OREGON WINES

The winemaking history in Oregon is all relatively recent.  The premium wine pioneer was David Lett who owns The Eyrie Vineyards.  Lett figured California's climate was too warm for Pinot Noir, but that Oregon's Willamette Valley might prove a superior climate for this very difficult grape.  

In the mid-1960s Lett began his work, planting Pinot Noir, starting his winery in 1970.    Some of his wines attracted attention, faring well in blind-tastings with California and French Pinot Noirs.  One of Burgundy's "royal" wine families, Drouhin, was so impressed by an Eyrie Pinot Noir, they purchased acreage and set up a winemaking facility. 

Moving into Lett's "neighborhood" were the Ponzi family and the Adelsheim family.  I'll admit to being more a fan of Ponzi's wines than the others.  The wonderful (and maddening) thing of Pinot Noir is each taster has a different sensitivity to the grape.  For me, the Ponzi Pinots have, for the most part, been the most satisfying over the years.  But that's my personal viewpoint.  You may find you prefer the others. 

The landscape has changed over the past couple of decades.  

There are now about 300 wine producers in Oregon and about 500 vineyards.   This is a hugely different world from 20 years ago!  Back then there were just 47 wineries in Oregon.

The main Pinot region is the Willamette Valley, just south of Portland.  This area is home to about two-thirds of Oregon's wineries.  McMinnville, Dundee Hills, Ribbon Ridge and Yamhill Carlton are four current sub-regions.   A couple of sub-appellations, Chehalem Mountains and Eola Hills are being considered for official recognition.

Wine writer/guru Robert Parker, he of The Wine Advocate, has a financial interest in an Oregon winery called Beaux Freres.  Whether this colors Mr. Parker's view of Oregon wines is unclear.  Parker does not review his own wine, but, it's interesting to note, he did review the French wines imported by the company which distributed Beaux Freres.  And, claiming to review these impartially, their wines seem to get unusually high scores.  Hmmmm.  Some tasters have wondered if Mr. Parker's journal doesn't give more credit to Oregon's Pinots as a group simply because if consumers have more interest in the group, they might actually find the Beaux Freres wine.

The Rogue River Valley and Umpqua Valley are areas with some potential, too.  Scott Henry's "Henry Estate" is famous more for his viticulture than his winemaking.   I've visited properties in Europe and they are proud to say their vines are trellised "...in the Scott Henry system."  In these southern Oregon areas you'll find warmer climate varieties such as Zinfandel, Cabernet and Merlot.  One winery, Abacela (near Roseburg) is even making good Syrah and Tempranillo! 

As many of the wineries in Oregon are small, the laws of supply and demand tend to skew pricing of the wines in an unfavorable direction, at least from the standpoint of those paying for those rare bottles.  The problem, then, is that the top wines of Oregon are rather expensive.  But that's only part of the problem.  Some less-than-stellar wines are also expensive, a result of scarcity.  This situation is much like Burgundy.

The past decade has seen increased plantings of Pinot Gris, a variety which seems quite at home in Oregon.  Chardonnay has been a more troublesome variety.  Some attribute this to poor clonal selection.  Riesling should flourish in some locales, along with Gewürztraminer.  Müller-Thurgau is planted in Oregon and you'll find Sauvignon Blanc, too.  Though sparkling wine might, eventually, prove to be a specialty, I haven't found a serious challenger to France's Champagne though Argyle is offering some well-made bubblies. 

I don't mean to discourage consumers from discovering Oregon wines, but top wines from Burgundy remain the reference point for Pinot Noir.  When Oregon producers (or winemakers anywhere, for that matter) ask a premium price for their wines, it is not unreasonable for the consumer to expect quality commensurate with the price.  The "Scarcity Tax" is high in Oregon, much as it is in the Napa Valley!

Though we're fans of good Oregon Pinots, our selection is rather small.  We don't need dozens of Oregon wines in the shop as there's but mild interest in them from our customer's standpoint.   This is due, partly, to the fact that few Oregon wineries make really good wines for "every day" drinking.  Our experience has been that $15 won't but much in Oregon Pinot Noir, while consumers can more easily find locally-made California Pinots in the $10-$15 range.  

Vintners in Oregon have the problem of high fruit costs (you can't make great Pinot Noir from over-cropped vineyards).    

We hear all the right things from Oregon vintners and Oregon marketing folks.  Everyone claims to have made wine from low-yield vineyards, but as consumers, we wonder how much of this talk is legit and how much is bluster.

Even so, it's a region worth exploring.


A special tasting report on Terroir is available here:
terroir_&_the_winemaker_tasting.htm

Some Oregon Selections