The Oregon Food and Wine Trail
This section contains two articles: one on Oregon wines, particulary Pinot Noir, and one on Oregon food and wine.
Part One
Over the past decade or so, foodies and normal folk have moved to Oregon to escape the madness of places like Los Angeles, New York, - even San Francisco. Though I visited the state previously, I never really understood what the attraction was until Mary and I spent five days in Portland and the surrounding area in early July.
The first reason is the weather. Even hot days were blessedly free of humidity, and nights were always cool. Then there are the people. They re so nice and friendly it's almost scary. Wine writer Heidi Yorkshire, a transplant from Los Angeles, told me that when she first moved to Portland, she thought the cars were sold without horns because nobody used them.
The third reason is an increasingly sophisticated food and wine scene. I've written about Oregon chefs and products, such as hazelnuts, in past Wine Spectator Tastes columns. Oregon is the nation's largest producer of hazelnuts (or filberts, if you prefer). I was too early for the hazelnut harvest this year, but I did visit Columbia Empire Farms (a large producer of hazelnuts) in time for the Marionberry harvest.
Never heard of a Marionberry? No, it's not named for the former mayor of Washington, D.C. It is a cross between the Chehalem and Olallie varieties of blackberry and derives its name from Marion County, the region of Oregon where it flourishes. (Ninety-nine percent of the nation's blackberries are produced in Oregon.)
Like other blackberries, Marionberries (also called Marion blackberries) are quite perishable, so most of them are made into jam. Within four hours of picking, the berries are frozen, then made into jam over the course of the year. The end of last year's crop was being made into jam as this year's harvest was about to start. The jam, by the way, is delicious, full of ripe fruit flavor and not overloaded with sugar. If you needed another reason to try Marionberry jam, how about that blackberries are very high in anti-oxidants, important in helping to prevent diseases such as cancer.
If you want to try Columbia Empire Farms wonderful Marionberry jam (which also comes in cute squeezable Doodleberry plastic bottles that kids will love), other jams like huckleberry and lingonberry, and terrific hazelnuts, log onto www.yournw.com, the site of Your Northwest, the company's retail stores.
Where there is great raw material, great restaurants are bound to follow. One such restaurant in Portland is Wildwood, which provided us with the best meal of our visit. Chef Corey Schreiber has developed a well deserved reputation for his culinary skills as well as his use of indigenous products. Co-owner and wine director Randy Goodman set up a terrific degustation menu with the likes of Wood Roasted Leg of Willamette Valley Lamb with figs glazed in balsamic & lavender, creamy ricotta polenta, and beet greens. He also paired each course with a dazzling array of wines.
We also had fine meals at Southpark restaurant and the restaurant at the Heathman Hotel, the latter a classy small hotel where we stayed. (Heathman Restaurant Chef Philippe Boulot is a 2001 James Beard Award winner) In Dayton, in the heart of the wine country (less than 90 minutes from Portland), we visited old friend Jack Czarnecki. Jack and his father before him ran Joe's, a legendary eatery in Reading, PA. Now he and his wife Heidi operate the Joel Palmer House, a beautifully restored old home. As he was in Pennsylvania, Jack is passionate about mushrooms (he's written three books on the subject). But now he gets to pair them with those great Oregon Pinot Noirs
- Wildwood, 1221 NW 21st Avenue, Portland, 503-248-9663
- Southpark, 901 SW Salmon St., Portland, 503-326-1300
- Heathman Hotel, 1001 SW Broadway at Salmon, Portland, 503-790-7757
- Joel Palmer House, 600 Ferry St., Dayton, 503-864-2995
Speaking of Pinot Noir, now is the time to drink Oregon Pinots to your heart's content. The 1998, 1999, and 2000 vintages are all outstanding. We got our first taste of Oregon wines on their native soil at The Cellar Door, a superlative wine retail operation co-owned by Wendy Lane, whose Lane Marketing (particularly in the person of Lisa Hill) made our stay so enjoyable.
Bryan Shuttleworth and Craig Perman select the wines, and boy, do they make some great picks. While every Pinot Noir I tried on my trip was worth buying (you almost can't go wrong with the above three vintages), I was particularly impressed with the Chehalem Pinot Noir I had at The Cellar Door. While it is known for Pinot Noir, Oregon is no one-trick pony when it comes (Chateau Benoit does a nice job in both categories). Further south in the Umpqua Valley, Oregon is also developing warmer climate wines like Syrah, even Tempranillo, the primary red grape of Spain. At The Cellar Door, I sampled a knockout Tempranillo from Abacela winery.
The Cellar Door sells most of its wines locally, but they do ship out of state. Even if your state isn't enlightened enough to allow such shipments (like Pennsylvania, where I live), you can get some great picks from The Cellar Door's hot sheet. Just email Bryan at: bryan@thecellardoor.com to be put on the mailing list. Tell him Sam sent you.
Finally, on a non-food note, make sure you visit the Japanese Garden in Washington Park when you re in Portland. It's spectacular.
This article first appeared in my "Sam Cooks" newsletter.
Part Two
For a good deal of the four decades that Oregon has tried to make Pinot Noir, the state’s signature wine, winemakers have felt a bit like Moses or like Job, the Biblical character who endured afflictions with fortitude and faith. Early Oregon winemakers such as David Lett (Eyrie Vineyards), David Adelsheim (Adelsheim Vineyard), Dick Erath (Erath Vineyards), and Dick Ponzi (Ponzi Vineyards), fled the bondage of California believing that Oregon was, as Harvey Steiman writes in the Wine Spectator, “the promised land for Pinot Noir.” But Oregon weather and a steep learning curve (particularly for the notoriously fickle Pinot Noir grape) made winemaking an uphill battle.
