Meliora (Latin) / [meh-lee-OR-ah]
noun. ever better; the pursuit of something better.
01. Prologue
Hi, I’m Alex.
In 2023, I founded Meliora Wine Co.—a small, independent négociant winery devoted to crafting honest, transparent expressions of Pinot Noir from the wind-swept slopes of Oregon’s Eola-Amity Hills.
The wines I produce are love letters to both the vineyards themselves and the age-old traditions of wine production that began over a thousand years ago in Burgundy and continue today in the Willamette Valley.
The name Meliora is both a guiding principle and a quiet challenge: to constantly improve and pursue excellence. For me, this means making wines that reflect the unique character of the vineyards—their terroir, which is shaped by the soil, climate, and topography. Pinot Noir is uniquely good at capturing the finest of these details. My goal is to transmit the voice of the vineyard in each wine with minimal interference.
I don’t believe there is a silver bullet to making great wine. Instead, I am committed to making small, focused improvements that I believe, over time, will yield great results.
“What makes a wine really interesting, is what cannot be controlled. I am looking for a spontaneous expression of nature, without my interference.”
- Frédéric Mugnier
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02. The Vineyards
Nuestro Sueño Vineyard
Nuestro Sueño is situated in the southwest corner of the Eola-Amity Hills on a gentle slope of south facing benchland. The vineyard is owned and farmed by an extremely attentive and conscientious man named Tom Symonette, a retired engineer, who lives on the site. There are cows grazing freely along the drive to the vineyard. Seeing them is one of the many joys of working with this site.
The geology of the vineyard is a complex and ancient blend of marine and volcanic influences. The hillside is a result of both the uplifting of a prehistoric seabed and numerous volcanic eruptions, floods, and landslides. What makes this vineyard so compelling is how much the marine components of the soils influence the textures and flavors of the resulting wine. The soils here are Nekia Series and are a lighter colored grey-brown. This is due to a higher proportion of marine sediments and sand than many surrounding vineyards that contain more clay and volcanics. The marine influences gives the wines an energetic red fruited, citrus-driven profile and the texture of silk.
My block at Nuestro Sueño cover roughly half an acre of own-rooted vines that are lovingly tended by Tom and myself. Tom is patient and trusting, allowing me to perform more of the viticultural work myself each year, which has been extremely fulfilling.
AVA: Eola-Amity Hills
Elevation & Aspect: 335’ on a South facing gentle slope
Soil: Primarily Nekia Series. Decomposed volcanic basalt and high proportion of marine sediments and sand on top of basalt cobbles.
Vine Material: Own-rooted (franc de pied) Dijon 114
Vine Age: Planted in 2000
Pruning: Guyot (Cane-Pruning)
Farming: Dry farmed and LIVE Certified Sustainable
02. The Vineyards
Folly of Man Vineyard
The Folly of Man Vineyard is located just outside of the town of Amity in the northern part of the Eola-Amity Hills. The vineyard sits on a gentle slope that faces south and southwest. The vineyard is owned and farmed by winemaking couple Tracy and Aaron Kendall, who make wine under the same name, Folly of Man. The vineyard is farmed organically and biodynamically with LIVE Certification in progress.
I am thrilled to be working with Tracy and Aaron. Their passion for the work and commitment to regenerative farming is inspiring and the vineyard brings incredible character to the cellar. The first time I tasted the young wines after putting them in barrel and letting them settle in, the vineyard announced itself. I was greeted with the most intense and delineated floral aromas of violets, roses and peonies that leapt out of the glass and flooded my senses. It was at that moment I knew that Folly of Man was special.
My block at Folly of Man covers a little over an acre of Spur-pruned vines that ripen late with high acidity and extremely low yields. This vineyard is the last to ripen its fruit of any of the 3 that I work with and the resulting wines are intense, concentrated, floral and spicy with a melange of red and black fruits.
