Danny and Susan Klieman of Lonesome Rock

The Story of Lonesome Rock Cellars

Beginnings in France

Lonesome Rock is the culmination of a lifelong pursuit. It is the story of our drive to risk everything to care for an exceptional vineyard, create exquisite, world-class wines, and share them with the world.

We met in 1989 in a French Drama and Poetry class at the University of South Florida. Drawn together by a shared love of language, culture, and travel, we set our sights on France, determined to immerse ourselves fully in the world that had long inspired us.

In 1991, we moved to Burgundy, where Danny studied oenology at the Université de Bourgogne and worked in the vineyards and cellar at Domaine Yves Chaley et Fille in the Hautes-Côtes de Nuits. After spending all of our free time combing the vineyards of France, Italy, Germany, and Spain, we made a pact to one day care for our own vineyard.

Accidentally attending the Hospices de Beaune while studying abroad, 1988
With our daughter, Rachael, in a cheap hotel in Bordeaux after knocking on Chateau Margaux's door for a job, 1992
In the lab studying Oenology at Université de Bourgogne in Dijon, France, 1992
Racking barrels of Nuits St. George, Gevrey Chambertin and Hautes-Côtes at Yves Chaley & Fille in Curtil-Vergy, Hautes-Côtes-de-Nuits, 1993
Checking out the vineyards in Chassagne-Montrachet, France, 1993
Outside of our home in Riaucourt in the Champagne region, 1994

Years of Learning in Chicago

After four years in France, we returned to Chicago, carrying that promise with us.

Susan built her career as an entrepreneur, while Danny joined Heritage Wine Cellars, a premier importer and distributor, rising in the ranks from Sales Rep to Vice-President. His work took him not only throughout Chicagoland but around the world, learning about the viticulture and winemaking practices of wine regions, both famous and far-flung.

As our professional lives grew, so did our family. Outside of our careers, our time was focused on raising three children… but we never forgot the promise we made in our early twenties. Wine remained a constant thread woven through everyday life. Vacations often revolved around scouting vineyards—children in tow. Autumns were spent making wine in the garage with friends and family, grapes arriving by train from California. Our home was filled with wine encyclopedias, blind tastings, maps, long dinners, and late-night conversations about the culture, history, and science of wine.

Beaujolais with Scot from Heritage, 1998
Roche de Solutré, 1999
Garage wine with Elliot and Dan Belford, 2002
The kids sorting fruit the garagiste way, 2016
Keeping the wine cool with frozen water bottles, 2016
A 100 year old Italian press in the garage, 2016

Finding Oregon

More than twenty-five years after it was first spoken, and after countless trips searching across California, Washington, Oregon, France, and even Greece, we finally found the place we had been seeking: a wildly beautiful, Willamette Valley cool-climate, high-elevation vineyard — isolated and windswept.

The organically-farmed vineyard was originally developed in 2007 by Scott & Rae Baldwin of De Ponte Cellars winery and has long been cared for by the AVS vineyard management team, whose stewardship includes many of the Willamette Valley’s most respected sites. Zak Laster, who personally planted many of the vines in the ground today, continues as vineyard manager.

Visiting Lonesome Rock the first time, 2020
Winemaker Isabelle Dutartre of De Ponte Cellars on the sorting line with fruit from Lonesome Rock, 2021
Elliot doing punch-downs of Lonesome Rock pinot noir as an intern under Isabelle, 2021
Adam topping up barrels of Lonesome Rock, 2021
The look of happiness and relief after our first harvest, 2021
Our first Thanksgiving at Lonesome Rock, 2021
Planting first veggie garden at Lonesome, 2022
Danny with our vineyard manager, Zak Laster of Advanced Vineyard Services, 2022
Susan's father, Homer Davies, building owl boxes, 2022
Rachael and Nisar with Danny after helping refurbish the pétanque court, 2022
Julia taking the gator for a spin, 2022

Becoming Lonesome Rock

Our first harvest at Lonesome Rock took place in September 2021. It was a deeply personal moment, made even more meaningful by family. Our son and nephew, Elliot and Adam, worked as cellar interns at De Ponte Cellars, where Isabelle Dutartre—bringing more than 35 vintages of experience across Oregon and Burgundy—continued as Lonesome Rock’s Pinot Noir and sparkling wine winemaker. Our tiny lot of Chardonnay was produced with Jackson Holstein of Granville Wines, who knows Lonesome Rock intimately from time spent working its rows early in his career.

The inaugural vintage of Lonesome Rock was released in May 2023.

Today, Lonesome Rock stands as the realization of a promise made decades earlier—a vineyard shaped by patience, informed by experience, and guided by a deep respect for place. We look forward to sharing these wines, this hillside, and this story with you.

Experience the Wines at our Tasting House in Carlton, Oregon

For those who wish to explore the wines in their place of origin, we invite you to taste our wines at the estate through private, owner-led tastings on our secluded vineyard in the hills west of downtown Carlton, Oregon.

TASTE OUR WINES AT THE ESTATE