Our Story
Above the Forest
We bought this 85-acre block in late 2004. Fell in love with it in minutes, signed a contract a few days later without knowing anything about farming or the journey we were about to undertake.
The place is named after William (Bill) Joseph Valentine Tilly, who farmed the land for sixty years from the early 1900s. The top of the property sits on one of the newer lava flows in the region — only three million years old — and the lower reaches have their own microclimate and incredibly fertile soil. It wasn't a surprise to learn that there was a productive vineyard here as far back as 1868, when the then owner Robert Barbour advertised the property with three acres of vines and a five-acre orchard.
In 2024 we planted numerous clones of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, though with successive dry summers it couldn't have been a worse time. While the new vines have struggled, we continue to thrive in an environment that challenges and rewards us every day.