AVA: Eola-Amity Hills
Elevation & Aspect: 450’-470’ on a gentle slope facing South and Southwest
Soil: Jory & Nekia Series. Shallow decomposed volcanic basalt on top of marine sediments. Clay loam and sand.
Vine Material: Dijon 115 on 3309 rootstock
Vine Age: Planted in 1999
Pruning: Cordon de Royat (Spur pruned)
Farming: Organic, Biodynamic & Dry farmed. LIVE Certification is in progress.
02. The Vineyards
Orchard House Vineyard
Orchard House is situated in the southwest corner of the Eola-Amity Hills on a slope of south facing benchland that used to be planted to fruit orchards. The vineyard is owned and farmed by Oregon legend Joe Dobbes and his viticulturist, Rian. Joe lives on the property and the attention to detail he and Rian give vineyard is remarkable.
The geology of the vineyard is, like Nuestro Sueño, a complex and ancient blend of marine and volcanic influences. The hillside is a result of both the uplifting of a prehistoric seabed and numerous volcanic eruptions, floods, and landslides. The soils at Orchard House are mainly Jory Series, which are much more influenced by the volcanic elements of its geologic history. Orchard House has a high proportion of clay and iron-oxide, giving the soil a reddish, almost purple color and an ability to handle drought conditions extremely well. The predominantly Jory soils at Orchard House give the wines a powerful and dark, almost brooding, profile that lean towards black fruits with a distinctly savory edge.
The vines I work with at Orchard House come from the higher elevation parts of the vineyard from both Block 1 and Block 2 and are a roughly 50/50 mix of Dijon Clone 114 and 115.
AVA: Eola-Amity Hills
Elevation & Aspect: 485’-625’ on a South & Southwest facing slope
Soil: Jory and Nekia Series. Iron and clay-rich decomposed volcanic basalt and marine sediments on top of basalt cobbles
Vine Material: Dijon 114 & 115
Vine Age: Planted in 2000
Pruning: Guyot (Cane-Pruning)
Farming: Dry farmed and practicing organic (not certified)
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04. About
Alex Fortson | Founder and Winemaker
My life and career began very far from the world of wine. I grew up in Florida, just outside of Orlando, surrounded by groves of grapefruit and tangerines. I went to college at Western Kentucky University and studied Photojournalism. I started taking commissioned projects overseas, mostly in East Africa, while still in school and worked with many NGOs and Non-Profit advocacy groups. I worked on projects documenting everything from formerly abducted child soldiers in northern Uganda to the human consequences of the Sudanese civil war. This work was heavy and eventually took both a physical and emotional toll. On one of my last trips I contracted a severe parasitic illness that nearly killed me and this, in combination with the emotional challenges, led me to seek a different path.
After deciding to take a break from photojournalism, I found work at Apple and spent the next few years working in technology in California. However, the concrete jungle that is Los Angeles led me to search for greener pastures and in 2015 I moved to Oregon. I still was a couple years away from discovering the magic of the wine world, but I was getting closer.
Since I was a teenager I have loved hiking, backpacking and climbing in the outdoors. Shortly after I moved to Oregon, I took a trip to the Austrian Alps. After a week of climbing and hiking, my body needed a break. When I got out of the mountains I drove down to Tuscany and rented a room in a converted barn at a small family-owned biodynamic winery in Greve-in-Chianti. They had a salt water swimming pool overlooking the rolling hills… and they left a bottle of their Riserva outside the door every morning. This turned out to be exactly what the doctor ordered and I left Tuscany with far more than just rested bones.
Growing up there was very little wine on the family table. I had no idea what wine was really about until I took that week of rest, drank the bottles that were left outside the door and walked through the hillside vineyards of Chianti.
I had been seduced.
After returning to Oregon, I threw myself into this new world and tried to learn everything I could. I leaned on local wine shops for insight and education. I spent my free time reading, tasting and visiting with winemakers all over Oregon.
