Jordan Estate Tales - Volume 7, 2012 - 24

The Cows
Come
Home

Among the things you expect to see on a winery tour are
vineyards, tanks, barrels, and of course, bottles of wine. But
cows? Maybe not. until now at Jordan.
Late last summer, we added a small herd of cattle—moms
and their calves—to the estate. They happily live and graze in
a fenced pen near our garden and lake. Clearly visible below
the rock wall behind the winery, guests are pleasantly surprised
to see our cows with their impressive horns and spotty hides.
Cattle roaming the open pastures at Jordan Estate signifies
a return to our past, a tribute to the agricultural history of our
land. Before Tom and Sally Jordan purchased the estate in
1974, two well-known farming families in the region, Foppiano
and Passalacqua, ran cattle on rolling, grassy pastures that
covered three-quarters of the estate.
Brent young, Jordan’s viticulturist, comes from a family of
dairy farmers and expressed interest in bringing cattle back
to Jordan. When John Jordan received a designer cowboy
hat as a gift from a Texan friend, he considered it a sign. He
couldn't bear the thought of being all hat and no cattle.
To start our herd, young turned to a good friend in oregon for
help—a breeder with 1,500-2,000 head of cattle. He chose
an intriguing crossbreed of Texas Longhorn and Mexican
Corriente cows. The Corriente breed originated in Spain and
was brought to the Americas in the 1400s.
Similar in appearance to a Texas longhorn, Corriente cattle
are lean, and the females especially tend to stay small—a
trait that comes in handy for a breed some call escape artists
due to their penchant for breaking free from their pens.

24
Jordan Estate Tales - Volume 7, 2012

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