds, the hues of the wines at Hiyu Wine Farm suggest that this is not a standard winery. “Hiyu is more like a microbrewery,” says winemaker Nate Ready.

A comparably sized winery might grow a handful of varieties of grapes, planting each in its own plot, and produce up to 10 different wines, 1,000 cases at a time, released three or four times per year. Then there’s Hiyu.

Ready grows 112 different grape varieties, and makes 18 different wines, a barrel or two at a time, releasing new wines every month. When Hiyu owners purchased this 30-acre property five miles south of Hood River in 2010, they grafted over most of the original vines, planting dozens of grapes not typically found in Oregon. Using an old European technique, Ready planted multiple varieties in the same blocks.

This creates a sandbox of complex field blend combinations for Ready’s experimentation. Read the complete article here on Portland Monthly.