American Wino: A Tale of Reds, Whites, and One Man's Blues

by Dan Dunn

The Willamette Valley is filthy with great dirt, from some of the deepest deposits of fertile alluvial soil on the planet to fine and nutrient rich loess to volcanic Jory that imbues the region’s Pinot Noir with its signature spiciness. Soil, I should point out, is key to the process known as growing stuff, which in turn is one of the main components of winemaking. Indeed, in the absence of grown stuff—in this case, grapes—wine tends to lack structure and complexity.

Soil

THE PEOPLE Willamette is home to some of the top winemakers in the United States, among them Ken Wright of Ken Wright Cellars, Tony Soter of Soter Vineyards, Laurent Montalieu of Solena Estate, Alex Sokol Blosser of Sokol Blosser, Véronique Drouhin-Boss of Domaine Drouhin, Josh Bergström of Bergström Wines, Rollin Soles of Rocco Wines, Patrick Reuter of Dominio IV, David Adelsheim of Adelsheim Vineyard, and Jason Lett of The Eyrie Vineyards.

Wine makers

There are three gaps in the Coast Range that allow cool air to flow from the Pacific Ocean into the Willamette Valley.

xlimate