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Blazing a trail in Oregon

Quick! Without checking in an atlas or Googling the answer online, how many of the 50 states that make up the United States of America can you name? A totally unscientific straw poll of my nearest and dearest suggests that you’re doing well if you achieve a total of 30. Those who managed 40 or more were either uncertified geniuses or bearers of US passports.

But even if you can name a reasonable number of states, pointing them out on a map is a whole different kettle of fish. Most people can locate Florida’s southward-pointing peninsular finger; Texas is easy to find, given that it’s the largest state of all; while wine lovers have an advantage in locating both California and Washington, thanks to their renown as sources of great wines, both red and white. California, of course, has an international reputation at both the bottom and the top end of the wine-producing chain. Its blush zinfandels are said to have driven the recent revival of interest in rosé in the US, while the best of the cabernet sauvignons produced in the Napa Valley are considered to be as collectable as first-growth clarets. The wines of Washington feature less prominently on people’s radars, but are slowly acquiring a reputation for excellence. Many American wine buffs consider the state’s wide diversity of grapes to be the equal – in quality terms, at least – of California’s best.

But what of the state of Oregon, which lies sandwiched between its better-known neighbours? Poor Oregon seems to slip people’s radar. It was not among the states that came easily to mind when my friends were reciting their lists. And when it came to locating Oregon on a map of the US, few knew that it lay on the Pacific coast. Only the most wine-aware had any idea that the state produces some of the best pinot noirs in the New World, while even fewer had ever tasted its often-sublime rieslings, chardonnays or pinot gris.

I’m sad to say that, until fairly recently, I could only point to Oregon in my atlas thanks to the fact that I’d visited the rest of the Pacific coast over the years (which meant that I knew exactly where the gap in my knowledge was located). When it came to the wines, I’d had a chance to taste a few, thanks to the annual Pacific Northwest tastings held in London, but if asked to pick an Oregon pinot noir from a line-up of international pinots I’d have been hard-pushed. It’s not surprising, then, that when I was offered the opportunity to attend the annual International Pinot Noir Celebration last July and follow it up by spending a few days visiting some of the best producers of the Willamette Valley, I leaped at it.

Situated in the heart of Oregon agricultural country, the Willamette Valley is home to two thirds of the state’s wineries and vineyards. It is a huge and varied wine-producing region boasting six sub AVAs (American Viticultural Area).

My first visit was to Adelsheim, one of the early pioneers of Willamette Valley. Here in the Chehalem Mountains (in reality, a series of gently rolling hills) David Adelsheim and his wife Ginny set out to plant a 15-hectare vineyard with pinot noir, pinot gris, chardonnay and riesling back in 1972. At the time they were one of a select group of half-a- dozen counterculture idealists who had escaped to Oregon in the hope of finding a refuge from the grind of city life. Growing vineyards in the Willamette Valley, which lies within an hour’s drive of the state’s biggest city, Portland, had been a big leap of faith. One of the earliest viticulturalists in the state, Richard Sommer, had been advised by his tutors at University of California, Davis that vinifera grapes could not be grown in Oregon. Luckily he proved them wrong by planting a successful vineyard in the Umpqua Valley, which lies to the south of the Willamette Valley, in 1961. The first vineyards weren’t planted in the Willamette Valley itself, currently the focus of Oregon’s wine-growing efforts, until the mid-1960s.

Truth be told, the Willamette Valley lies on the fringes of viability in viticultural terms. Even though the valley is sheltered from the worst of the winds coming in off the Pacific Ocean by the coastal range, rainfall levels are high. Luckily for the state’s grape-growers, though, most of it falls between October and April, thus missing the key stages in the cycle from bud-break to harvest that are most critical for developing and ripening grapes. Having said that, harvest is a nail-biting time for Oregon winemakers as late picking dates can coincide with the early arrival of autumnal rains. Furthermore, temperatures don’t tend to be all that high, even in summer: it’s rare for them to exceed 32°C for more than 10 days in any given year – and even then the heat drops right away at night. (Last summer – 2009 – with day upon day of temperatures that approached 40°C was an exception to the rule.) While there are many grapes that don’t tend to thrive in such marginal conditions, there are others that seem only to achieve great heights of complexity and longevity in regions where the possibility of full ripening teeters on the precipice each year. One such grape is, of course, the finicky pinot noir – a variety that can become an obsession for both those who consume it and those who grow it.

