Drink Oregon – Wine Tasting Event

I like Oregon wines.

No, let me correct that. I love Oregon wines.

So much so, in fact, that I’m really excited to take my first trip out to Oregon wine country in just a month.

But I digress, let’s talk a little bit about tonight’s wine tasting at Swirlery Wine Bar.

Oregon Wine Facts

First things first, Oregon is the USA’s third largest wine-producing state, with 7 major growing regions and 18 approved AVAs. Pinot Noir is the most widely planted variety in the state accounting for 64% of all harvested acreage in Oregon, 91% of which is grown in Willamette Valley. After Pinot Noir, you find Pinot Gris (13% of acreage), Chardonnay (5%), Riesling (3%), Syrah (2%), Cabernet (2%) and other miscellaneous varieties planted in the remaining 10% of acreage.

It’s safe to say that Pinot Noir is king in Oregon, but you can’t overlook the strength of Pinot Gris and Chardonnay in the state. While Chardonnay was once the biggest white grape in Oregon, Pinot Gris has really stepped up and is recognized Internationally as a dominant style. For me, Pinot Gris grown in Oregon is some of the best you can find world over, with the only area making wine as well from this grape being Italy, under the Italian name Pinot Grigio, and in a very different style. But, as Oregon vintners have looked again at Chardonnay, the wines that might excite me the most from Oregon might very well be made from the Chardonnay grape. I’ll always be white Burgundy obsessed, but the new Chardonnays coming out of Oregon are exciting and delicious, forging a new path for new world white wine.

The Tasting

With all of that in mind, tonight we tasted 7 examples of what Oregon has to offer.

1. Willakenzie Estate Pinot Gris
2. Gran Moraine Rosé of Pinot Noir
3. Gran Moraine Chardonnay
4. Gran Moraine Pinot Noir
5. Penner-Ash Estate Pinot Noir
6. Zina Crown Vineyard Pinot Noir
7. Penner-Ash Syrah

I’ll start by saying that while I enjoyed all seven wines, my two favorite wines of the tasting were the Gran Moraine Rosé and the Gran Moraine Chardonnay. There’s not much to say about the rosé beyond its “yummy” factor. Out in this Florida heat I could see myself easily enjoying ta bottle any night of the week. But the standout to me, the most complex and surprising wine in the lineup, was the Chardonnay. When I tasted it, I wasn’t initially blown away. It took a couple of sips to wrap my head around what I was tasting. Initially, I would’ve called it a ripe, rich, style, but the acidity and roundness in the palate felt at odds with the rest of the flavors. Learning about the wine, it really was not picked at a super ripe level, but given lots of time to rest on it’s lees, which brought out all these sweet, honeyed, fruit flavors on top of a big, creamy, texture. Yet the wine was completely dry. The time in oak lent almost none of the traditional oaky chardonnay flavors, but rather allowed the wine to have a grip and intensity that, followed by a bright, zippy, finish with loads of acid, turned the wine into a complete mind meld. For a wine geek like me, an absolute treat.

Of the Pinots, I’ll give it up to Zina Crown as my favorite of the lineup, but it was definitely a big, masculine style of Pinot Noir, and along with the Penner-Ash, felt more suited to pairing with food, and not of the delicate, silky style that is my favorite of what is coming out of Oregon. Closest to that lighter, more typical Pinot Noir style was the Gran Moraine Pinot Noir, but it was still very young and primary, easily overshadowed by the other reds in the lineup.