Announcing the 2011 Hellboy Reserve Pinot Noir, Just in Time for Halloween

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MILWAUKIE, Ore., (October 3, 2016)--Dark Horse Comics and Portland, Oregon’s Stoller Family Estates Winery have collaborated to create the 2011 Hellboy Reserve Pinot Noir, which will be available on Halloween and is available for pre-order now. “I can’t imagine a more fitting drink to both celebrate Mike Mignola‘s creative legacy and honor his most famous creation,” said Mike Richardson, President of Dark Horse Comics. “And it’s only fitting that the first time that fans can raise a glass of Hellboy Reserve Pinot Noir will be on Halloween.” “We are thrilled to be collaborating with Dark Horse Comics on the special Hellboy wine,“ said Gary Mortensen, President of Stoller Family Estate. “It’s quite an honor to share our wine with such a passionate fan base and to be associated with the amazingly iconic character Hellboy.” The 2011 Hellboy Reserve Pinot Noir is a limited edition and will only be available domestically in the United States. ### About the 2011 Hellboy Reserve Pinot Noir This is a Pinot Noir, cultivated and crafted with the same passion and intensity that Mike Mignola has brought to the creation of Hellboy for over two decades. The perfect wine to pair with the next issue of the iconic Hellboy. This special bottling is the first in the Hellboy series. Our Reserve Pinot Noir is sourced from a selection of our best vineyard blocks and barrels in the cellar. It is barrel aged in French oak for 10 months prior to bottling and carefully blended from individual lots to articulate the vintage. Vintage Overview The 2011 growing season was one for the record books– a true miracle harvest producing age-worthy wines with remarkable color, vibrancy and balance. Oregon’s Willamette Valley experienced the coolest spring and summer on record, so for a time it looked as though ripening would be a challenge. September brought warm, dry weather, which allowed the grapes to reach the final stage of ripening. We began harvest on October 13 and completed our latest harvest on record in early November. The wine label for the 2011 Hellboy Reserve Pinot Noir features an illustration by legendary HELLBOY creator Mike Mignola and Eisner Award-winning colorist Dave Stewart which originally appeared as the cover for the classic comic book HELLBOY: THE SLEEPING AND THE DEAD #2. About Dark Horse For thirty years, Dark Horse Comics has proven to be a solid example of how integrity and innovation can help broaden a unique storytelling medium and establish a small, homegrown company as an industry giant. Founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson, the company is known for the progressive and creator-friendly atmosphere it provides for writers and artists. In addition to publishing comics from top talent, such as Eric Powell, Mike Mignola, Geof Darrow, Brian Wood, Gail Simone, Stan Sakai, and Guillermo del Toro, and comics legends, such as Will Eisner, Milo Manara, Kazuo Koike, Neil Gaiman, and Frank Miller, Dark Horse has developed its own successful properties, such as The Mask, Ghost, X, and Barb Wire. Its successful line of comics, manga, and products based on popular properties includes Dragon Age, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Aliens, Conan, Tomb Raider, Halo, The Witcher, Serenity, Game of Thrones, and Avatar: The Last Airbender. Today Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent comic book publisher in the US and is recognized as one of the world’s leading entertainment publishers. About Bill Stroller: Bill Stroller was born here on the property and raised on the family farm outside of Dayton, Oregon. He received a degree in business and economics from Pacific University, as well as an MBA from Portland State University. In 1983, Bill co-founded Express Employment Professionals, currently the largest privately-held staffing company in the world, with over 600 offices in four countries. Additionally, in 2001, he founded Xenium, a human resources outsource company. This business success has enabled Bill to pursue his passion of wine and to contribute to his community. Bill's most prominent civic commitment was to his alma mater, as the former chair of the Pacific University Board of Trustees. True to his Oregon upbringing, Bill sees himself as a custodian of the land he loves, and cares deeply about sustainability and environmental protection. Driven by these values, he sought to create a business that would last for the next two centuries and beyond. When Bill acquired the family property from his cousin in 1993, many considered it to be marginal farmland at best. But Bill recognized that the rocky, well-drained Jory soil, the elevation between 300 and 650 feet, and the land’s south facing slope were all ideal for growing wine grapes. Bill, already a veteran of the wine world thanks to his co-ownership of Chehalem Winery, planted his first ten acres each of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in 1995. He leveraged the experience of consulting viticulturists, but also adapted many newer vineyard techniques in order to maximize the fruit quality. As an ardent preservationist, Bill built from the ground up a business he could one day entrust to his great-grandchildren. This drive for sustainability earned the vineyard the first-ever LEED Gold certification in the world. About Stoller Family Estates Farm For Bill Stoller, purchasing the family property brought his connection to the land full circle.Having worked the land in his youth, Bill understood that the sloped, rocky terrain with its low-yielding soil, would be ideally suited for a world-class vineyard. The farm had been in the Stoller family since the 1940s when Bill’s father and uncle purchased the land to raise turkeys. Throughout the next five decades, the farm grew from a small family operation into one of Oregon’s largest. When the family farm ceased its operations in 1993, Bill seized the opportunity and acquired the land. A Land Made for Wine Bill’s decision to transform the family farm into a vineyard stemmed from much more than wishful thinking. With the help of Burgundian winemaker Patrice Rion and local vineyard consultants, Bill confirmed that the very factors that made this land a poor choice for turkey farming were perfect for an award-winning vineyard. Bill knew that growing vines often contradicted conventional farming logic. The rocky terrain that broke discs and plows when tilled, the southern-sloped ground that made growing wheat difficult, and the low-yielding Jory soils were all sought-after ingredients of a successful vineyard. In 1995, Bill planted 10 acres each of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, combining the experience of consulting viticulturists with innovative vineyard techniques in order to maximize the grape’s quality. Today, in addition to these signature varieties, the vineyard also grows Pinot Gris, Riesling, Tempranillo, Syrah, and Pinot Blanc.