Oregon Wines Essay

Although winemaking dates back to 1840’s, in Oregon, commercial production began in 1960’s (Hall). Having a relatively short history of 50 years, today, Oregon is the third largest wine producer state of United States. As of 2009, the state hosts to 453 wineries which are mostly small and family-owned (Wine Communications Group). History of the Oregon Wine Industry The first grape plantation in the region was made by horticulturist Henderson Luelling, in Willamette Valley by 1847. By the 1850’s Peter Britt started growing wine grapes in his Valley View Vineyard, today’s Applegate Valley. According to the census; in 1860, wine production was 11,800 litres (2,600 gallons) in Oregon (Hall). By the 1880’s, Edward and John von Pessls planted Zinfandel, Riesling, and an unkown variety of Sauvignon in southern Oregon. At the same times in the north, in Willamette Valley, Ernest Reuter has been growing Klevner wines which brought him a gold medal at St. Louis World’s Fair of 1904 (Hall). The wine industry in Oregon closed down in 1919 because of the Prohibition. It revived by the late 1930’s as a fruit wine-based producer region. At that time there were only two producers, Louis Herbold and Adolph Doener growing grapes. Oregon’s wine industry was also damaged by the success of California winemakers (Hall). The rebirth of Oregon wines dates back to 1961, when Richard Sommer founded Hill Crest Vineyard near Roseburg. Although the production was based on Riesling, he also planted some Gewurztraminer, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Cabernet Sauvignon. In 1965, David Lett, the owner of Eyrie Vineyard, planted his first Pinot Noir near Convallis and after 1966, continued the production at Willamette Valley in the Dundee hills. This was the beginning of the era of Pinot Noir which Oregon is nowadays famous for (Hall). By the 1970’s many winemakers immigrated to Oregon from California. Some of them where David and Ginny Adelsheim, Dick Erath, Dick and Nancy Ponzi, Jerry and Ann Preston, Pat and Joe Campbell, Susan and Bill Sokol Blosser and Myron Redford. However, David Lett was the one who placed Oregon on the world’s wine map. In 1980, 1975 Eyrie Vineyard’s South Block Reserve Pinot Noir came second in the grand tasting of wines sponsored by the French Gault Millau guide and this called the attention of press to Oregon as a wine producer state (Hall). In 1990, Oregon was hosted to 70 wineries and 320 growers in 5,682 acres vineyard. In the early 1990s, Oregon wine industry got into the danger of Phylloxera infestation which was prevented quickly by the use of resistant rootstocks. Some beneficial laws for winemakers were enacted by the Oregon Legislature in 1995. For instance, direct in-state shipment from wineries to customers and in-store tasting were legalized (Chemeketa Community College). In 2000, the number of wineries had increased to 135 and 500 growers had been engaged in grapery in 10,500 acres vineyard. In the 2000’s producers have began giving importance to â€Å"green† wine production in Oregon (Chemeketa Community College). An Oregon non-profit organization, Low Input Viticulture and Enology, Inc. , has been certifying wineries for meeting certain environmental standards (Low Input Viticulture and Enology, Inc. ) In 2005, there were 314 wineries and 519 vineyards in Oregon (Chemeketa Community College). Grape Varietals Grown in Oregon Red Wine Varieties| White Grape Varieties| Baco Noir| Chardonnay| Barbera| Chenin Blanc| Black Muscat| Early Muscat| Cabarnet Franc| Gewurtztraminer| Cabarnet Sauvignon| Huxelrebe| Carmine| Melon| Dolcetto| Muller Thrugau| Gamay Noir| Muscat Canelli| Grenache| Pinot Blanc|. Leon Millot| Pinot Gris| Malbec| Riesling| Marechal Foch| Sauvignon Blanc| Merlot| Scheurebe| Petit Verdot| Semillon| Pinot Meunier| Viognier| Pinor Noir| | Sangiovese| | Syrah| | Zinfandel| | (Bernard’s Wine Gallery) Types of Wine Produced in Oregon In Oregon, wine production is mostly based on Pinot Noir and the state is one of the first Pinot-producing regions in the world. Apart from