Hanging your hat on Pinot gris in Oregon

Wines & Vines, April, 1996 by Michael J. Major

Pinot gris now ranks third in Oregon grape production, behind Pinot noir and Chardonnay, having just displaced Riesling to fourth place. But regardless as to who may or may not make better wines out of the other three, Oregon's gigantic southern neighbor makes much more. Watson reports that though the total sales of Oregon wines have been growing at a rate of about 20% annually over the past several years, and reached a record production of 14,000 tons in 1995 from about 100 wineries, "in the overall scheme of things, this is the production of one relatively small California winery." Yet, primarily because of climate, Watson maintains that Oregon can produce a Pinot gris that California could never hope to duplicate. The hope of Oregon winemakers is that Pinot gris will give the state a national and international distinctiveness it now lacks.

David Lett, president, The Eyrie Vineyards, Dundee, who pioneered Pinot gris in Oregon, says that the rainy climate and long growing season, with moderate daytime temperatures and cool nights, in concert with iron-rich and clay-loam soils, make this state ideal for Pinot gris. He recalls that when he came to the Willamette Valley in 1965, when "Pinot noir was the love of my life, I found the climate remarkably similar to that in Burgundy. Chardonnay, Pinot noir, Pinot gris, and other Pinot varieties of grape all ripened in the same time period."

Lett recalls that in 1965, when he graduated from the University of California at Davis, and acquired from the school four vines of Pinot gris, "there were no commercial cuttings of Pinot gris in the state." Ironically, the Willamette Valley was flooded in 1965, and this year's (1996) floods have been the worst since then. After nine months in Europe, Lett returned and started with 160 vines and close to 25,000 plants.

The first Pinot gris Lett produced was in 1970, and added up to 25 cases. He planted more acreage, and in 1981 produced 100 cases, which it took him a year to sell. In 1982, it took six months to sell 100 cases. In 1983 he produced 600 cases which took a year to sell. And in 1984, he produced 3,000 cases, which he thought would take him five years to sell, and which he sold out in a year.

Meanwhile, more wineries, such as Ponzi, Adelsheim, Tyee Winecellar, Lang Winery, and Rex Hill Winery also were making Pinot gris.

"In about 1986, wine really started happening in Oregon; in fact, most of the wineries in the U.S. today were established in 1986," says Lett. "Our success with Pinot gris didn't go unnoticed. A lot of new kids moved on the block." Today Lett produces about 5,000 cases of Pinot gris annually. About half of his sales go to Oregon and Washington, but distributors are picking up the wine and it is doing well in New York, Chicago, and Southern California.

Meanwhile, says Watson, the overall growth of Pinot gris in the state has been rapid. From 1990 to 1993, the wine grew from about 200 to 750 tons, with about 500 acres planted and production of about 50,000 cases a year. "Since then, things just literally kept on exploding," he says. "In 1994 there were 717 acres planted, and in 1995 878 acres. Total production in tons grew from 704 in 1994 to 1,241 in 1995." He adds that tonnage prices average $1,100 to $2,000 a ton, and the bottle price ranges from $9 to $12.

At most recent count, there were about 35 Oregon wineries producing Pinot gris. But things are changing so fast that he guesses the number might now be up to 50 or 60.

Not surprisingly, California is getting into the act, and Oregonians are not too happy about it. "Pinot gris needs a cooler climate than anything you'll find in California, and if you get too much heat, you boil the flavor out so all you have left is the alcohol," says Lett. "To my mind, California wineries planting Pinot gris is a highly misguided effort."

Watson acknowledges that some cooler sites in Northern California might provide the right conditions for Pinot gris. "California sees Pinot gris as a good marketing potential so naturally would like to get into it. Nevertheless, we have a very good head start."

RELATED ARTICLE: PINOT GRIS AND FOOD

King Estate Winery, Inc., Eugene, Ore. is not only one of the leading producers of Pinot gris, it's also in the forefront of marketing its appeal to a wider audience. Knowing that people often get befuddled about what to eat with this wine, King put together a collection of recipes from 22 famous chefs in a volume called the "King Estate Pinot Gris Cookbook." General manager Mike Lambert says this soon-to-be-released cookbook "is part of our commitment to the varietal and to our intense interest in educating the public about the wine's incredible versatility."

Reporting on the experimentation with different recipes at King Estate, Lambert says, "Besides the predictable salmon (grilled, as mousse, poached, as cakes or baked - any way you do it, it's fantastic), other seafood dishes we have tried include an apple-smoked trout with horseradish cream, bourride (a Mediterranean fish stew with aioli) and grilled spot prawns with rosemary-garlic infused oil. Pinot gris is so luscious and well-balanced that it marries well with lemon, a difficult assignment for most wines. Ossobuco, with its traditional lemon garlic and parsley gremolata garnish, we greeted with great enthusiasm by our guests.