American Wine Stories: Willamette Valley Pinot Noir

The story of how the vine found itself in Oregon may sound like an arduous tale, but it's one that's worth telling; specifically how Pinot Noir ended up in this vast dairy-laden forest is certainly beckoning a glance. Pinot Noir, despite its finickiness, had been the ire of winemakers everywhere. But doing it well had always been difficult. American winemakers, as visionary as they were struggled to make this grape work in California. Sure, Carneros had a small foothold on the grape, and so did Santa Barbara. The Bordeaux Châteaux had been conquered, yet no one had yet produced a Pinot that could truly lay siege to the seemingly modest domaines of Burgundy.

That is, until fresh UC Davis graduate David Lett turned his sights to Oregon, to plant grapes in a state thought to be too cold for Vinifera. This wide-eyed optimist had sat through all of the classes dedicated to building a fine winemaker of him, and disagreed with the prognostication of his professors regarding Oregon’s unforgiving climate. Where the Californians often lacked vintage variation, David pontificated that the Willamette Valley (pronounced like dammit) would be a fine place to set a vineyard. This patch of apple farms made up the southern flanks of Portland’s agricultural district, and was home to no grapes whatsoever.

A lot of planning and speculation had gone into the search for land suitable to plant Pinot Noir in the United States up until this point. Robert Grahm and other pioneers had set out for sites to place this finicky grape hoping to create the illusive great American Pinot. Perhaps the highest regarded site for Pinot ended up being a place once thought you incomprehensibly cold for any vinifera varietal.

David Lett became the eponymous advocate for the area known as the Willamette valley, in much the same way Angelo Gaja was Barbaresco’s champion. He and his wife purchased land in a small rural town called Dundee, just south of Portland in 1966. This town is a hub and epicenter for American wines of prestige now. At the time it was purchased, the town of Dundee was a mere agricultural hamlet.

The area to be cultivated was called the Eyrie Cineyard, after a nest of hawks that took flank directly above the vines. Lett had planted Pommard, and Wadenswil in stretches measuring the length of the vineyard, at the time nearly twenty-five acres outside of Dundee, amongst the vast rolling hills of the orchard-filled valley.

Not only did he plant some of the finest Pinot Noir clones in the valley, he also was the first to plant the Alsace varietal, Pinot Gris. This off-color mutation of Pinot Noir is often mistaken for Chardonnay, but comes equipped with totally distinct aromas of green olives and asparagus as well as richer, more yellow-pear-like fruit and salinity. Chardonnay was also planted and so was Gamay, in far fewer numbers. All of these Northern French grapes became staples of the Willamette area, especially Pinot Gris, and Pinot Noir. Today these two grapes represent eighty-one percent of the overall plantings, with the vast majority of vines existing in the Dundee Hills area.

David remained consistent with his original jones for minimal intervention in both the vineyard and in the winery. The wines made by Eyrie Vineyards in the first vintages were done so with a typical Burgundian light hand that gives his wines a captivating sense of nuance. The winery to this day practices minimal racking, spontaneous fermentation both malolactic and with natural yeasts, as well as using only old barrels to impart as little oak as possible. Some of the barrels still in use were the first round of barrels purchased by David Lett in the sixties

The results speak for themselves. In 1977, Lett participated in an annual wine competition held by wine writers in Paris called the Gault-Millau French Wine Olympiads. His wine took home a gold medal in the contest beating out every other wine. Joseph Drouhin of Domaine Drouhin invited him to participate in a rematch held in Beaune, Burgundy the following year, where his Pinot again was notably a favorite, though was bested by a 1959 Drouhin Musigny. The results of the contest shocked the wine world and inspired the Drouhin to open a winery in the Dundee hills to begin producing Pinot in much the same way.

Lett’s light handed-approach in the winery and vineyard not only impressed the greats of Burgundy, but set a precedent for the burgeoning group of new winemakers that sprung up in the area north of the town of Dundee. Many winemakers were producing light, naturally fermented, old-barrel age wonders, so much so that the Willamette valley really became know for its rustic approach to wine. A lot of old methods, like basket pressing were reintroduced, and custom jerry-rigged former farm equipment became a mainstay for some wineries obsessed with exposing the natural essences of Pinot Noir.

This terroir-driven obsession presented Lett with a bit of trouble in the eighties and nineties, when tastes changed dramatically in favor of bold, rich, and dramatic reds. This change was in part due to a series of studies done in the nineties which found red wine to be good for the heart. A largely new demographic of aging teetotalers began drinking red wine by the droves. Palettes new to wine prefer the richer, juicier likes of Cabernet and Merlot.

Lett’s Pinot Noir played the outside field as critics gave the best scores to wines of indistict fashion made homogeneously with droves of new American oak, and little enough character to set them apart from Welch’s grape jelly. Lett’s wines consistently scored low with the Wine Advocate and other publications set on marching onward into a future full of universally planted, overripe Cabernet and Chardonnay.

