10 Producers You Should Know to Get Into Oregon Pinot Noir
Oregon Pinot Noir reflects both tradition and innovation. Winemakers flocked to the hilly region to produce Burgundy-style Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in a moderate climate. In doing so, they mimicked the techniques and traditions of French winemaking.
But they also set out to do things differently. Despite its similar environment, Oregon has an altogether different terroir from the lauded French region, so New World winemakers sought to show what an American region could do for Pinot Noir. Indeed, the history of this grape in Oregon begins rather recently: The first plantings of the thin-skinned grape in the state were laid in the 1960s.
Pinot Noir has since become the archetypal grape for Oregonian wine, grown across the region’s multiple AVAs. Here are 10 producers to know to get into Oregon Pinot Noir.
The Eyrie Vineyards
There is no Willamette Valley Pinot Noir without The Eyrie Vineyards. Founder David Lett was the first to plant Pinot Noir in the Willamette Valley in 1965. He believed the region’s climate would be suitable for the grape and allow the U.S. to produce Burgundian-style Pinot Noirs. Today, the estate is committed to low-intervention winemaking, which includes minimal filtration and native yeast fermentation. Eyrie does not rely on any artificial cooling or heating to facilitate its fermentation — just the daily temperature. According to its website, this hands-off approach yields versatile expressions that are easy to drink when young and complex with age.
Beaux Frères Winery
Founder Michael Etzel began planting grapevines at Beaux Frères Winery in the Willamette Valley in 1988 with financial help from his sister and brother-in-law, who just so happens to be the influential wine critic Robert Parker Jr. Beaux Frères — which means brother-in-law in French — gets its name from that early investment. Etzel harvested his first crop in 1990 and sold the grapes to an external winery before crushing and fermenting his own Pinot Noir under the Beaux Frères Winery label in 1991 as the estate’s first vintage. As of 2000, Beaux Frères operates two vineyards in the Willamette Valley’s Ribbon Ridge AVA. At both properties, the winery grows three Pinot Noir clones: Dijon, Pommard, and Wädenswil. Like many other Oregon winemakers, Beaux Frères focuses on biodynamic and regenerative practices. The winery embraces a low-intervention winemaking process, including reliance on native yeast, limited racking to reduce oxygen exposure, and limiting excessive sulfur.
Soter Vineyards
With grapes from three AVAs within the Willamette Valley, Soter Vineyards’ portfolio offers a range of what the region can do with Pinot Noir. Michelle and Tony Soter founded the estate in 1997, and it received a Demeter Biodynamic certification in 2016. Chris Fladwood, winemaker for the small-yield production, is known to craft wines that balance bright acidity with a strong structure, according to the Soter website. The vineyard also farms a number of Pinot clones, including Dijon, Pommard, and Wädenswil. About 40 percent of its Pinot crop, however, is an unknown clone that the estate calls Heirloom.
Hundred Suns Winery
Hundred Suns entered the picture in 2015 when Grant Coulter and Renée Saint-Amour bought their first plot of land in the Willamette Valley. When the married couple initially moved to the region, Coulter entered Oregon’s wine scene as assistant winemaker and, eventually, winemaker at Beaux Frères, where he spent 10 years. Hundred Suns is now the duo’s own venture, and they are doing it all on their own, from the winemaking to the day-to-day tasks required to run a business. They source grapes from five local vineyards. Pinot Noir accounts for the majority of the winery’s current lineup which includes a range of field blends of numerous clones and multi-plot expressions.
Evening Land Vineyards
Mark Tarlov founded Evening Land Vineyards in 2005 with a list of partners that includes famed restaurateur Danny Meyer. Now, winemakers Sashi Moorman and John Faulkner are at the helm. This organic, biodynamic winery in the Eola-Amity Hills AVA holds a Low Impact Viticulture and Enology (LIVE) certification. Its grapevines are planted in high-moisture clay, and the soil helps retain water from rainfalls, meaning the winery does not rely on any form of irrigation in the summer. There are three Pinot Noir expressions in its current lineup, one of which is a single expression of the Pommard clone.
Division Winemaking Company
Division Winemaking Company is part of a different scene in Oregon wine: urban wineries. Kate Norris and Thomas Monroe founded Division in Portland in 2010. The two source grapes from vineyards across Oregon and Washington. Similar to other grower-producers in the region, Norris and Monroe embrace a low-intervention approach to their winemaking — particularly marked by the minimal addition of sulfur. Division offers a number of Pinot Noir expressions in its lineup. One is labeled “Cent,” which means “100” in French, as a nod to their wines being 100 percent additive-free. Another is called Méthode Carbonique, which denotes the carbonic maceration used to ferment the wine — an atypical method for Pinot.
Bergström Wines
Founded by Swedes John and Karen Bergström in 1999, Bergström Wines is still largely a family-run operation. Their son Josh and his wife Caroline now helm the estate, with Josh leading the winemaking. In addition to biodynamic farming, he practices regenerative agriculture. The winery’s flagship vineyard is located in the Dundee Hills AVA, though it also operates another five plots in the Chehalem Mountains and Ribbon Ridge AVAs. It offers 15 Pinot Noir expressions in its current product line. According to its website, Bergström’s Pinot Noirs are marked by their spice- and mineral-forward flavors.
Domaine Drouhin
Robert Drouhin founded Domaine Drouhin in 1989 with the goal of producing Pinot Noirs that would rival the great wines of Burgundy. He began by test-planting rootstocks of Pinot Noir clones and has since expanded his holdings to a 130-acre plot in the Willamette’s Dundee Hills — the majority of which are Pinot vines. The estate features a four-level gravity-flow winery, which relies on the hill’s slope to guide the juice to each subsequent stage of winemaking. Drouhin’s winemakers rely on a number of Burgundian techniques to mimic the region’s lauded Pinot Noir, including pigeage and remontage. The Domaine also uses custom-made French oak barrels from Burgundy.
St. Innocent Winery
Mark Vlossak established St. Innocent Winery in the Willamette Valley in 1988. It started off sourcing fruit from external vineyards that span five AVAs within the region. In 2018, the winery planted its first estate vineyard, and harvesting began five years later. At St. Innocent, all work in the cellar is done by hand, temperature is naturally controlled, and bottling is done by gravity flow. The winery uses new barrels to age its Pinot Noir but emphasizes its distaste for over-oaked wines. According to its website, its Pinot Noir expressions are a celebration of the spicy, floral, and earthy notes that the grape can offer.
Illahe Vineyards
Lowell and Pauline Ford founded Illahe Vineyards in 2000, and their son Brad joined in 2004 and is now the president, owner, and winemaker. Of Illahe Vineyards’ 60-acre plot featuring seven grape varieties, 52 are dedicated to Pinot Noir. The estate grows six clones of Pinot Noir: Dijon 777, Dijon 115, Dijon 943, Pommard, Swan, and Wädenswil. One of Brad’s most significant contributions to the winery has been the 1899 Estate Pinot Noir project, which he launched in 2011. The idea for the project came after a few trips to wine regions in France, where he saw horses doing some of the vineyards’ brunt work. Inspired by this historic method, Brad decided to purchase draft horses to mow his vineyards and transport harvested fruit to the winery. This kickstarted a general commitment to mimicking early, traditional winemaking methods: As part of its 1899 project, Illahe aims to make its wine without electricity. The winery now handpicks fruit, uses a bicycle to destem the grapes, and employs a mule-driven stagecoach to bring its bottles to the distributor.
The article 10 Producers You Should Know to Get Into Oregon Pinot Noir appeared first on VinePair.