"Oregon: More than Pinot Noir"  

Oregon is Hot! --- It's a great time to be drinking Oregon wines!

Making Sense of Oregon:  Oregon’s history began in the Northern Willamette Valley in 1966. Now Oregon is home to over 350 wineries and has 13,000 acres under vine making it the third largest producer in the U.S. The prime growing region can be visualized as a triangle formed by connecting the three towns:  Newberg, McMinnville and Yamhill/Carlton.  Pinot Noir quickly proved itself to be World Class from the area.  White varieties like pinot gris, pinot blanc and now Dijon Clones of Chardonnay also excel.  Syrah from the Rogue River (Southern Oregon) and Walla Walla (NE Oregon) areas is the latest craze...

Historcally Oregon’s vintages were a roller coaster ride, yet the State is now riding a string of very good to great vintages since 1998.

To grasp the industry you need to categorize it by:

1) Eras

2) Soils / Appellations

 

The eras:   One of the beautiful things about Oregon is that the industry is young but "World Class" --- all of the pioneers are alive and well (no other area can boast this!) --- and their doors are open with a big welcome sign.  The wineries are small, but the "science" is more advanced than anywhere on Earth.  

 

The Pioneers:   David Lett (Eyrie -1969); Dick Erath (1969), Dick Ponzi and David Adelsheim (1972)

The Second Wave: Followed with people who saw the potential, bent on giving Oregon a Burgundiantwist:  Paul Hart (Rex Hill) and Harry Peterson-Nedry (Chehalem) planting his Ridgecrest Vineyard.  

The Third Wave (1990’s):  The superstars that learned from their predecessors, ramping up the “science” : Ken Wright, Beaux Freres, Archery Summit and Domaine Serene:  an incestuous group divided by the Jory  and Willakenzie soil types.  The new millennium has witnessed Oregon's latest growth spurt of:

The Fourth Wave (2000 to Current):  wineries having babies: long time winemakers leaving the nest to begin their own winery:  represented by Lynn Penner-Ash, longtime winemaker at Rex Hill, now doing her own label; Rob Stewart (Erath); Laurent Montalieu (Willakenzie) --- now creating Solena: Sam Tannehill (Archery Summit) who now is A to Z and Francis-Tannahill.

The growing areas:  

The AVA’s are the hot topic up there in the Northern Willamette Valley, like everything they’re not perfect with politics playing a role:

Chehalem Mountains:  Unfortunately, this one is flawed with it’s different soils. Politics played a part here with lines being drawn between the young guys and the old (Ponzi).

Ribbon Ridge:  Actually a subdivision of Chehalem Mountains, but this can (arguably) be called the “sweet spot”. Willakenzie Soil (sedimentary).  Home to:  Beaux Freres, Ridgecrest, etc.

Yamhill-Carlton:  The boundaries were drawn “Perfectly” as Ken Wright would call it. Many of the “Old Guard” jealously refer to this as Ken Wright-ville.  The vineyards of the Yamhill-Carlton District were planted mostly in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. The primary soil of this area is called Willakenzie, named after the Willamette and McKenzie rivers. It is a sedimentary soil with a sandstone base rock. The sand content is quite high and the soil therefore very well drained. The sites are generally on the lower slopes of a volcanic ridge. Wines of the area possess aromas of red and black fruits, with added elements of cocoa, leather and fresh-turned earth. Acidity levels are generally lower than other regions, prompting these wines to be lush and agreeable in their youth.

Dundee Hills:  The place where it all began: the Red Hills of Dundee.  First planted with pinot noir by David Lett of Eyrie Vineyards in 1966. The most common soil type of the area is described as Jory. These soils are volcanic in origin with basalt as the mother rock. They are unusually deep for hillsides, often 6 to 8 feet to bedrock. There is also a high percentage of clay in the soil which, combined with the soil depth, tends to hold moisture later into the season than other soils we work with. The wine from this region typically displays aromas of red fruits, strawberry, cherry and raspberry. The mouth feel is often rich and emollient. components.  Home to: Erath, Archery Summit and Domaine Serene.

Eola Hills:  The southernmost area in the Willamette Valley:  Ken Wright’s Canary Hill, Elton and Carter Vineyards give us representation (also Domaine Serene’s Jerusalem Hill, Penner Ash’s Bethel Heights and Seven Springs).  The main development of the Eola Hills area took place from the mid 1970’s through the early 1980’s. The most common soil type of the area is described as Nekia. These volcanic soils are shallower, generally 1 to 3 feet in depth, and have less clay than the Dundee Hills. As a result, these soils will dry sooner, encouraging earlier ripening of the fruit. The wines of this area typically possess aromas of black fruits, black cherry, plum and cassis, with acidity levels that are naturally higher than in other growing areas, contributing to a sense of structure in the mouth. 

 

 

The Vintages:

Mother Nature has been good to Oregon lately. They’ve seen eight vintages with good ripening and without the infamous harvest rains (I wouldn’t suggest there is possibly (shh!) global climate change at work), they seem to be harvesting earlier than in the old days.  Al Gore needs to use Oregon in his presentations!  The people in the know attribute it to the “science in the vineyards”:  new clones, sedimentary soils, tighter spacing, lower yields, etc.  A great example is the 2001 vintage: it would have been mediocre --- at best --- with the old techniques of the 1980’s and before... but instead it was a good one!  But, since 1998 in Oregon, none of their vintages really have been bad.  Every vintage has proven to be quite wonderful — each different (and offering different appeals to consumers), but each excellent in its own way.

2002: Awesome.  A perfect growing and ripening  season gave size without losing elegance, gave richness without  losing great acid structure. White wines from 2002 may be the best  ever, and the weight seen there continued into the Pinot noir. They show robust, friendly fruit --- mouthfuls of it! These wines will age as well as any vintage we’ve seen ---  A Classic!

2003:  Hottest vintage on record (remember 1992?). Big, powerful pinot noirs...

2004: 2004 is Oregon’s best overall vintage since 1999—and perhaps the lowest-yielding vintage since 1998—so I still say: be savvy, buy 2004 Oregon wines.  Here’s why: from my own personal tastings of Oregon’s 2004 wines, both in barrel throughout the year and in newly-released bottles, I believe 2004 offers the best balance of varietal flavor, acidity, tannins, and complexity—almost regardless of variety or growing location—of any Oregon vintage since 1999.

Let’s see . . . high quality plus low quantity means . . . get ‘em while you can??!!

2005:   Bright fruit, lighter, more elegant styles.  Probably the most accessable wines right out of the blocks I’ve ever seen!  2005 may have proven to be the most difficult vintage of all for winemakers to manage since 1997. Wonky Spring weather, plenty of disease pressure, and lots of rain and cool weather smack at normal harvest time certainly challenged the patience and judgment of Oregon’s winegrowers.  Those who waited were rewarded (Beaux Freres, Ken Wright, Bergstrom, LPA).