the list below indicating the wine varieties, the state also produces sparkling wine, late harvest wine, ice wine, and dessert wine (Hall). Red Wine Varieties| White Wine Varieties|. Produced in great amount| Cabarnet Sauvignon| Gewurtztraminer| Pinot Noir| Muller Thurgau| Syrah| Pinot Blanc| | Sauvignon Blanc| | Semillon| Produced in smaller amount| Baco Noir| Arneis| Cabarnet Franc| Chenin Blanc| Dolcetto| Viognier| Gamay Noir| | Grenache| | Marechal Foch| | Malbec| | Muscat| | Nebbiolo| | Petit Syrah| | Sangiovese| | Tempranillo| | Zinfandel| | Viticultural Area of Oregon Willamette Valley â€Å"Willamette Valley is the largest AVA of Oregon, running from the Columbia River in Portland south through Salem to the Calapooya Mountains outside Eugene†. The valley is 150 miles long and almost 60 miles wide (Oregon Wine Board). In the valley, summers are generally warm and arid and the winters are cool and rainy. It is ideal for cool climate grapes due to its temperate climate and coastal marine influences. During the growing season, the valley has more daylight hours than other areas of Oregon (Oregon Wine Board). â€Å"The Willamette Valley is an old volcanic and sedimentary seabed that has been overlaid with gravel, silt, rock and boulders brought by the Missoula Floods from Montana and Washington between thousands of years ago. Red Jory soil is the most common volcanic type in the region and provides excellent drainage for superior quality wine grapes. † (Oregon Wine Board) â€Å"The valley is surrounded by the Coast Range to the west, the Cascades to the east and a series of hill chains to the north† (Oregon Wine Board). The Willamette River runs through the middle of the valley. Most of the vineyards are concentrated on the west of this river, on the slopes of the Coast Range, or among the valleys and they are mostly located a few hundred feet above sea level (Oregon Wine Board). Columbia Valley Although the Columbia Valley AVA is an 11 million acre growing region, only a small section with 185 miles wide and 200 miles long lies in Oregon (Oregon Wine Board). The valley has a mostly continental high desert climate. The hot days and cool nights provide slow, even ripening and helps grapes keep their natural acidity. Annually, the area only receives 6 to 8 inches of rainfall which makes supplemental irrigation essential in the entire region (Oregon Wine Board). The area is covered with silt and sand which was deposited about 15,000 years ago. The deposited silt and sand came to the region 15,000 years ago because of a series of massive ice age floods and wind-blown loess sediment. Today the region is mostly covered by loess (fine grained calcerous silt) which is well drained and ideal for grapevines (Oregon Wine Board). The Columbia Valley mostly lies on the Columbia River Plateau. The valley is bordered by the mountain ranges on the west and north, by the Columbia River on the south and by the Snake River near Idaho on the east (Oregon Wine Board). Walla Walla Valley. As a sub-appellation of the Columbia Valley AVA, The Walla Walla Valley AVA is in the northeast of Oregon. Although most of the wineries of Walla Walla Valley are located in Washington, almost half of the vines are produced in the Oregon side (Oregon Wine Board). The region has long sunshine-filled days and cool evening temperatures. Annual rainfall is 12. 5 inches due to the Cascade Mountain Range. Therefore, irrigation is necessary for grape growing (Oregon Wine Board). The soils of the region consist of varying combinations of well-drained loam, cobbles, silt and loess (Oregon Wine Board). The valley is located at the foot of the Blue Mountains, with vineyard elevations varying from 650 to 1,500 feet. Cascade Mountain Range borders the western side of the valley (Oregon Wine Board). Umpqua Valley The Umpqua Valley AVA is surrounded by the Coast Range from the west, the Cascade Range from the east, the Willamette Valley AVA from the north and the Rogue Valley AVA from the south. The valley is 65 miles long and 25 miles wide. Umpqua River runs nearby the valley (Oregon