Adventures in Wine > Oregon
Oregon
From end-to-end, Oregon has numerous microclimates. These subtle variations in weather and growing conditions make Oregon ideally suited to grow a broad range of wine grapes. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon are just a few of the 40 varietals of wine grapes grown throughout the state.
Oregon’s location along the 45th parallel, as well as its maritime weather, have produced a growing climate extremely similar to Burgundy, France, a region well known for its Pinot Noir. As a result, Oregon’s top wine crop has become – you guessed it – Pinot Noir. In recent years, the state has received growing attention from the international wine community, as Oregon Pinot Noir ranks right up with the best wines coming out of Burgundy. (OregonWines.com)
Amalie Robert
Winery: Amalie Robert
Region: Oregon
Sub-region: Willamette Valley
Pinot Noir ‘Amalie’s Cuvée
Pinot Noir ‘Dijon Clones’
Pinot Noir ‘Estate’
Pinot Noir ‘Vintage Debut’
Located in the central Willamette Valley, some fifteen miles southwest of Salem, Oregon, Amalie Robert Estate produces premium Pinot Noir. Amalie Robert Estate has quickly earned a reputation for its farming practices, reflecting a true understanding of the site. They have dedicated themselves to growing premium quality fruit and are committed to delivering quality throughout the growing and winemaking process.
Categories: Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc
Dusky Goose
Winery: Dusky Goose
Region: Oregon
Sub-region: Willamette Valley
Pinot Noir Dundee Hills
Pinot Noir Rambouillet Vineyard
The winery has worked to establish a distinctive profile with a complex structure one can clearly recognize as Dusky Goose, while capturing the intrinsic flavor characteristics unique to the region and vintage. The two Pinot Noirs offered this year are the personification of that goal. Both of these wines were made under the direction, skill and expertise of Lynn Penner-Ash at Penner-Ash Wine Cellars in Newberg, Oregon.
Categories: Pinot Noir
Et Fille
Winery: Et Fille
Region: Oregon
Sub-region: Willamette Valley
Pinot Noir Elton Vineyard
Pinot Noir Palmer Creek Vineyard
Viognier
Et Fille Wines is a small, family-run, Oregon winery specializing in pinot noir. Et Fille, which means “and daughter”, honors the hand-in-hand, father and daughter team that makes these wines. They strive to bring the gentleness, devotion, and warmth from their relationship to each glass – from its endearing pinot noir fragrance to its long finish.
Father Howard has been making pinot noir since 1984. Daughter Jessica handles the marketing and sales (thank goodness, says Howard). The name Et Fille came about when Jessica helped to make wine for the first time in 2000. In honor of that occassion, Howard called the wine Et Fille. The name stuck. As a winery name, “Mozeico et Fille” would definitely cause many hours on the phone spelling each word. Besides, Howard’s background is software, where you try to deal with general cases. So….. Et Fille.
But the wine is the focus here. Their goal is to find the best vineyards in the Northwest, and make single vineyard designate wines from those grapes. More importantly, they strive to make a style of wine that reflects the best that each vineyard has to offer. So they don’t seek to impose the same style on each vineyard’s grapes. Instead of stamping one consistent style on the product from each vineyard, their wines will vary from one vineyard designate to the next. That way, they believe they help bring out the best the vineyard has to offer. That’s what they strive for.
There are some constants, however. They always deal in small lots of grapes (so that they can get just the clones they want), small fermentation lots (which gives them enhanced flexibility in their winemaking), and small French oak barrels (which can help in the wine’s complexity). They always sort, punch-down, and top-off by hand, so that they are close to the wine every step along the way to the bottle.
Patricia Green Cellars
Winery: Patricia Green
Region: Oregon
Sub-region: Willamette Valley
Please Call for Availability
Patricia Green uses a meticulous system to categorize her wines by source in order to ensure she gets the best blend of rows and blocks within vineyards. This time-consuming method is working because Patricia Green is producing some of the best wine in Oregon! She has earned a loyal following among wine enthusiasts, and is consistently celebrated by the press. These are silky, lush wines that baste the palate with pure Oregon fruit, show excellent tannic structure, and long fruit-filled finishes.
“These wines are accessible from the moment the cork pops, and age well in the cellar. Great fruit extraction and wonderful aromatics.”
“While many Oregon Pinot Noirs sell for $40 to $75 per bottle, Green’s Pinots, often rated higher than the more pricey wines, retail for less.”
Avalon Wine
“Green has a wonderful feel for Pinot Noir”
Los Angeles Times
Categories: Pinot Noir
Vidon Vineyard
Winery: Vidon Vineyard
Region: Oregon
Sub-region: Willamette Valley
Pinot Noir Chehalem Hills
This vineyard is located in the Chehalem Hills in the Willamette Valley between 400 and 500 feet of elevation. This land, comprised of volcanic and sedimentary soils, was on the beach of glacial Lake Missoula over 15,000 years ago. The site is very warm but is exposed to cool evening breezes providing ideal conditions for slow, gentle ripening essential to fine Pinot Noir.
Categories: Pinot Noir