In recent years, though, the heavens have opened and Oregon has enjoyed five straight great vintages, capped by a superlative 2002 vintage (the current release on the market), which, according Steiman, is the best yet. What happened? Certainly weather was one reason. As with the Burgundy region of France, the spiritual home of Pinot Noir, the weather in Oregon’s Willamette Valley - the Napa of Oregon, which straddles the Columbia River not far from Portland - is, as many winemakers put it, “marginal.” Grapes struggle to achieve ripeness, and rain during harvest can wash everything down the drain.
However, Oregon weather has been magnificent from 1998 to 2002. Wine Spectator ratings for Pinot Noir from 1998 to 2001 range from 91 to 94 (“outstanding”) on a 100-point scale.” The 2002 vintage is rated 97 or “classic.”
Weather wasn’t the only factor, though. “Over the past six to 10 years a lot has been learned viticulturally,” says Scott Paul Wright, managing director of Domaine Drouhin, which was created by Burgundy wine company Joseph Drouhin in 1988. “Clonal selections, sites, and rootstocks that work best have also sped up the ripening curve a few days, which can make a big difference.”
Bill Stoller of Stoller Vineyards points to technology, education and a sense of community as three reasons why Oregon wines have improved. “People are getting better fermenters, presses and pumps,” he says. “The cooperative help is remarkable. We’re still a small community. We’re still ‘Brand Oregon’ as opposed to the brand of a single winery. We share information and knowledge, not just on marketing but on winemaking.”
Comparisons of Oregon Pinot Noirs and Pinot Noirs from California and Burgundy are inevitable. “I don’t like to compare our wines with California. They’re two different animals,” says Scott Huffman, winemaker at Chateau Benoit. Nevertheless, Huffman ventures “California wines are overripe, jammy, and single dimensional. Oregon wines have more dimension, more complexity with spices, aromas of the forest floor and fruit from currants to blackberries.” I also think Oregon Pinots are more food friendly.
Even though Wright thinks of Oregon Pinot Noirs as “more Burgundian” he sees comparisons with Burgundy as a bit premature. “We’re still dealing with young vines from a Burgundian standpoint. With some exceptions, none are more than 25 years old,” he says. “We still don’t know all the sites that are best. There are probably some grand cru (the highest-classified Burgundies) sites here but we don’t know yet. That will be revealed in the next 25 to 50 years.”
Still, some Oregon Pinot Noirs, like the magnificent wines from Archery Summit, approach Burgundian prices at over $100 a bottle. Other top Oregon Pinot Noirs include Argyle, Beaux Freres, Bergstrom, Brick House, Chehalem, Cristom, King Estate, Panther Creek, Raptor Ridge, Rex Hill, Siduri, Sineann, Sokol Blosser, Willakenzie, and Ken Wright.
With all the talk of Pinot Noir, you’d think it was the only wine made in Oregon. In fact, there are 44 varietals produced in the state and 44 percent of the wine is white. One might assume that since Oregon’s climate favors Pinot Noir, it should be equally hospitable to Chardonnay, the primary white grape in Burgundy. Unfortunately, says Wright, “Chardonnay is 30 years behind Pinot Noir primarily because of poor clonal selection.” Turns out that until about a dozen years ago, Oregon Chardonnay producers were using California clones that weren’t right for a cool climate. Now Chardonnay producers are switching to Dijon clones from Burgundy. “It’s like night and day,” Wright says. “Had we had these clones in the beginning, we might be as well known for Chardonnay today as Pinot Noir.”
I prefer Oregon Chardonnays to most from California. They are leaner and more minerally. Though there is plenty of fruit, it is crisp and light rather than heavy and tropical. Oak is more restrained leaving the Oregon Chardonnays less buttery and thick. “Chablis meets Mersault” is how Wright puts it. Oregon Chardonnay producers to look for include Argyle, Bergstrom, Bridgeview, and Chehalem.
Since Argyle produces fine Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, both of which go into Champagne, it should come as no surprise that Argyle also produces sparkling wines. According to Rollin Solles, winemaker at Argyle, Oregon sparkling wine has the best of the Old and New Worlds. “If you took a line from Champagne to some other cool place in the New World, like Mendocino (the California county that also produces sparkling wines), Oregon would be in the middle,” he says. “We get more honest fruit expression than France while still retaining the acidity.”
Despite the optimism around Chardonnay, Pinot Gris is the state’s most planted white wine grape. “No question it will be Oregon’s claim to fame as the number one white,” Stoller says. “It’s got great balance, as long as you get the fruit ripe. And it goes with so much. It’s a great aperitif and a great food wine.” (Try Pinot Gris with salmon instead of Pinot Noir.)
Oregon Pinot Gris tends to be more like Pinot Gris from Alsace and less like Italian Pinot Grigio, which is the same grape, though expressed much differently. In fact, at a recent wine tasting I was struck by how much an Adelsheim Pinot Gris tasted like an Alsatian Pinot Gris I had the night before at dinner. I actually preferred the Adelsheim with its amazing floral, apple and pear aromas. Other top Oregon Pinot Gris producers include Cooper Mountain, Cristom, Elk Cove, King Estate, and Stone Wolf.
As for other varietals, the ubiquitous Syrah seems to be finding a home in the Umpqua and Rogue Valleys in Southern Oregon, where the weather is warmer. These warmer areas are also more conducive to Bordeaux varietals such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, even Tempranillo, the Spanish varietal. Spain? That’s much too far from Burgundy.
This article first appeared in Specialty Food magazine.