Wine Board). There are three different climatic sub-zones in the valley. First one is the northern area around the town of Elkton which has a cool, marine-influenced climate suitable for cool-climate grape varieties. Annual rainfall is around 50 inches; therefore, the viticulturists only benefit from the rain to grow their vines. Second is the central area to the northwest of Roseburg which has an intermediate climate allowing both cool and warm varieties to grow. Last area is located on the south of Roseburg. It is suitable for warm-climate varieties, such as Tempranillo, Syrah and Merlot. This area is more arid which makes irrigation necessary (Oregon Wine Board). The Valley has diverse soils with more than 150 soil types. â€Å"The valley floor levels have mostly deep alluvial or heavy clay materials, while the hillsides and bench locations have mixed alluvial, silt or clay structures† (Oregon Wine Board). The Umpqua Valley is made up of a series of interconnecting small mountain ranges and valleys. The complex topography of the valley is a result of the collision of the Klamath Mountains, the Coast Range and the Cascades (Oregon Wine Board). Rogue Valley The Rogue Valley AVA is located in the border of California. It is 70 miles wide by 60 miles long. Rogue Valley has the highest elevations of Oregon’s winegrowing regions on the east. However, it is also the warmest and the driest, allowing the winemakers to grow warm-weather varieties such as Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc. Cool-weather varieties, including Pinot noir do well here due to the mountain and ocean influences (Oregon Wine Board). Rogue Valley has various soil types, ranging from sandy loam to hard clay (Oregon Wine Board). Vineyards are generally located 1,200 to 2,000 feet above the sea level and planted on hillsides. The Klamath Mountains, the Coastal Range and the Cascades converging in Rogue Valley lead to a diverse landscape. Besides, the namesake river and its tributaries, the Applegate, Illinois and Bear Creek Rivers run though the valley (Oregon Wine Board). Viticultural Practices in Oregon In Oregon, viticulturists mainly use vertical shoot position (VSP) training. However, combination of Scott Henry and Lyre is also used, with lesser amounts of GDC and hanging. Standard rootstocks used in Oregon are 101-14 and 3309, with a lot of 5C and SO4. Low to moderate vigor sites are being developed to keep the canopies small. Although some meter by meter plantings exist, majority of the vineyards are falling into the 8Ãâ€"4 to 9Ãâ€"5 range for quality. Creative viticultural practices are being used in Oregon, for example, â€Å"Joel Myer, a local vineyard consultant, uses a sensible linear feet of trellis formula to determine yields. He suggests that a pound of fruit per foot of trellis will give optimal fruit quality. At Bethel Heights Vineyard, Ted Casteel thins all Pinot Noir to one cluster per shoot. He is also experimenting with planting vines side by side, about a foot apart, and training to single guyot, to increase vine competition and slow vigor. He is also taking one of his most successful Pinot Noir fields on vertical shoot position (VSP) training and converting it to Scott Henry, just to see if opening the canopy will help enhance the ripening process and flavor development (Chien). † â€Å"Oregon has been committed to sustainable winegrowing and earth-friendly practices. Numerous vineyards of the state are certified sustainable, organic, or biodynamic† (Voorhees). Two main organizations that certify Oregon’s vineyards and wineries as sustainable are LIVE and OCSW. Low Input Viticulture & Enology (LIVE). LIVE is an organization that provides education and independent third-party certification approving that the vineyards and wineries use international standards of sustainable viticulture and enology practices. They have been certifying vineyards and wineries in Oregon since 1999, in Washington since 2006 and nowadays in all of the Pacific Northwest. LIVE cooperates with Salmon-Safe in order to point out the watershed impacts and