Oregon's Willamette Valley

South of Portland, Oregon, running for 150 miles alongside the Willamette River, is the  famous Willamette Valley and its world famous wine.  For years, fruit wines brought attention to the Willamette, but by the mid-20th century, a new breed of winemaker began  making America's world class Pinot Noir. 

The name Willamette comes from the French pronunciation of a Native American village, although some say it's an indigenous word meaning either "still water," or "west bank."

Columbia River route along the Oregon Trail

Willamette's fertile valley nestles between mountains on three sides.  The welcoming environment in the west attracted pioneers in 19th century Missouri  to endure the hardships of the Oregon Trail.  Over the decades the pioneers settled in what today are Oregon's five largest cities in the valley.  Portland and Eugene are at the two ends of the valley, with Salem forming the dividing point between north and south Willamette.  More than 70 percent of Oregon's population live in the five major cities.

Willamette Valley is home to a wide array of  crops and animals, including hops, mint, hazelnuts, cattle, Christmas trees, poultry and, of course, wine grapes.  Most of the vineyards are west of the Willamette River.  Today, there are 700 wineries, most of them in Yamhill County.

Pinot Noir tops the Willamette's wine list, with Pinot Gris, a pinot family member, growing in popularity, although it has a way to go before taking over from Chardonnay as the valley's top white wine.  Presently, there are 193 Chardonnays made in the Willamette compared to 69 for Pinot Gris.  The demand is so strong for Chardonnay, that Pinot Gris will be waiting in the wings for quite a while.

Other Willamette Valley wines of interest, include Syrah, Gamay Noir, Pinot Blanc, Riesling and Tempranillo, plus about 30 others.  Still, Willamette's moderate climate is a limiting factor for some grapes, like Cabernet Sauvignon, so the emphasis is focused on what works best, like Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Chardonnay.  Willamette Syrah embraces the cool climate style, with leaner bright fruit, and a little black pepper.

Papa Pinot

Wine making in Oregon can be traced back to the 19th century. By the time Prohibition was finally over, a thriving fruit wine industry had set the pace for new  growth in Oregon wine, populated in large part by Californians migrating north to find a more hospitable climate for vinifera grape wines like Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

In 1961, Richard Sommer was one of the first Californians to come north, at least as far as the Umpqua Valley, in southern Oregon, where he established Hillcrest Vineyard.  Against advice that wine grapes couldn't be grown in cool, wet Oregon, Sommer planted Pinot Noir. It was a valiant effort, since the southern Umpqua was better suited to Cabernet Sauvignon. 

David Lett followed Sommer to Oregon, continuing on to the Willamette Valley, a spot he knew was more suitable for Pinot Noir and later, Chardonnay.  In 1965,  Lett planted the first vinifera vines in the Dundee Hills.  David Lett was a pinot pioneer in the Willamette and for that, he became known as "Papa Pinot." 

About the same time, Dick Erath and Sokol-Blosser set up shop.  It would be 18 years, though, from the time of  Lett's arrival in the valley, before the region was recognized with an AVA.  Eventually, 11 sub-AVAs were  added, including Enola-Amity Hills and Chehalem  Mountains in 2006, proposed by David Adelsheim, Dick Ponzi and Paul Hart of Rex Hill Vineyard.

Pinot Noir

Satisfied with the quality of Pinot Noir from test sites in the Dundee Hills, Burgundy's Robert Drouhin opened Domaine Drouhin in 1987, installing his daughter, Veronique as winemaker.  Some observers pointed to Drouhin's arrival in Oregon as proof that the Willamette Valley was the premiere spot in the United States for Pinot Noir.

 The "Left Coast" Comparison  

Wine people are protective of their own corner of the wine world.  Comparisons  of these various places are usually ignored, except, for some reason, for the inevitable match-ups  that linger of Oregon Pinot Noir to red Burgundy and Napa Cabernet Sauvignon to red Bordeaux. 

While writing this piece on the Willamette Valley, it occurred to me, how many things in common, besides a vibrant food scene and relaxed lifestyle, there are between Oregon's Willamette Valley and California's Napa Valley:  

* Signature grape and wine - Pinot Noir in the Willamette, Cabernet Sauvignon in Napa.

* Central wine town - McMinnville in Willamette, St. Helena in Napa.

 * Closeness to major metropolitan area - Portland, Oregon, San Francisco, Calif. 

  * College-level wine programs - Linfield University, McMinnville, Napa Valley College, Napa.

Wine is an integral part of the Willamette Valley and the hundreds of wineries are waiting to welcome visitors with a thirst for Oregon Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Gris. 

Next post:  Pleasurable Port

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