The decade of the two thousands would be a godsend for Pinot Noir, but a challenging time for faithful fans of the grape as prices would begin to soar. A perfect storm would launch Burgundy into the limelight. First there was the cult classic Sideways, which landed on the silver screen in 2003, whence a bottle of Richebourg is featured, followed by many profanity-laced outbursts against the then-fashionable Merlot. Sales of American Pinot Noir benefited greatly. This shift from Merlot to Pinot Noir is sometimes referred to as the Sideways effect.

The hipster movement also brought about indie wine bars in Williamsburg, Astoria, and parts of LA, Berlin and London, which were focused generally on lighter reds with Burgundian appeal. This brought about a vast expanse of wine marketeers dedicated to selling fashionable bottling a from family growers to the millennial sommeliers that dominated the New York wine scene. This time also brought about the rise of a large segment of newly middle-class Chinese investors who, burdened by the cost of assets in their own market, sought foreign investments to hold their retirement funds in. Burgundy, being so in fashion became a popular purchase, the vast majority of which has remained in bond, never to be consumed.

Regardless, all of this was beneficial to those complexity-focused wineries that had stuck to their market, and continued to create wines of distinction, rather than fashion. This included a lot of the producers of Pinot Noir in the Willamette valley. David Lett was still continuing on his terroir driven mission even as a new market winemakers emerged contemporaneously during the eighties and nineties.

And perhaps it was in wisdom or folly that wine continued being made the way they’d always been in Oregon, but more than likely it was wisdom, as the terroir is notably very good. Despite weather setbacks, growers here can expect some of the purest expression of Pinot recognizable throughout the entire world. Northern Oregon’s weather can be as temperamental a Burgundy’s, late season rains are not an uncommon fixture of the area. The wetter climate can drive the threat of molds, and mildews, especially powdery mildew to a head, and winemakers must take great care to avoid these disasters affecting their crop.

The climate is maritime, which can mean unpredictable results, often in the form of rain. The valley is protected from continental storms because of rain shadow, but just about any weather conditions have been known to blow in from the pacific. This can make for some vintage variation. Notably, while many French vignerons have complained on and on about the lack of proper Terroir (capital T) here, it seems that these plots, sites, winemakers, and weather conditions are beginning to finally free themselves from an obsession with Burgundy, and begin more and more to express their finest plots. French winemakers who have purchased land here, tend to agree.

Oregon terroir varies from region to region, of which there are seven major regions in the Willamette valley. The most well known soil is by far the Oregonian take on Terra Rossa that can be strewn throughout the Dundee hills area, just north of the town of Dundee. It’s known as Jory locally, but is heavy in iron, and fairly infertile. The soil is notably well draining as well. And makes wines of stellar quality. The Dundee Hills region harbors practically the major concentration of wineries for the Willamette Valley, with the bulk of producers having vineyards across multiple different AVA’s.

This is in fact the soil type that is responsible primarily for the Eyrie Vineyard’s Old Vine Pinot Noir, in my opinion the best value. This incredibly wine is, in fact, very Burgundian in its nature. A supple red strawberry and cranberry flavor yields to mushroom-like earth and nutmeg spice on the finish. It’s very reserved and complex, with plenty of body, velvety tannin, while not being overly voluptuous. It’s nice to be able to sip a wine and know you;’re drinking a piece of history still made the same way as it was fifty years ago, and in some of the same oak, mind you.

Dundee Hills is the stuff of stories. It’s certainly a beautiful landscape, no doubt. But the wines made here, in their purest form, are quintessentially rural - certainly, not a bad thing when it comes to wine. Dundee is around twenty or so miles south of Portland flanking the eastern hills of the country landscape. Formerly a dairy-concentrated production zone, today it is littered with grapes. The most famous of wines from the Willamette Valley have holdings here. This is where it all started.

The coast mountains introduce a bit of rain shadow, protecting this Maritime environment from being the brunt of storms making their way eastward. Well draining hills of Jory make up the vast bulk of soils here, which are strewn in bands around the hills. At seventy meters above sea level, grapes are exposed to the elements, however this previously forested area has for the most part been carefully curtailed back to adept the terrain to withstand harsh weather and trees have been kept to keep warmth low to the ground.

Winderlea Weber Vineyard is another incredible wine that pays homage to the Burgundian force major with captivated the hearts of the early pioneers here. Vines have been upkept in this vineyard since the lat seventies, and some of the vines are broaching thirty years old. These wines are showing incredible fruit. Ripe red cherry, cranberry and hints of rhubarb are all aromatically present. On the Palette this wine shows white truffle and wet straw earthiness, as well as a nice subtle basalt-like minerality. Some leather is also present, but the wine quickly divulges into a long, stately, but peppery finish dominated by raspberries, and anise.

McMinnville is home to a number of notable wineries as well, chief of which of course Eyrie Vineyards, which got its start in Dundee of course, but has since moved its winemaking operations to the higher altitude growing areas of McMinnville. These are the higher areas of the valley, more heavily exposed to the marine climate due to their eastern exposures, where grapes are planted - areas from two hundred to one thousand meters are prescribed by law in order to fit in this AVA.

