Oregon Wine: The Basics
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The Oregon wine industry is truly an infant. Certainly vines were cultivated and wines were produced in the 33rd state since the late 1800s. However, the modern history of Oregon wine can be traced back to one man and one event. In 1961 Richard Sommer left California convinced that he could grow vines and make wine in Oregon’s Umpqua Valley. Of course he was correct and the success of his Hillcrest Vineyards encouraged others to join him. By 1969 the Oregon Winegrowers Association was born. At this time the first plantings of Pinot Noir were bearing fruit and just ten years later an Oregon Pinot Noir took the top prize in the Gault-Millau French Wine Olympiades versus many of France’s top brands. This cemented Oregon’s reputation as a tremendous Pinot Noir producing state (well before that Hollywood film proclaimed Pinot to be au courant). Today Oregon is a state with more than 300 wineries producing wines from greater than 70 varietals while still maintaining a small, family estate feel that is all but a memory in neighboring California.
The Oregon wine industry is truly an infant. Certainly vines were cultivated and wines were produced in the 33rd state since the late 1800s. However, the modern history of Oregon wine can be traced back to one man and one event. In 1961 Richard Sommer left California convinced that he could grow vines and make wine in Oregon’s Umpqua Valley. Of course he was correct and the success of his Hillcrest Vineyards encouraged others to join him. By 1969 the Oregon Winegrowers Association was born. At this time the first plantings of Pinot Noir were bearing fruit and just ten years later an Oregon Pinot Noir took the top prize in the Gault-Millau French Wine Olympiades versus many of France’s top brands. This cemented Oregon’s reputation as a tremendous Pinot Noir producing state (well before that Hollywood film proclaimed Pinot to be au courant). Today Oregon is a state with more than 300 wineries producing wines from greater than 70 varietals while still maintaining a small, family estate feel that is all but a memory in neighboring California.