Woe So Gray

In 1946, our grandfather, Elmer Young, along with his growing family, established a farm in Dewey, Arizona. What started as a traditional food crop and animal venture eventually became one of the most beloved gathering places in Northern Arizona.

While being a family-oriented and welcoming farm, the full recognition of Young’s Farm was found in its sensational sweet corn and delicious holiday turkeys. Young’s Farm operated for 60 years before being faced with new state laws changing the historic use of water rights in Arizona. In 2006, we sold the farm and left our home in the Southwest in search of independence, beauty, and a challenge.

We found Oregon.

Landing in Paulina, high in the desert of Central Oregon, our family began farming anew. Blue Mountain Ranch sits on the south watershed of the Ochoco Mountains, where an 800 cow herd grazes across emerald meadows, producing delicious grass-fed and grass-finished beef. With the new ranching operation, we dove deeper into the world of soil biology and water reclamation to ensure the health of family, animals, and the earth.

After almost a decade of the family ranching business, we realized we missed the day-to-day interactions with customers and wanted more. With the blessing of our family, we were ready to strike out again in search of something new.

We found wine.

Well, that makes it sound a little too clean. What we found was a bit of time on the Oregon coast, watching our kids continue to grow, building a retail business, and waiting for the next opportunity. And it came, not in a moment, but in a series of events that started and stopped, taking two steps forward and one step back.

In 2020, with the world shut down and our retail business in good hands, we took off with the kids to travel the United States and live out our nomadic dream. We spent most of the year living in our Airstream, seeing all that there was to see including an inspiring stay in New Orleans, where we fell in love with the food, the music, and the history. Returning to Oregon, we were inspired to go back to our roots, back to the soil, back to farming.

And That’s when Walnut Ridge found us.

And now, we are here, fully entrenched in the Willamette Valley, nestled in the Lower Long Tom Sub Appellation (AVA) with our kids, a dog, the vines, and hope for the future.

The journey has been winding, joyous, challenging, upending, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. We are excited to be in a community that believes in the connection between family and farming- and has supported us as we have come from our family ranch in Paulina, Oregon to now grow grapes and produce wine in the Willamette Valley.

We hope you will join us at Walnut Ridge to enjoy our wine and deepen our life together.

– The Youngs, Alisha, Aaron, Harper, Lincoln & Ruby