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Oregon Pinot gris

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Oregon Wineries

March 2001 Column

Is Pinot gris
Oregon's Best White Wine?

by Cole Danehower

More Chardonnay is planted in Oregon than Pinot-gris, but the dollar value of Oregon's Pinot gris crop in 1999 exceeded the value of Chardonnay for the first time. The Great Oregon Gris Rush of the past few years has made this Pinot varietal the most valuable white wine crop in the state. A lot of people prefer it to Oregon Chardonnay, and some think it is the state's best white wine. Why?

The Appeal of Oregon Pinot gris

Ask the man who "invented" New World Pinot gris what he thinks accounts for its popularity, and David Lett of Eyrie Vineyards is succinct: "It is so good with food-It's a natural!"

"What I've found," says David, who has more experience growing, making, and marketing Pinot gris than anyone else in Oregon (or the New World, for that matter), "is that the person who doesn't like Pinot gris is about one in then thousand. Pour a glass, take it to the table, and as soon as you start seeing how it harmonizes with food, you're hooked!"

Others agree. The Wall Street Journal wine writing team of Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher recently wrote in their weekly Tastings column that "A well chilled Oregon Pinot gris is refreshing and bracing, with some real weight to it."

Pinot gris is widely planted around the world, but it came to Oregon in 1965 when David Lett planted the first Pinot gris vines in the New World. "The Willamette Valley has a marginal climate for growing vinifera grapes," he explains, "and Pinot gris along with Pinot noir and some others fall into an early ripening category that matches the end of the growing season here." That means the Pinot gris grape can achieve maximum varietal flavor in Oregon by ripening slowly, and reaching full maturity at the very end of its growing season.

Different Styles for Different Preferences

The worldwide reputation of Pinot gris is variable. With a flood of inexpensively produced Pinot gris wines produced in Italy and other places (where it is usually called Pinot grigio), not everyone has experienced a rewarding version of the wine. Yet the world standard for Pinot gris is produced in Alsace, where a variety of world-class Pinot gris styles are made, from dry to sweet, and light to heavy.

Here in Oregon, there tend to be two styles of Pinot gris produced. One is a clean and light, very fruity style wine that is excellent as a refreshing accompaniment to light foods. The other is a more weighty approach to the varietal, with wines displaying more spice and complexity. Both can be quite excellent.

The great thing about gris is the way it pairs so well with so many different kinds of foods. Typically, Oregon Pinot gris has a nice citrus and fruit quality, ranging from flavors of lemons to distinctive pineapple. These flavors often combine with a sprightly acidity to give the wine a refreshing, even uplifting quality, that complements a variety of foods, including even spicy Asian dishes.

Best Oregon Bets

A large number of Oregon wineries produce Pinot gris. In a recent blind tasting held by the Oregon Wine Report, a number of recent offerings showed exceptionally well. Here are a few of our favorites:

Westry 1999 Pinot gris Willamette Valley
A deliciously complete wine: fruit sweet and acid tart with richness and complexity. Lushly textured with flavors of pineapple, lemon and banana, all with a varnish of fresh-cut grass. Great with garlic roasted chicken!

Chehalem 1997 Pinot gris Reserve
Light and creamy with a mouth-warming feel and complex flavors of sweet grapefruit, lemon, mint, and pepper all wrapped up in a honeyed floweriness. A distinctive wine. The 1998 version is equally as good!

Sineann 1999 Pinot gris
Delicious flavors. The promise of sweet fruity nose is fulfilled in the mouth with peach, pears, pinapple and marzipan interlaced with a pleasing grass/hay character.

WillaKenzie Estate 1999 Pinot gris
Medium rich texture delivers fruity lemon, grapefruit, and apricot, with a beautiful blousy aroma of spice, honey, and citrus. At the IPNC this was served with a spicy Asian soup, and it was fantastic!

High Pass Winery 1998 Pinot gris
A very distinctive wine that displays a complex mix of spice (coriander and clove) and fruit (cherries and kumquats). This is for those who like the unusual!