In 2018, I immersed myself fully into the wine trade. In the years since, I've worked in both retail and sourcing, visiting over 100 respected winemakers across Burgundy, Piedmont, Champagne and the Loire and Rhône Valleys. These journeys through cellars, alongside importers and winemakers, provided an education no formal training could replicate.
I figured out pretty quickly I had the a strong interest in how wine was made and how it was grown. I needed to know more and I had a lot of questions, so I enrolled in a viticulture and enology program here in Oregon. I learned after one semester the program I was in was not the one for me. I learned I was not looking for a professor. I was looking for a mentor.
One day I was buying wine and asked the shop owner what made a particular wine taste the way it did. He replied "Ask the guy behind you, he used to work there". The guy behind me was Chris Dickson, the winemaker at Twill Cellars. He answered my questions and extended an invitation to taste in his cellar and gave me his card. Fast forward 5 years; Chris was exactly the mentor I was looking for. Twill brought me on in 2019 and Chris and I worked together for five formative harvests and I will forever appreciate his skills as a teacher and his willingness to share his knowledge.
In 2023, after years of dreaming, saving funds and working on securing vineyard sources, I was able to start Meliora, which is a culmination of everything I have learned from Chris and the hundreds of winemakers and growers that have inspired me over the years. In 2024 I left Twill Cellars to focus entirely on my own production.
04. About
Vineyard & Winemaking Practices
In the Vineyard
Meliora is a purely négociant wine project, meaning I do not own any of my own vineyards. This makes the partnerships I form with my growers extremely important and we need to be aligned on our core values of land stewardship and growing practices. All of the growers and vineyards I work with meet the following standards:
100% Dry Farming
Dry Farming, or farming without the use of irrigation, is my primary concern when working with a grower. I am steadfast in my belief that dry farming is the best method for growing the highest quality wine grapes and it is also the best practice for sustainability. For this reason I will not work with a grower that uses irrigation in their vineyard. I am in the process of meeting the requirements to join the Deep Roots Coalition and will officially be a member winery in 2026.
Sustainable Farming
Organics and Biodynamics are great methods and are welcome but they are not a requirement for me. Organic treatments can be heavier and more toxic than their synthetic counterparts and I do not fault my grower partners for choosing a treatment with the smallest impact on both the vines and the people that care for them. What I do care about is sustainability and that my growers do not use pesticides or herbicides under any circumstances. LIVE Certification is a process I support and encourage my growers to seek.
Low Yields
Keeping yields low is a qualitative principle that I take very seriously. I think the best expressions of Pinot Noir come from vineyards that are in balance and produce small crops of highly concentrated grapes. Typical yields in the vineyards I work with are around 2.5 tons per acre and I will not go much above this threshold.
In the Cellar
It is my aim to make wine as naturally as possible without sacrificing the integrity of the resulting wines. There are many differing opinions on what makes a wine “natural” and I certainly do not claim to know the answer. However, In my opinion, the following practices are critical to making natural wine and I am deeply committed to them.
Indigenous Yeast Fermentation
The most important practice in my opinion is using only indigenous (also known as ambient or native) yeast to ferment the wines. At Meliora, all fermentations are done with indigenous yeast with no exceptions. I believe inoculating with commercial yeast removes any possibility of the transmission of terroir and would obscure the magic of the “spontaneous expression of nature” that results from a natural ferment.
Limited Sulfur Use
Sulfur (SO2) is an important tool for making clean, stable and ageable wines and a little goes a long way. I add small amounts of sulfur to my wines after malo is complete but keep the total SO2 under 50mg/l. I have found this is plenty of sulfur to protect the finished wines and make sure they are stable and will age beautifully but without the negative impact of heavy sulfur use, which I find can tighten up the wine and alter the texture.
Non-interventionist philosophies
infusion vs extraction
limited moving of the wine
bottling unfined and unfiltered