Rollin Soles
Decades in the making
ROCO represents the finest in Oregon
winemaking — with storied bottles and humbling accolades. It’s a 30-year
history of devotion to craft.
In 1987, Rollin Soles
purchased a breathtaking hillside property down a gravel road in the Chehalem
Mountain Range. The property’s perfect combination of elevation, soil type,
natural springs, and geological aspect were the seed of a dream that would
eventually become ROCO Winery.
For nearly fifteen years, the Soles’ property remained a mostly wild
landscape used for a variety of farming endeavors. Rollin was making wine at
Argyle, his previous venture, and Corby was busy serving in a number of
executive positions in the Oregon wine industry. But as the years wore on, the
property’s southwestern exposure and diverse soils begged for the Soles to
realize their dream: a vineyard of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay sloping toward the
creek below, the Chehalem Valley beyond, and Oregon’s Coast Range in the
distance.
In 2001, Rollin and Corby planted Wits’ End Vineyard and began
bringing the idea of ROCO to fruition. Two years later, they produced their
first vintage of Private Stash Pinot Noir—showcasing the very best of Rollin’s
small-lot winemaking skills in a bottle that was eventually served in the White
House. Building on their success, in 2009, the Soles built ROCO its own winery
and added a tasting room in 2012. In 2013, Rollin expanded Wits’ End Vineyard
and transitioned to full-time focus on ROCO to keep pace with its growing
prestige and demand.
Today, Wits’ End Vineyard remains the heart and soul of ROCO
wines. ROCO Private Stash and Wits’ End Vineyard Pinot Noirs derive exclusively
from these vines—and serve as Rollin and Corby’s testament to the beauty of
place, their devotion to family and friends, and their commitment to Oregon
winemaking at its finest.
Know your ROCO
ROCO is [rock-ō] Named for Rollin and Corby Soles
And logo...
The ROCO thunderbird logo represents an
ancient petroglyph discovered in the Columbia River Gorge before the river was
dammed. The thunderbird captures the wild essence and intriguing history of the
Pacific Northwest and ROCO wines.
About Rollin Soles
Born and raised in Texas, Rollin has been making exemplary Pinot
Noir and Chardonnay in Oregon for the last three decades. Those close to him
know him as a painstaking practitioner of the winemaking craft, with an
exceptional eye for detail in harvesting, crushing, and fermentation. And the
results are in.
Rollin’s wines have been named among the Top 100 Wines of the
World by Wine Spectator thirteen times, a distinction matched by no other
Oregon winemaker. His very first ROCO vintage was poured in the White House.
And in 2013, he was named one of the “20 Most Admired Winemakers in North
America” by Vineyard & Winery Management magazine.
Rollin made his way to Oregon after winemaking stints in
California, Switzerland, Washington, and Australia. Once in the Willamette
Valley, he co-founded the prestigious Argyle winery and led its winemaking
program for twenty-five years. In 2001, along with his wife Corby
Stonebraker-Soles, he set out on a new path with the founding of ROCO Winery
and the planting of its estate Wits’ End Vineyard. Today, ROCO is his full time
work.
Rollin received a bachelor’s degree in microbiology from Texas
A&M and a master’s degree in enology and viticulture at the University of
California at Davis. His deep scientific background along with an abiding love
of research and learning allows him to consistently unlock the potential of
Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes and raise the bar for what Oregon wine can be.
Debra Eagle
Senior Director of
Business Development
B.R. Cohn Winery and Olive Oil Company Hosts 2nd Annual
Sonoma Extra Virgin Festival
Sonoma Valley Winery Celebrates All Things Olive with
Festival this November
B.R. Cohn
Winery—one of America’s premier producers of premium wine and extra virgin
olive oil—announces the 2nd annual Sonoma Extra Virgin Festival (All Things
Olive) will be held at the property on November 4th and 5th, 2017. A hallmark
of the olive oil harvest in Sonoma Valley, the weekend event will commence with
a hand harvest and blessing of olives from B.R. Cohn’s 160-year-old heritage
trees. The olive harvest typically begins after the grape harvest concludes,
leaving one more cause for celebration before the holiday season starts.
A wine growing estate in Sonoma Valley founded in 1984, B.R.
Cohn is also a leader in ultra- premium olive oil production in California.
Since its launch in 1990, the B.R. Cohn Olive Oil Company has produced extra
virgin, organic, unfiltered and flavoured olive oils, sought after by
professional and home chefs alike. B.R. Cohn’s Olive Hill property includes
nine acres of Picholine olive trees, the largest collection of its type in
California. The B.R. Cohn Olive Oil Company also produces a range of
distinctive wine vinegars. Most recently, B.R. Cohn’s olive oils and vinegars
were recognised with gold, double gold and best of show awards at the 2017
Sonoma County Harvest Fair.
“We are blessed with a climate that is ideal for not only
winegrowing, but for producing high- quality olives as well. It’s an honor to
host this collaboration between local olive growers, producers, purveyors and
artisans and showcase the best of what our region offers,” commented Debra
Eagle, B.R. Cohn’s Estate Director.
Numerous olive oil vendors include B.R. Cohn, Coldani, Figone’s
Olive Oil, Frantoio Grove, Gloria Ferrer, Grumpy Goats, Lucchetti Family, Olive
Don, Olive Press, River Road, Petroni, McEvoy, Stone Edge and Wild Groves. In
addition, confirmed food vendors will be available at the festival, including: The
Fig Rig, The Baker Bread Co., Trader Jims, Oysters from Michael Watchorn
(founder of Hog Island Oysters), Drums and Crumbs, Sweet Scoops Ice Cream and
Cousins Maine Lobster.
In 1974, to keep some sanity and preserve his family's
quality of life, Bruce purchased an old dairy in Glen Ellen. With a drive to
cultivate the existing vineyard, Bruce soon became intensely involved with all
aspects of growing grapes, mentored by Charlie Wagner of Caymus. A decade after
taking ownership of the land and having great success selling grapes to other
wineries, Bruce founded B.R. Cohn Winery in 1984.
After selling the
grapes from his Olive Hill Estate for many years and seeing the numerous awards
the wines made with his fruit were receiving, Bruce began producing his own
wines in 1984. Charlie Wagner then bestowed the greatest honor upon the winery,
permitting the use of Caymus' trademarked "Special Selection" on the
best lots from the estate. B.R. Cohn Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon,
as well as the entire portfolio, continues to receive strong reviews and
accolades.
In the 1990, Bruce
embarked on the journey of processing the olives at the Olive Hill Estate,
creating California's first single estate olive oil in over a century, and
founding the B.R. Cohn Olive Oil Company. Today we produce a selection of olive
oils and wine vinegars, which are sold alongside our wines at the estate, as
well as in select gourmet shops.
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