administers the Carbon Reduction Challenge, an organization helping wineries achieve energy efficiencies (Voorhees). Oregon Certified Sustainable Wine (OCSW). Founded in 2008, OCSW highlights the commitment of Oregon wineries to the responsible grape growing and winemaking. The organization certifies wine growers who meet both agricultural and winemaking requirements on sustainability and provides them a certification logo to be easily recognized by customers. To meet the agricultural requirements, 97% of the grape must be certified by LIVE, USDA Organic, Demeter Biodynamic, or Food Alliance and Salmon-Safe. On the other hand, to meet the winemaking requirements, the winery must be certified by LIVE, USDA Organic, Demeter Biodynamic, or Food Alliance (Voorhees). Producers within Oregon Valley View Winery Valley View Winery, owned by Wisnovsky family, is located in the Applegate Valley AVA, Southern Oregon. Valley View was founded in 1972 and it is one of the oldest wineries in Oregon. Valley View is famous for its pioneering efforts in producing Bordeaux varieties and blends. They mainly use grapes from the Applegate and Bear Creek Valleys of Southern Oregon’s Rogue Valley and produce Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Tempranillo, Viognier, Sauvignon blanc, Rousanne, Chardonnay and Syrah (Valley View Winery). The Eyrie Vineyards. The Eyrie Vineyards was founded by David Lett in 1966. It is composed of 49 acres in several different vineyards in Dundee Hills, Oregon which is a sub-American Viticultural Area (AVA) of Willamette Valley AVA. David Lett produced the first Pinot gris in the United States and first Pinot Noir in the Willamette Valley. The Eyrie Vineyards divide their production into three as Estate Reserve wines, Estate wines, and Limited Bottlings. All grapes for their Estate Reserve wines; Pinot noir and Chardonnay, come from Eyrie’s original planting. This is the oldest plating in the Willamette Valley at 40 years. The grapes for Eyrie’s Estate wines come mostly from their three other vineyards; Stonehedge, Sisters, and Rolling Green Farm which were planted in the 1980’s. They grow Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Chardonnay. Finally, their small production, limited bottling wines include Muscat Ottonel, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Meunier (The Eyrie Vineyards). Abacela Vineyard and Winery In 1992, Earl and Hilda Jones bought a 19th century homestead in southern part of the Umpqua Valley to produce Tempranillo wines which they fell in love to in Spain. In 1994 they built the winery and began planting the Tempranillos they purchased from California. They chose the Umpqua Valley because of its similar climate to the one of Spain’s Rioja and Ribera del Duero regions where Tempranillo grapes are grown. Today, in addition to the eight different Tempranillo clones at Abacela, they grow grapes and produce wine from Spain’s white variety, Albarino, as well as other Iberian varieties including Graciano, Tinta roriz and Bastardo (used in the production of port-style wines) and French varieties such as Syrah, Grenache, Cabernet sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Petit verdot and Viognier (Wines Northwest). Bibliography â€Å"Abacela Vine & Wine Center in Oregon’s Umpqua Valley Wine Region. † Wines Northwest. N. p. , n. d. Web. 29 Oct. 2012. . â€Å"About The Eyrie Vineyards. † The Eyrie Vineyards. N. p. , n. d. Web. 29 Oct. 2012. . Chien, Mark L. â€Å"The Oregon Wine Community and Its Viticulture. † Pennsylvannia Wine Grape Network. Penn State Cooperative Extension, n. d. Web. 30 Oct. 2012. . Hall, Lisa Shara. â€Å"History of the Oregon Wine Industry. † History of the Oregon Wine Industry. Ed. Mitchell Beazley. N. p. , n. d. Web. 30 Oct. 2012. . â€Å"History of Oregon Wine. † Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 22 May 2012. Web. 28 Oct. 2012. . Low Input Viticulture and Enology, Inc. N. p. , n. d. Web. 28 Oct. 2012. . â€Å"Northwest Viticultural Center: Oregon Wine Historical Milestones. † Discover Chemeketa Community College. Chemeketa.