Because of this added altitude which drops temperature, growers need eastern exposures, in order to allow grapes to ripen from the sea breezes, and from the temperature regulating conditions of the Willamette river. Maritime breezes are welcomed by producers as they reduce the risk of powdery mildew which often comes along with stale air. This is a very windy region. This area does see significantly less rainfall, which is also a major benefit to growers here over those in Dundee Hills. Here you can find a plethora of basalt, and loam soils that are ideal for retaining moisture, while adding nice minerality to wines.

Eola-Amity boasts twenty-five wineries, and this number is steadily increasing. Located to the north of Salem, this AVA is protected by the rainshaddow of the Coast Mountains, like McMinnville is heavily exposed to the cooling winds. There is some noticeable diurnal shift at higher elevations, where the bulk of the wineries are located, but wind is really what defends the grapes from the exasperating heat of the long summers. The region is named after the mythological Greek god of wind, which is fairly apt, as this is probably the windiest of the triad of original AVAs. Notably, a lot of vines here are trained Scott Henry style, to allow them as much sun exposure, while protecting them from rot, and allowing full exposure to the wind.

Wines grown here are richer, warmer, and often slightly more dark-fruited and less traditional than in the other two regions. Though still auspicious and complex, these wines can make a good entry way into the world of Pinot Noir. Some are slightly more reminiscent of Etna Rosso due to their complex minerality and structure offered by the volcanic basalt soils that drain freely and impart soapstone like flavors onto the wine.

One of my favorite wines from here is Ken Wright Cellars Eola-Amity Pinot Noir. All of those classic hill-bound flavors are there. Notably the style is slightly overripe Pinot which gives flavors of red plum, black currant and a minerality resembling silver cutlery. The wines themselves are well-balanced, though the finish can be quite layered and luscious. The oak used is new, so I notice caramel and some flavors of clove and anise as well. Ripe red cherry with some overtones of lilac and cremini mushroom are not difficult to detect either. This wine offers some excellent value.

Yamhill-Carlton is a district defined by its ancient soils of seabed-like marl. These soils are not dissimilar to those found in Chablis, but contain higher proportions of sand, which makes for well draining abilities. The soil is also marked by a characteristic high acidity, which can slow vigor in the vines, and often, with excessive heat, force them to shut down completely, though this is common only in hotter vintages.

The vast majority of vineyards, in order to avoid the pitfalls of the more fertile alluvial soils carried by the Willamette river, assume for themselves southern aspect slopes, which help to ripen grapes. There is a rain shadow that protects the crop in this extremely warm, dry region, which is caused by the Chehalem mountain range to the west. Growers here will start picking often several days before the rest of the valley.

The Chehalem Mountains are an AVA which lies just to the immediate east. Seventy percent of this exciting AVA is comprised of Pinot Noir vines, but there is also some Pinot Gris and Chardonnay. Obviously as per the name, this is the tallest AVA with vineyards reaching an excessive seventeen hundred feet. The soils are a red basalt from volcanic lava flow, that are extremely rich in iron and mineral deposits, yet well draining.

To the north, the area suffers from some excessive precipitation, which is a near constant problem throughout Oregon due to the fronts that roll across the open seas. There is little rain shaddow especially on the western flank of this AVA, but the area does see some relief in the form of those easterly winds from the sea, which act to drive out the humidity. Mercifully, rain is only an issue during the latter seasons. Unfortunately, growers are sometimes forced to pick early, or risk losing their crop.

Ribbon Ridge AVA was at one point conjoined with Chehalem Mountians, but is now its own separate growing area. The ridge is technically a hill in between two climate-regulating small tributaries, and it stands about seven hundred feet above sea level. This interesting mound of dirt is composed not of the basalt that makes up the other two AVAs, but of exclusively calcareous marl, that extends fairly deep.

It also has quite bit of alluvial deposits which can add a bit of rigor to the vines in that they’re quite fertile. Luckily, growers have become adept to adequate canopy management, and what remains of the loam, especially own the southern slopes, is quite antiquated and well draining, forcing roots deep underground to seek proper nutrients and water. Temperature and climatological storms from the Pacific influence are unlikely, as this hill is sheltered in between the two mountain ranges, and luckily is in the haven of a small outcome of rain shaddow.

The Van Duzer Corridor is one of two new AVAs in the Willamette Valley, and represents the long disgraced valley floor next to the Amity hills. It represents a gap in the coastal range made up of well-draining sandy loams which are likely the remains of an ancient sea floor. Soils are somewhat less relevant than the narrow strip of land on which vineyards are planted. Because it lies between two parts of the coastal range, wind rips through the valley and through the vines, clearing out any moisture.

Luckily, this area does not see too many of the effects of rot due to these powerful winds from the pacific. These dramatic winds make this area chillier than any of the other AVAs in the greater Willamette valley, though crop damage is a known foe here. Wines made of grapes from here tend to have nice complexity and certainly a fine mineral core, as these vines are kept cool and dry, though practically get all day sunlight. This area can represent better value than a lot of other sub-AVAs in the valley.

That's All,

~K