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Abacela, in 2015, is a world-class, multi-award winning winery and viticulture success story. But 20 years ago when founders Earl and Hilda Jones planted its first vines they had no way of knowing what the outcome would be. They were scientists with zero winemaking experience who left secure careers and trekked 2700 miles west, kids in tow, to test a hypothesis. Abacela was an experiment they hoped would answer a question that had puzzled them for years: Why doesn't America produce any fine varietal Tempranillo wine?

Earl & HildaEarl and Hilda probably weren't the first enophiles to wonder why the great grape of Spain's famous Rioja wines was mysteriously absent from American fine wine. However they were the first to approach the question with scientific rigor, form a hypothesis, then devote their lives to testing it. This is the story of how one ordinary family's curiosity and determination transformed their lives, built one of Oregon's best-loved wineries and influenced winegrowing not only in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest but across America.