2023 Fossil & Fawn 'Only Always' White Blend Willamette Valley

Winemaker's notes: “Only Always” is our little love letter to the famed field blends of Alsace and Austria. Composed entirely of Auxerrois, Riesling, and Gewürztraminer sourced from vines dating back to the early 1970’s planted at Sunnyside Vineyard in the South Salem Hills, this meets the technical requirements of Gemischter satz. Allowed to ferment fully dry in a mix of neutral French oak and newer Oregon oak, the aromatic blend has a balanced weight with notes of alpine herbs, grated ginger, black lime, and Mirabelle plums. 

We met in a knife fight (just kidding, it was a Whole Foods), but that story is for another time. Fossil & Fawn is the wine project of business-and-life partners Jenny Mosbacher and Jim Fischer. What started out as 50 cases of experimental Pinot noir in the autumn of 2011, is now a production of about 5000 cases across eight core wines with grapes sourced from throughout the Willamette Valley. Although the scope has evolved significantly, the spirit of the original goal remains the same: to make vineyard-forward wines that honor the land and history of the place while remaining open to experimentation and fun.