05:52 AM PDT on Thursday, April 13, 2006

By TERESA BELL, kgw.com Staff

DAYTON, Ore. -- An Oregon vineyard is opening a new winemaking facility that runs off solar power and boasts to be a first of its kind in the state.

Stoller Vineyards

A worker checks the growth at Stoller Vineyards.

The state of the art winery will officially open at 16161 NE McDougall Rd. in Dayton on April 19th.

Owner Bill Stoller said the solar panels will generate over 44,000 kilowatt hours of clean renewable solar energy each year.

“I was born on this property and grew up two miles away. The goal is to leave it better than we found it, something for our grandchildren to enjoy,” he said. “We intend to maximize the quality of wine we produce while minimizing the facility’s ecological footprint.”

Stoller worked with the Energy Trust of Oregon to design the winemaking facility. He said a gravity-flow system results in significant energy savings in production and catacombs built into the winery serve to maintain an eco-friendly temperature.

Plus, “recycled construction materials were employed throughout the building, bringing us even closer to our Oregon roots.”

The facility is the first winery in Oregon to be certified by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design’s (also known as LEED) Green Building Rating System, which is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings.

“What stands out to me about the Stoller Vineyards facility is that it was built for posterity. It says that green buildings are appropriate and achievable outside urban environments,” said LEED-certification consultant Nina Tallering.

Stoller Vineyards produces estate-grown Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in the Dundee Hills. Wines from Stoller Vineyards are available at fine restaurants and retailers nationwide.