Isabelle Meunier

Training in Burgundy and New Zealand gave Meunier a foundation built on rigor and perspective. Those two regions shaped the standards that later carried into her work at Domaine de la Vougeraie and Felton Road in New Zealand, where precision and patience were part of the daily discipline. By the time she arrived at Evening Land Vineyards in Oregon’s Eola-Amity Hills, that international background had settled into a clear working method.

As winemaker there from 2007–2014, Meunier developed a style that read as exacting, controlled, and direct. In 2014, Meunier became co-founder of Lavinea, extending the same disciplined attention to detail into a new project. The continuity is plain: respect for site, measured elegance, and a view that keeps the vineyard at the center rather than the winemaking gesture.

Focus at Elton Vineyard in Eola-Amity Hills, Oregon, United States remains on Oregon Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, with site-specific transparency and minimal oak influence still doing the main work. The aim is to let texture, structure, and nuance emerge without interference, and to keep the vineyard legible in the glass. As Meunier put it, “I am excited at exploring the many facets of this great vineyard site.” She also noted, “While the vineyard name has been listed on a number of Oregon's highest-rated wines, this will be the first time Elton will take center stage on the label.”

The signature wines associated with Isabelle Meunier are 2009 Seven Springs Vineyard La Source Chardonnay and Seven Springs Vineyard La Source Chardonnay. These names track a line of work grounded in restraint, focus, and vineyard character, where the point is not ornament but precision of place.

Recognition came in 2009 when Seven Springs Vineyard La Source Chardonnay at Evening Land Vineyards received 97 points from Wine Spectator, the highest score ever bestowed upon an Oregon Chardonnay. The score marks a specific moment in the record of her work, and it points to the composed, site-driven style that has remained central to Meunier’s winemaking.