An urban planner and community advocate with a heart of gold, Bill was an instrumental part of shaping Oregon’s robust wine country. He was one of the first pioneers to earmark the land for agricultural use in the ’70s helping preserve thousands of acres of land for winemaking. An active participant in the founding of the Oregon Winegrowers Association, Bill would go on to pave the way for what would eventually become a $3 billion dollar industry, serving on the Oregon Wine Board, the Yamhill County Wineries Association and the International Pinot Noir Festival.
His love of the land and desire to preserve it led to the creation of Sokol Blosser, an Oregon-based winery known for its green sustainability practices. Bill’s our favorite sustainability champion, a true friend of the earth who isn’t afraid to set out where no man’s been before. He defined the Oregon pinot noir varietal among the best outside of Burgundy. If you’ve ever stopped to savor a glass—rife with powerful berry notes, bright bursts of acidity and a soft tannin profile—you already know Bill Blosser.
“I didn’t start to be a pioneer. We were just thinking, ‘this is something we love to do, this is something we need to try.’”
“I had always had a desire to do something in agriculture, to grow something...and then we discovered the Willamette Valley would be the ideal place to grow pinot noir in the United States.”
