Oregon

Federal state in the north-west of the USA, located on the Pacific coast between California and Washington state, the state capital is Salem. The wine industry differs significantly from that of the two neighbouring states. Oregon was settled by whites only at a late stage, beginning in 1834. Viticulture was established in the last third of the 19th century. European grape varieties were introduced for the first time at the end of the 19th century. The climate is characterised by mild winters and cool, wet summers. It lies on about the same degree of latitude as Burgundy and Bordeaux, and is similar in many ways, making it particularly suitable for grape varieties that cannot take too much heat. Following the demise of viticulture as a result of Prohibition (1919-1933), initially mainly fruit and berry-based wines were produced. The pioneers of modern viticulture from the 1960’s onward were Richard Sommer at the Hillcrest Winery, Davit Lett at Eyrie Vineyards and Dick Erath at Erath Vineyards. They were the first to go in the face of the prevalent opinion, also held by the University of California, and were extremely successful in betting entirely on European grape varieties. They were followed by other committed wine producers. Today, Oregon is one of the largest and most important wine-producing states in the USA, and ist he equal of California in terms of quality. The classified AVA’s are Applegate Valley, Chehalem Mountains, Columbia Gorge, Columbia Valley, Dundee Hills, Eola-Amity, McMinnville, Red Hill Douglas, Ribbon Ridge, Rogue Valley, Southern Oregon, Umpqua Valley, Walla Walla Valley, Willamette Valley and Yamhill-Carlton. The total vineyard area is around 6.000 hectares at present, and growing, the vineyards are located mostly between the coastal mountains, which stretch over 500 kilometres in the west, and the Cascades Range (part of the Rocky Mountains) in the east, which go up to an altitude of 3.500 metres.

The most widely planted variety, accounting for more than a third of the total area, is Pinot Noir. In the western part of the Willamette Valley lies the famous iron- and clay-rich red soil of the „Red Hills of Dundee”, close to the towns of McMinville, Newberg and Yamhill, which is particularly suited fort his variety. McMinnville hosts the annual „International Pinot Noir Convention”, at which producers and lovers of this variety from all over the world conduct tastings. Other varieties planted include Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Cabernet Sauvignon, Gewürztraminer, Merlot, Müller-Thurgau, Pinot Blanc and Riesling. Oregon has its own, particularly strict wine laws. Varietal wines must contain a minimum of 90% of the stated variety, with the exception of Cabernet Sauvignon, where the limit is 75%. There are more than 300 wine producers, of which more than 80 are located in the greater Portland area. Well-known producers include, for example, Adelsheim Vineyards, Amity, Archery Summit, Argyle, Beaux Frères (in which Robert Parker jr. has shares, owned by his brother-in-law), Bridgeview, Chehalem, Domaine Drouhin#Drouhin Joseph, Domaine Serene, Erath Vineyards, Evesham Wood, Eyrie Vineyards, Firesteed, Hillcrest Winery, Ken Wright Cellars, King Estate, Patricia Green Cellars, Ponzi, Rex Hill, Sokol Blosser, Torii Mor, Willamette Valley Vineyards and Yamhill Valley Vineyards. Oregon is also an important source of oak wood.