My love affair with Pinot Noir began in the late eighties when I was a retail wine buyer for a group of wine stores in Portland Oregon. (Pronounced OAR-eh-gn, not Oar–eh-GOHNE.). Of course the Willamette Valley has become to be known as a mecca for domestic Pinot along with the Russian River AVA in Sonoma County and the Santa Ynez Valley AVA in Santa Barbara County, California. Even though the world may not have known how fabulous they were back then, all of us Oregonians knew it.

One of the events at the time that did catapult Oregon into the world limelight was when Robert Drouhin of Masion Joseph Drouhin in Burgundy and his daughter Véronique bought property in Dundee Oregon and started producing Domaine Drouhin with it’s first vintage in 1988.

The company I worked for had a group of us that were buyers for individual stores. We were, (thank goodness), driven to Dundee to taste the first vintage of Domaine Drouhin. Véronique, who has hand-crafted every drop of wine at Domaine Drouhin Oregon since its first vintage, tasted it with us against the portfolio of Drouhin wines including the famous Domaine Joseph Drouhin Beaune "Clos des Mouches". Of course we weren’t under the influence or anything after all of that      *a-hem* "tasting" but all of us super-duper enthusiastically agreed that this was the best thing that could have happened to the Oregon Pinot industry because the world would finally take notice. One of the most respected Burgundian families came here to make wine.

The two men who started the wine industry in Oregon were David Lett of the Eyrie Vineyards founded in 1966, or Papa Pinot as he is affectionately referred to, and David Adelsheim of the eponymous Adelsheim Vineyard that was founded in 1971. Their wines today are still standard bearers for Oregon Pinot and have given way to scores of wonderful wines including:

Archery Summit "Premier Cuvée"

Domaine Serene "Yamhill Cuvée"

St. Innocent "Seven Springs Vineyard"

Ken Wright Cellars "Shea Vineyard"

Beaux Freres Pinot Noir "Beaux Freres Vineyard"

Bethel Heights Pinot Noir "Flat Block Reserve"

Chehalem Pinot Noir Corral Creek

Cristom Pinot Noir " Marjorie Vineyard"

Well known Californians have even pulled up their bootstraps and headed north including Tony Soter, one of Napa's most successful winemaking consultants and onetime owner and winemaker of Etude. His Soter Pinot Noir North Valley is classic.

The flavors of Pinot Noir range from bright red bing cherries to the French black raspberries that make Chambord liqueur with touches of mint and lavender flower petals. Terroir is pronounced in Pinot Noir because it is such a delicate grape. The aroma of the Oregon Dundee Red Hills in the nose is distinguishable from the unctuous sassafras bouquet of Russian River Pinot Noir and the limestone and red clay that permeates the wines of the Cote de Nuits. And the texture can be like velvet in a glass.

Unfortunately Oregon Pinot Noir is not cheap being in the $35.00 to $75.00 retail range but entirely worth it. This is a finicky grape that doesn’t like it to cold or to hot or to wet or to dry and definitely does not like being rough housed. In Oregon it is also grown in very low yields to ensure quality. But the good news is that it is in no way as expensive as top tier red Burgundies and, when exceptionally made, can be every bit as satisfying.

That being said, I must really profess my undying love for red Burgundy. This is wine that makes my head swoon and my heart soar. The sheer beauty of this part of the world, and the wines that are made here make me want to run away and become a vineyard worker there until I am very old. I can envision myself sitting in a rocking chair on a porch at the end of the day looking out over the golden slope…… and probably falling asleep after a little to much Pinot Noir.

When I was in Burgundy, I took some pictures of some of the most famous vineyards in the world. If you want, click on the link to see them.

Up next: A Passion for Pinot (deux)

This bread I break was once the oat,

This wine upon a foreign tree

Plunged in its fruit;

Man in the day or wind at night

Laid the crops low, broke the grape's joy.

Dylan Thomas (1914-1953)

Santé