Description

Oregon’s Pinot Noir pioneers selected the Willamette Valley for its striking resemblance to Burgundy, the birthplace of the captivating yet notoriously capricious grape. Within this great growing region, they chose a small outcropping of hills within the broad, flat valley, banking that its rocky, iron-tinged soils would help drain Oregon’s abundant rainfall and that the interior hillsides would protect vineyards from harsh Pacific weather while providing a kaleidoscope of microclimates. The hope wasn’t merely to produce generically good Pinot Noir, but to make world-class wines with a unique identity. Those hopes have been born out. What is today delineated as the Dundee Hills AVA is now celebrated not only as Oregon’s signature Pinot Noir zone but as the source of some of America’s finest wines.