The Owner
In Thanksgiving week 2003, Angela Summers and Sanjeev Lahoti discovered a former dairy and grass-seed farm on Laughlin Road that captured their imagination. Four months later, they purchased the property and began the story that would become Saffron Fields Vineyard. For the next several years, they visited with their two Yorkies, staying in a chilly concrete “caretaker’s cottage” that they joked was better suited for storing wine than housing people. Eventually, they built a home on the property, but their ambitions for the land continued to grow.
In 2007, Angela and Sanjeev planted their first ten acres of Pinot Noir with the Pommard clone. The vineyard grew over time and today includes 31 planted acres: 28 acres of Pinot Noir and 3 acres of Chardonnay. Initially, they intended to be grape growers, not wine producers. Tony Rynders purchased fruit from their first harvest and made wine from the vineyard. When Angela and Sanjeev tasted it from barrel in 2010, they saw another possibility for Saffron Fields and asked Tony to produce 50 cases under their own label.
That wine marked the beginning of Saffron Fields Vineyard as Angela and Sanjeev began imagining a place where wine, art, gardens, and landscape could come together. The tasting room opened in 2013, surrounded by a Japanese garden designed by Hoichi Kurisu.
After Sanjeev’s death in 2020, Angela chose to continue the vision they had created together while bringing her own perspective to its next chapter. Today, Saffron Fields remains independently owned and actively led by Angela.
Angela’s passion for contemporary art is also woven throughout Saffron Fields. Museum-quality works are displayed in the tasting room and across the property, while the Hoichi Kurisu-designed garden brings together water, plants, art, vineyard, and landscape. Together, they reflect the idea at the heart of Saffron Fields: a place where art, wine, and landscape engage the senses.
ANGELA SUMMERS
Saffron Fields Vineyard is independently owned and actively led by Angela Summers. Angela and her late husband, Sanjeev Lahoti, purchased the former dairy and grass-seed farm in 2004 and planted the vineyard in 2007. What began as a shared love of Oregon wine grew into a vision for a place where wine, art, gardens, and landscape could come together.
After Sanjeev’s death in 2020, Angela chose to continue the vision they had built together while bringing her own perspective to its next chapter. Today, she remains actively involved in Saffron Fields, from the wines and hospitality to the contemporary art collection, gardens, events, and guest experience.
An engineer and entrepreneur by profession, Angela brings the same curiosity and attention to detail to Saffron Fields. She is an avid collector of contemporary art, a passionate supporter of the Willamette Valley, and a believer that memorable experiences come from the connections between people and place.
Under Angela’s ownership, Saffron Fields remains a small, independently owned estate winery rooted in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA. The vineyard, wines, art, and Hoichi Kurisu-designed Japanese garden reflect both the shared dream that created Saffron Fields and Angela’s commitment to carrying it forward.
SANJEEV LAHOTI
Sanjeev Lahoti, an accomplished engineer and entrepreneur, passed away in October 2020 at home on the vineyard hillside, watching the sunset with his wife, Angela.
His passion for winemaking began on a Napa vacation with Angela and grew after experiencing Oregon’s natural beauty and its supportive wine community.
“We could have only done this in Oregon,” Sanjeev said. “With no practical experience, we turned our vision into reality thanks to the advice and help from many along the way. It’s an ongoing, fun adventure that brings us joy every step.”
An art lover, Sanjeev shaped Saffron Fields’ creative spirit. Inspired by his Indian roots and the Beatles, he said, “The first time I saw a vineyard after harvest, I was overwhelmed by the saffron-colored field.”
