While I was on the road in the Willamette Valley, I wrote this piece for Oregon Wine Press on some reflections of the trip so far. You can see the published article in the October edition!
As I began planning my trip to Oregon, I got the feeling that winemakers were starting to feel the pressure by mid-summer. It isn’t that hard to read between the lines with winemaker emails. Most of them are short, and the mood can swing wildly between positively breezy to downright distressed.
The conversation tone would have suggested the writing was on the wall for another hot vintage in Oregon, pushing everyone to the edge. But the mood changed when I arrived at the end of August… a couple days of rain and a dip in temperature had not only quenched the thirsty grapes, but it had also revitalised winemakers’ spirits.
Most wine writers have a bit more tact than to try to visit a winemaker when they are in their busiest period of the year. Not me. I came to Oregon with the sole reason to see the harvest, to smell the fermenting grapes, and to gauge how the vintage is shaping up. Inevitably that comes with feeling the tension simmer.
And it’s not just one harvest I’m after, or one winemaker I’m pestering. I’m going for 80 harvests. And that implies around 800 agitated winemakers.
My mission is to travel Around the World in 80 Harvests, producing a multimedia project of discovery into what makes each wine region unique and taking a picture of the world of wine today. Over three years, I’m visiting 80 regions in 42 countries, spread over 6 continents. That includes the big names like Burgundy, the Piedmont, Champagne and the Mosel, as well as lesser known regions like Shandong in China, Dodoma in Kenya, Krasnodar in Russia, and Yamanashi in Japan.
I’ve completed my South America tour, where we visited various regions in Chile and Argentina as well as the wine regions of Brazil, Uruguay, Peru and Bolivia. In August, I started on North America’s harvests, which is what brought me to Oregon this fall.
It was my first time in the area and so thanks to Becca Barnhart at The Willamette Valley Visitors Association (along with the Oregon Wine Board and Travel Oregon) I had a few helping hands and local experts showing me the highlights of the region to get to grips with what makes Oregon unique in the world.
Willamette’s position between extreme coastal and continental climates is certainly unique, as are the two mountain ranges which tell the story of the valley’s formation and soils. Geology and climate was, of course, all part of my discovery, but what struck me most about Oregon is how much people value the outdoors. That really translates into the attitude towards winemaking and viticulture.
So far in my travels Willamette has easily been the region with the greatest commitment to sustainable and ‘green’ viticulture. I visited many biodynamic producers from small productions like Beaux Freres to large ones like King Estate; I visited advocates of sustainability programs like the LIVE program explained to me by Ben Casteel of Bethel Heights; and I visited winemakers like Jason Lett of Eyrie Vineyards who believes you should have confidence in the vines’ natural ability to defend themselves and find balance, with minimal human intervention.
There’s no doubt there is a strong viticultural commitment in Willamette to harness strength in the vineyards, and be careful not to overpower that in the winery. There’s a purity of fruit to Willamette wines that not only reflects the soils and climate, but also the people making the wine – an essential component of Oregon’s terroir.
As a region that went from a handful pioneers to over 500 wineries in less than 50 years, Willamette has an extremely sharp growth curve when you put it in the context of world wine regions and history.
One of my most valuable conversations was with octogenarian Jim McDaniel, a fifth generation Oregon local. He planted his first vineyards in 1971, inspired by a newcomer in town, David Lett, who had bought his old poultry plant for a makeshift winery. From there on, he has seen the wine industry snowball in an unimaginable way. His insight of 88 years in Willamette, from the birth of the industry to today, spoke more to me than the many soil studies I asked for. In the case of the young wine region of Willamette, it is still people who have the deepest roots.
And it is exciting that more people from all walks of life are laying down roots in this young and developing wine region. From the conversations I had, it seems Willamette has an almost magnetic attraction for some people. I met many vintners, like Dave from Bells Up and Ronni from Willakenzie, who came to the region to make wine not only for the excellent winemaking conditions, but for the lifestyle and community. It called them home.
That sense of local identity and pride, shared by the old and new, is unique.
I left with a memorable taste of Willamette in my mouth, and drove over the beautiful Columbia Gorge into Washington where I am writing this now before I head up to Canada and onwards to more wine regions in Mexico, the US, Canada and beyond.
Meeting and interviewing winemakers, agronomists and locals are key to my 80 Harvests project. They are the central pillar to understanding a wine region’s terroir. You can only tell so much by looking at a plant, or tasting a wine. It’s really the people of the place who can tell you how that plant behaves during the year, and how that wine evolves over the years.
Through those different wine communities we can also recognise and appreciate what makes each wine region distinct to the other. As I meet new people in each location, I’m also keen to have those from the already-visited wine regions continue to have a voice. I would love for you to join me on the journey and share your own unique Oregonian perspective on the other wine regions around the world we’re visiting – through comments, social media and sharing the stories to open up more conversation.
There are many uncertainties about my global journey – just as the nature of winemaking – but one thing is certain, it is the people that show what’s unique in each wine and region. And that’s why it is also certain that I’ll continue to bother winemakers on every stop of the way.
View our photo gallery & story of Willamette wine region
