10 CapitalPress.com
September 8, 2017
Oregon’s wine industry by the numbers
Number of wineries
2000
139
2015
Top grape varieties
Syrah: 2.2%
Riesling: 2.6%
Chardonnay: 5.6%
702
Pinot gris: 12.9%
Number of vineyards
2000
480
2015
1,052
Pinot
noir:
62.3%
Other: 14.4%
By MARGARETT WATERBURY
For the Capital Press
Location of vineyards
1. North Willamette Valley: 57.6%
2. Rogue Valley: 15.5%
3. South Willamette Valley: 10%
4. Columbia Gorge/northeast Oregon: 9.9%
5. Umpqua Valley: 6.6%
1
4
3
5
2
Wine average
bottle price
(750 ml)
Oregon: $16.07
Washington: $9.76
California: $6.68
Oregon wines made from
estate-grown fruit: 52%
Oregon vineyards certified
sustainable: 47%
Wine retail volume
growth from 2015
to 2016
Oregon: 13.5%
Washington: 3.1%
California: 2%
Economic impact
• Number of wine-related jobs in Oregon: 17,100
• Wages paid in wine-related jobs: $527 million
• Wine-related tourism revenue: $208 million
• Charitable donations made by Oregon’s wine businesses: $11 million
• Statewide economic impact of the Oregon wine industry: $3.35 billion
Source: Oregon Wine Board
Alan Kenaga/Capital Press
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V17-2/#13
Distilling and winemaking
have been linked for hundreds
of years, but most wineries
balk at the cost and logistics
involved in starting their own
in-house distillery.
Now some Oregon wine-
makers are bridging that gap
by partnering with local distill-
eries to make brandy from their
wines.
Winery licenses allow win-
eries to possess distilled spirits
for sanitation and fortifi cation
purposes without applying for
a Distilled Spirits Permit or
paying federal excise tax on the
spirits. Many winemakers fi nd
the prospect of making brandy
from their own wine enticing,
especially when confronted
with a batch of wine that didn’t
turn out exactly as hoped. But
contract distillation can be cost-
ly, so winemakers should care-
fully examine their goals for
contract distillation.
“It’s a part of our business
because we like getting to help
people make something deli-
cious,” says Andy Garrison,
distiller at Portland’s Stonebarn
Brandyworks and Trail Distill-
ing in Oregon City. “But if they
don’t have a goal in mind and
are distilling just to get rid of bad
wine, it can be a bit of throwing
good money after bad.”
Tad Seestadt, owner of Ran-
som Winery and Distillery,
echoes that sentiment. “What-
ever comes out of the still is a
refl ection of what you put in,”
says Seestadt. “It’s not a magic
wand you pass over the wine
and you have a beautiful Co-
gnac-style brandy.”
Making a good brandy or
fortifying spirit means produc-
ing a high-quality, non-sulfi ted
wine without signifi cant fl aws,
although Garrison mentions
that winemakers do have op-
portunities to cut costs, since
wine for distillation doesn’t
Margarett Waterbury/For the Capital Press
Distiller Andy Garrison processes Pinot noir pomace from a winery
partner at the Stonebarn Brandyworks distillery.
need to be aged in oak, fi ltered,
cold-stabilized,
extensively
racked, or stored for very long.
“It can also be a great way to
utilize saignée or press cuts that
don’t fi t your wines’ profi le,”
says Garrison. “With good
planning, we can be distilling
weeks or months after the wine
is done fermenting, which re-
duces the risks from not adding
sulfi tes.”
At Anne Amie Vineyards,
winemaker Thomas House-
man has been producing for-
tifi ed products for more than
10 years. At fi rst, he bought
commercial brandy for forti-
fi cation, but eventually, he de-
cided he wanted to use his own
wine to make the fortifying
spirit for port-style wine and
Muller-Thurgau dessert wine.
“So we started making extra
wine” and sending it to local
distillers to turn into brandy,
says Houseman. Anne Amie
experimented with several
wines, ultimately settling on
Muller Thurgau as their fa-
vorite varietal for distillation.
“It makes a really clean, nice,
pretty brandy,” says House-
man, “it’s really aromatic. And
I think it’s a great story. I have
a dessert wine fortifi ed with
its own brandy from the same
grapes. I don’t think anybody’s
making a fortifi ed Muller-Thur-
gau dessert wine with its own
brandy anywhere else in the
world.”
When it comes to select-
ing a partner, Houseman says
the best thing winemakers can
do is taste the distiller’s exist-
ing products. “If you like their
product, chances are good
you’re going to like the result.”
Then, be prepared to play an
active role in the process, but
rely on your distilling partner
for technical advice. “I’m not
a distiller,” says Houseman,
“I don’t know how to make
good brandy, so you work with
somebody you trust.”
Winery-distillery collab-
orations are still relatively
uncommon, but Garrison pre-
dicts growth in the high-qual-
ity ready-to-drink segment
may buoy the trend. “Spirit for
Port-style dessert wines is still
most of what I distill, but there
is more interest in vermouth
and lighter, aperitif-style forti-
fi ed wines. With the wine-in-
cans trend, imagine vermouth
spritzers made with all estate
grapes, or 100 percent Pinot
noir sangria.”