With Italian roots and childhood memories of his grandfather and family making wine in their basement, Giorgio Furioso purchased Juliard Vineyard in 2014 to start what he thought would be a small venture. This month Furioso Vineyards is releasing its first pinot noir, an event coupled with the opening of a new lounge-style wine tasting room on Warden Hill Road near Dundee.

"My grandfather in Italy made wine and when we immigrated first to Montreal and then New York, they continued making wine there," Furioso said. "We never did it as a commercial endeavor and when I got to a certain part of my life where I thought I could do a small project somewhere, I started looking around and some friends of mine had come to Oregon and said, 'You should come to Oregon. You should take a look.' When I got here, I fell in love with it."