Adelsheim is typical of Willamette Valley producers in that it majors in the grape, with one basic cuvee, one reserve and three single-vineyard pinot noirs in its range. In addition, the winery produces chardonnay, pinot blanc and auxerrois. It even recently began a flirtation with syrah; its version is almost as sinewy and peppery as a wine from the Northern Rhône. Other winemakers in the region also make white wines – chardonnay and pinot gris are both very popular, as is riesling (much of which is made in an off-dry style), and you’ll also find the odd bottle or two of pinot blanc. Some growers are even enthusiastic about the prospects of grüner veltliner.

Like many other producers in the region, David Adelsheim is currently working to help define the valley’s terroir. It was only in 2004 that the first of Willamette’s sub-AVAs was officially recognised, but now there are six in total, comprising Chehalem Mountains, Ribbon Ridge, Yamhill-Carlton, Dundee Hills, McMinnville and the Eola-Amity Hills.

As you travel from one AVA to another, there are few visual clues that would enable you to pick up on any major differences between them. What strikes most visitors, instead, is the bucolic charm of the valley. Gently undulating hills are covered in manicured vineyard strips interspersed with clumps of Douglas firs and Oregon oaks, fields of red clover grasses, copses of hazelnut trees and espaliered hops. Gambrel-roofed barns nestle snugly in the folds between the hills, and placid piebald cows stare mildly as you drive past. It brings to mind the landscapes painted by Grant Wood, an artist whose most famous painting, American Gothic, depicts a stern-faced farming couple, but whose other canvases largely celebrate the charms of rural America.

Beneath the carefully tended exterior of Oregon’s rolling countryside, differences in soil help to define the various growing zones. In essence, the Willamette Valley is based on old volcanic flows and sedimentary deposits enriched by the gravel, silt and rock that tumbled into the valley during the Missoula Floods, a cataclysmic series of events that occurred some 15,000 years ago, and the loess soils deposited by glaciers during the last ice age. There are, broadly speaking, some distinctions that can be drawn between the pinots grown on volcanic soils and those grown on sedimentary soils – the former tend to be more delicate, with floral and mineral notes, while the latter tend to be richer and spicier. For most consumers, however, the complexity of the Willamette Valley terroirs remains an abstract concept. The attraction for many, me included, lies in the fact that Willamette Valley’s pinots balance the ripe fruit of the New World with the elegance and structure of the Old. And, after an intense (though  enjoyable) few days spent in Oregon, I now feel confident that not only would I be able to point out the state on a map of the US, I might well be able to pick out one of its pinots in that blind-tasting line-up.

WINERIES TO VISIT
BERGSTRÖM
18215 NE Calkins Ln, Newberg, Oregon 97132, tel +1 503 554 0468.
Josh Bergström is a poster boy for Oregon biodynamics. The son of a doctor, Bergström was initially sceptical about the idea, “especially its cultish, more esoteric side”, thanks to a background that valued scientific rigour, but studying and working in Burgundy convinced him of its merits. Whether or not you’re a fan of biodynamic principles, there’s great purity of expression in Bergström’s wines, from the Dr Bergström Riesling (named in honour of his father) to the half-dozen or so pinot noirs and a pair of chardonnays. (Bergström believes that the Dundee Hills, which most people associate with pinot noir, has an even better potential of expression with chardonnay.) The tasting room is open to the public between 10am and 4pm daily with a tasting fee of US$20 (A$22.50). You can also book in advance for a session on Oregon’s AVAs or the importance of stemware in high-level tasting.

ADELSHEIM
16800 NE Calkins Ln, Newberg, Oregon 97132, tel +1 503 538 3652.
David Adelsheim is justifiably proud of his smart new tasting room, which opened in April 2009. You can drop by for an impromptu visit any time between 11am and 4pm to sample the wines – the terrace overlooking the Calkins Lane vineyard offers a particularly fine vantage point for a relaxed glass or two – or you can call ahead and book a full-on winery tour tailored to your requirements. Once the tour is over, you’ll be treated to a private tasting accompanied by a selection of small bites paired with each of the wines.

DOMAINE DROUHIN OREGON
6750 Breyman Orchards Rd, Dayton, Oregon 97114, tel +1 503 864 2700.
When Robert Drouhin, head of Burgundy’s Maison Joseph Drouhin, first visited Oregon in the early 1960s he was impressed by the potential of its terroir but could never have foreseen that he and his family would  invest in the area. In 1988, however, Drouhin’s first Oregon vineyards were planted in the iron-rich Dundee Hills soil, and in 1991 Domaine Drouhin Oregon released its first vintage. Although Véronique Drouhin is only at the estate at key times to ensure that the wines produced live up to her exacting standards, her ethos is captured in the spotless perfection of the pristine modern winery and the geometric precision of the vineyards outside. Domaine Drouhin Oregon makes four wines: a pinot noir cuvee, Arthur (a chardonnay), and Laurène and Louise (both pinot noirs), which are named after Drouhin’s children. The tasting room is open from Wednesday to Sunday, 11am-4pm. Visitors are poured three current-release wines from Oregon and one from Burgundy for US$10 (A$12), which is refundable if you spend US$100 (A$112).

