When I had finished my studies and apprenticeship in Germany
and had decided to return to the United States, I embarked on a thorough search
of wine-growing regions throughout the Country. Riesling is a very cold-hearty
grape, but there are limits to where it can grow successfully. I’m from
Minnesota. I don’t need a tropical paradise, but I had certain criteria that
needed to be met:
Although it accounts for only a few hundred acres, Riesling has some tradition in Oregon. It was planted in the southern part of the State as long ago as the 1880s and made up a much higher proportion of the acreage of the Willamette Valley during the 1970s and 1980s than it does today.
The farmers who planted those first vineyards had excellent intuition about Riesling’s suitability to the Willamette Valley. The incredible array of soil-types here have much in common with the great Riesling-producing countries of Europe, and allow for a multitude of expression and style based on that terroir. Well-draining sandy soils, windblown Loess, humus-rich Loam, and mineral-rich volcanic soils are abundant here in quantities that the Europeans would kill for.
The climate is also very similar to the Riesling producing regions of Germany’s Pfalz, France’s Alsace, and Lower Austria –that is to say relatively mild winters with temperatures rarely below zero, and sunny, moderately warm summers. The greatest difference is the much lower rainfall of the Willamette Valleys summer months, which is extremely beneficial at keeping mildews and botrytis at bay.
That is not to say that there isn’t a lot of vintage variation in Oregon. As is the case in any cool-climate wine-region, the grapes normally walk a very tight line between ripe and under-ripe. This is where the most exciting wines live. Long growing seasons help to develop flavors and aromas that aren’t possible in hotter regions where turbo-charged photosynthesis achieves high sugar levels (leading to high alcohol levels) before the vine has time to slow down into winter dormancy. For some varieties, borderline ripeness can be extremely problematic. It can make for thin, herbaceous, or overly acidic wines. Luckily, Riesling is generally acknowledged to have slightly higher acidity than most other wines so that in a ‘small’ year, the acidity isn’t a complete shock or a huge departure from the norm, and since Riesling is harvested weeks after Pinot Noir, even ‘hot’ vintages will have more acidity and freshness than other wines.
Much of the final style will be determined not only by the weather, but also by the labor performed in the vineyard. To this end, we aim to showcase the best aspects of a particular vintage, while minimizing the potential weaknesses. This can only be done with very careful, thoughtful, and timely vineyard work. It is my firm belief that the cellar is no place to mask bad farming. Over 90% of my time is spent in the vineyard and my acreage contracts stipulate that I can farm the vines.
Great Riesling can be produced in any number of styles, ranging from dry to sweet to dessert. No matter which style of Riesling you prefer, I assure you that we have been uncompromising in our effort. Our goal is to craft the very finest Riesling possible. I use the same traditional techniques here that I used in Germany both for farming and in the cellar. Though tried and true in Europe, many of these have never before been used in the western hemisphere. My goal is unabashedly to craft the very finest Riesling possible.
Skol,
Bill
- I needed adequate rainfall. The Willamette
Valley certainly has this and it is quite possible to grow established vines without
irrigation as long as one has reasonable expectations of a lower yield.
- The growing season had to be long enough to grow
and ripen Riesling to an extent that I could consistently make dry wine from it.
Extremely high acid can be buffered with sugar, but try to make a dry wine with
too much acidity and you have to drink fingernails on chalkboard.
- I didn’t want to deal with winter-kill every few
years or have to trench-and-bury vines in the winter (essentially doubling the
price of the wines as well as exposing the vines to higher disease-pressure,
delaying ripening, and burying vines before they went dormant and could
build-up reserves and harden wood for next year.)
- It couldn’t be too warm or too dry or too humid
in the summer. I don’t want high-alcohol or tannic Riesling.
- There had to be a large variety of soil
including volcanic –which makes the most expressive Riesling in my opinion.
Although it accounts for only a few hundred acres, Riesling has some tradition in Oregon. It was planted in the southern part of the State as long ago as the 1880s and made up a much higher proportion of the acreage of the Willamette Valley during the 1970s and 1980s than it does today.
The farmers who planted those first vineyards had excellent intuition about Riesling’s suitability to the Willamette Valley. The incredible array of soil-types here have much in common with the great Riesling-producing countries of Europe, and allow for a multitude of expression and style based on that terroir. Well-draining sandy soils, windblown Loess, humus-rich Loam, and mineral-rich volcanic soils are abundant here in quantities that the Europeans would kill for.
The climate is also very similar to the Riesling producing regions of Germany’s Pfalz, France’s Alsace, and Lower Austria –that is to say relatively mild winters with temperatures rarely below zero, and sunny, moderately warm summers. The greatest difference is the much lower rainfall of the Willamette Valleys summer months, which is extremely beneficial at keeping mildews and botrytis at bay.
That is not to say that there isn’t a lot of vintage variation in Oregon. As is the case in any cool-climate wine-region, the grapes normally walk a very tight line between ripe and under-ripe. This is where the most exciting wines live. Long growing seasons help to develop flavors and aromas that aren’t possible in hotter regions where turbo-charged photosynthesis achieves high sugar levels (leading to high alcohol levels) before the vine has time to slow down into winter dormancy. For some varieties, borderline ripeness can be extremely problematic. It can make for thin, herbaceous, or overly acidic wines. Luckily, Riesling is generally acknowledged to have slightly higher acidity than most other wines so that in a ‘small’ year, the acidity isn’t a complete shock or a huge departure from the norm, and since Riesling is harvested weeks after Pinot Noir, even ‘hot’ vintages will have more acidity and freshness than other wines.
Much of the final style will be determined not only by the weather, but also by the labor performed in the vineyard. To this end, we aim to showcase the best aspects of a particular vintage, while minimizing the potential weaknesses. This can only be done with very careful, thoughtful, and timely vineyard work. It is my firm belief that the cellar is no place to mask bad farming. Over 90% of my time is spent in the vineyard and my acreage contracts stipulate that I can farm the vines.
Great Riesling can be produced in any number of styles, ranging from dry to sweet to dessert. No matter which style of Riesling you prefer, I assure you that we have been uncompromising in our effort. Our goal is to craft the very finest Riesling possible. I use the same traditional techniques here that I used in Germany both for farming and in the cellar. Though tried and true in Europe, many of these have never before been used in the western hemisphere. My goal is unabashedly to craft the very finest Riesling possible.
Skol,
Bill