Hi, we’re Dave and Deolinda Coelho and we are farmers who make wine. It seems that everyone in Oregon makes wine. But very few of us are farmers who are intimately connected to the soil. And even fewer of us are all-in, hands-on, all day, every day at our wineries.
Our family name means “rabbit” in Portuguese and is pronounced simply “Quail Oh.” The rabbit logo on each of our wines symbolizes all we do in farming unique soil and creating honest bottles of wine that frame special moments for our customers.
We got our start as youngsters in the San Joaquin Valley in California, farming about 800 acres of row crops. We moved to Oregon in 1991 for better educational opportunities for our kids, who have come up through the business, and now are off on their own.
Winemaking runs in our blood. Dave’s grandfather, Joe Coelho, best enjoyed wine surrounded by loved ones. A dairyman, Joe made Portuguese wine for family and friends, instilling a love and appreciation for the wine experience in Dave.
Deolinda’s grandfather, José (Joe) Serpa was a carpenter who made wine in the family basement. Unfortunately, one of his kids siphoned wine for friends to taste. The next morning, the Serpas found the siphon in the barrel and several sick boys on the floor, ending Joe’s winemaking.
In 2004, we bottled our first vintage of Pinot Noir and have not looked back. We opened a tasting room in 2005 in the historic fire-damaged Amity Hardware Store. We’re proud that our tasting room has since become an anchor business for our community.
In the years since, we’ve added two other vineyards right around the winery and now produce single-vineyard Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, and Chardonnay from our own fruit.
It’s a common practice here to buy and sell fruit, but we don’t. We farm our fruit so that we can guarantee the quality from vineyard to table. The wine that you pour, for better or for worse, is a direct product of our effort and that of every one of our employees, each of whom is as all-in as we are.
We farm honest wine at honest prices so that it can be available to any table. We hope you will forget about how you’re “supposed to drink” our wine and that you’ll simply enjoy it while making moments in your life.