SOKOL BLOSSER
5000 Sokol Blosser Ln, Dundee, Oregon 97115, tel +1 503 864 2282.
Having planted their first vineyards in 1971, Bill Blosser and Susan Sokol Blosser were among the Willamette Valley’s pioneers. The winery is now run by their children, Alex and Alison, who have taken their parents’ environmental principles several stages further: the vineyard is managed organically, the underground barrel cellar that was completed in 2002 earned them the prestigious LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification (the first winery to do so in the US) and a solar panel system provides over a third of the business’s total energy needs (with more due to come on-stream soon). Sokol Blosser’s pinot noirs show an impressive purity and elegance, while the multi-regional, multi-varietal blends (a red and a white) are bouncy, fruit-forward wines designed for pleasurable easy drinking. The tasting room is open daily between 10am and 4pm. Tastings cost between US$5 (A$6) and US$15 (A$17), and visitors are invited to bring their own picnic to enjoy on the winery’s deck – or you can buy a selection of charcuterie and cheeses to nibble on as you taste.

ELK COVE VINEYARDS
27751 NW Olson Rd, Gaston, Oregon 97119, tel +1 503 985 7760.
Here is another family winery whose roots lie in the 1970s, when Pat and Joe Campbell began planting their vineyards – the first to grow value-added crops, rather than the apples and pears traditionally farmed by members of their family. Like many such wineries, Elk Cove is currently being steered by a member of the second generation; in this instance Adam Campbell. Campbell claims that, as a result of working in the vineyards as a child he was, like his siblings, “pretty sick of it”. He went off to university, but was lured back in the mid-’90s to manage the vineyards. The current focus of production is pinots noir, gris and blanc, all grown on the 600 hectares of vineyards owned by the Campbells – and particular emphasis is placed on the single-vineyard pinot noirs, which demonstrate the nuances of terroir in the Willamette. The tasting room is open from 10am to 5pm every day and a US$5 (A$6) fee will get you at least a five-glass pour of tasting samples.

WILLAKENZIE ESTATE
19143 NE Laughlin Rd, Yamhill, Oregon 97148, tel +1 503 662 3280.
Bernard Lacroute made his fortune at Silicon Valley’s Sun Microsystems, but in the early 1990s, he and wife Ronni decided to start their own winery – an interest stemming from his Burgundian roots. WillaKenzie Estate (named after the soil on which the 100-plus hectares of vines are planted) now makes around 20 different cuvees, including a gamay and a pinot meunier, as well as pinot blanc, pinot gris (both dry and sweet) and a range of pinot noir that features single-vineyard bottlings as well as expressions of a number of different clones. Lacroute can’t leave his high-tech background behind, however: the impeccably maintained gravity-fed winery benefits from a robotic “foot treader” that he designed to punch down the cap with gentleness. Visitors to the tasting room won’t necessarily get to see the foot treader, but they will be able to taste across the range for a US$15 (A$17) fee, which is refundable with a US$25 (A$28) spend.

CHEHALEM
Tasting room: 106 South Centre St, Newberg, Oregon 97132, tel +1 503 538 4700.
Although Chehalem was founded in 1990, its owner and winemaker Harry Peterson-Nedry planted his first vineyard in what became the Ribbon Ridge AVA in 1980. The winery’s name, Chehalem, is a local Indian word meaning “valley of flowers”, and Peterson-Nedry manages his vineyards in a sustainable way in order to reflect the terroir as purely as possible. In winemaking terms, he takes his cue from Alsace – especially when it comes to making pinot gris, pinot blanc and riesling – and he’s in accord with Josh Bergström on the Dundee Hills’ potential for making top-quality chardonnay. There’s an Old World liveliness to the estate’s pinot noirs as well, which you can taste at Chehalem’s downtown tasting room or at the annual Celebration of the Arts (see website for further details).

TEXT NATASHA HUGHES PHOTOGRAPHY DOUGH ZUCKER/WILLAKENZIE ESTATE

This article was published in the December/January 2009 issue of Gourmet Traveller WINE.