Oregon’s Pinot Noir legacy

Oregon’s modern-day wine industry traces its lineage to the 1960s. The first Pinot Noir was planted in southern Oregon in 1961, and it expanded into the Willamette Valley in the 1970s.

Today, Pinot Noir is far and away the dominant grape in the country’s fourth-largest wine-producing state (following California, Washington and New York). In fact, Pinot Noir makes up an astonishing 62 percent of the state’s wine production, with the focus on the northern Willamette Valley, home to six distinctive federally recognized viticultural areas.

Here are a dozen delicious examples of Oregon Pinot Noir we have recently tasted. Ask for them at your favorite wine merchant or contact the wineries directly.