WINE
B Y L A N C E S PA R K S
WARMING WINES
Beyond the northern Willamette Valley
A
cross the wine-y world, Oregon is recognized for its cool climate, hugely hos-
pitable to growing the pinot noir grape, considered by many wine-lovers to be
the foundation for the greatest of wines. An indication of the global passion for
this wine would have to be the 31st Annual International Pinot Noir Celebration
(IPNC) to be held this July 29-30 on the bucolic campus of Linfield College,
McMinnville.
Hundreds of wine-swells will gather to dine in splendor
and sample dozens of the finest pinot noir wines from the best
growing regions, crafted by the wiliest growers and most talented
winemakers. Some 70 wines will be selected —we’ll check the
list later this month — from France’s Burgundy, New Zealand
and Oregon. Yummy glug all.
The best pinot noir wines are characterized by an elegant,
delicate complexity of flavors (usually red fruits, sometimes even
hints of violets), easy to drink, matching with a wide range of
food, finishing with long, lingering memories. Got extra shekels?
Try Raptor Ridge 2012 Estate Pinot Noir ($47) — so pretty,
so elegant.
But this fixation on pinot noir has some odd consequences:
For one, many visitors, including the wine press, seem to have a distorted mental map
of Oregon on which the northern Willamette Valley looms large with, maybe, a bulge for
the Eola Hills west of Salem, then not much else, and certainly little space given for the
warmer regions of our state.
Naturally, if pinot noir is your obsession, you might not care much for regions where
pinot noir gets some scorn; for example, wine pioneer Dick Troon (Troon Vineyards),
Rogue Valley, said, “We plant pinot noir at the end of the rows to keep the bears out of the
good stuff.” By “good stuff,” Troon meant his beloved ‘big’ reds — cabernet sauvignon,
even zinfandel (he made some of the best ever).
Oregon is a big state, and, like all winemaking states is platted into American viticultural
areas (AVAs). The entire Willamette Valley is an AVA, even though the south end of the
valley, with its 25 or so strong wineries and their fine wines, gets scant attention from IPNC
visitors and the itinerant wine press. That warped mental map has its effects.
But we have 18 AVAs in Oregon, including some warm-climate areas where excellent
wines — that are not pinot noirs — are being produced.
Take the Columbia Valley. Sure, as we noted last month, some Washington Columbia
wines are clearly terrific. Just last week, we tasted Nine Hats 2014 Syrah, which has rich,
dark, flavors of black currants, pepper, even blueberries. Equally impressive was Mullan
Road Cellars 2014 Red Wine Blend, mainly cabernet with merlot and others, balanced,
with soft tannins, smooth and charmingly food-friendly. Both
wines originated in the Walla Walla AVA, most of which, oddly,
lies in Oregon, near our 18th AVA, now called “The Rocks District
of Milton-Freewater,” also the source of Oregon’s highest rated
wines — syrahs.
Many Oregon winemakers are making good use of Columbia
Valley grapes, but the Columbia is not our only warm-climate
region: the Umpqua and Rogue valleys are yielding impressive
wines — whites and reds — usually associated with warmer
climates, particularly France’s toasty Rhone Valley.
A couple of examples from Oregon’s warm-climate regions
include wines from the Rogue and Willamette valleys. Jonathan
Scott Oberlander, winemaker at J. Scott Cellars, Eugene, makes
a yummy red called Avanté ($17), mainly Spain’s tempranillo grapes from the Rogue.
Another grape, typically grown in Spain, that thrives on the sun-blessed hillsides on the
Umpqua Valley yields Abacela 2015 Albarino ($17.50), an excellent dry white, with well-
balanced flavors of ripe Asian pears and just a hint of almonds. Oberlander also goes warm-
country with the J. Scott 2014 Viognier ($17), a super white.
Jonathan’s neighbor in Eugene’s Warehouse District also buys grapes from the Rogue,
from the superb Quail Run Vineyards: Noble Estate 2013 Cabernet Franc ($36), which
seems expensive to us, but the wine is delish. Noble Estate 2013 Syrah ($29), from the
same source, is just excellent, lotsa bold, black-fruit flavors, with a dash of pepper.
If our region keeps warming and drying, maybe someday we’ll be hosting the
International Syrah Celebration, and our visitors’ mental maps of our AVAs will have been
altered. Maybe they’ll hold the celebration in, of all places, Milton-Freewater or maybe
even Ashland or Roseburg.
YOUR SECOND NIGHT IS FREE!
EUGENE WEEKLY PRESENTS
Across the wine-y
world, Oregon is
recognized for its
cool climate
There’s never been a better time to stay
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Eleanor Roosevelt
Across a Barrier of Fear
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SpanishHead.com
eugeneweekly.com • A pril 13, 2017
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