Although the choice of international wines
available in Singapore has vastly expanded over the past decade, the array of wines from the United States has remained quite limited. The selection has been restricted to the very pricey, upper echelon wines or to the lower, entry level end of the market with little to select from in the mid-priced range. Thankfully, that situation is finally beginning to change.
One of the main reasons for this is that local importers have begun to source from areas outside high profile regions such as Napa and the large ocean of basic wine that is produced elsewhere in California. By sourcing wines from the area known as the Pacific Northwest merchants here have been able to add an extra level of interest to their US portfolios.
The rather general name, “Pacific Northwest”, usually encompasses the North American states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho and British Columbia. In this instance focus is on Oregon and Washington as I am not aware of any wines from Idaho being currently available in Singapore and British Columbia sits in Canada, so across the national northern border of the US. Throughout their evolution as wine growing states, Oregon and Washington have been continually thrown together by the international wine press. Although their vineyards certainly dovetail across the two states in a couple of areas, the progress of their development, the climatic challenges they both face and the styles of wines they produce are quite different.
The state of Oregon sits directly north of California. There are now approximately 290 wineries covering more than 11,300 acres and spread over 16 appellations or AVAs (American
Just as Napa and Cabernet Sauvignon have become inextricably linked, Oregon and Pinot Noir have become synonymous since 1970. Enthused by the success of early offerings prestigious Burgundy producer, Robert Drouhin, set up Domaine Drouhin with his winemaker daughter, Veronique. After gaining local experience as an intern at the established Oregon wineries of Adelsheim, Eyrie and Bethel Heights, Veronique made her first vintage under the Domaine Drouhin label in 1988.
Such has been the success of Oregon that the number of wineries doubled between 1995 and 2005. Seventy percent of Oregon’s wineries can be found in the major AVA of Willamette Valley, which is close to the state capital of Portland. The area has developed so much that several sub-appellations now exist although there are still many small-scale boutique winemakers. The region’s foundations are built on the expertise of these artisanal winemakers. With a climate that is cool and particularly overcast in the summer months, and quite mild during the winter, producers face the challenge of achieving full ripeness prior to harvest and the customary autumn rain. High humidity means that disease pressure is also a constant issue for producers. Early ripening, cool climate varieties such as Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Gris are far better suited to the area than Cabernet Sauvignon or Sauvignon Blanc, although some southern Oregon producers have been experimenting more and more with less cool climate varieties.
Directly north of Oregon lies Washington State with the majority of production (95%) based in the east of the state in the vast Columbia Valley AVA. Although the earliest grape growing in Washington dates back to 1825, modern day production only began in 1962 when Columbia Winery was established followed by Château Ste. Michelle in 1967, which has become Washington’s largest producer. There are now around 430 wineries across more than 30,000 acres of land making Washington the second largest production area in the US, after California. The 9 existing AVAs include Columbia Valley and Walla Walla Valley, the latter straddling the state boundary into Oregon.
The continental climate of eastern Washington with hot days and cool nights in the summer together with very cold winters, results in different wine growing challenges than those of Oregon. Washington producers experience a short but very reliable growing season but the hot days mean that the region has had to rely heavily on irrigation in the past to alleviate problems of almost arid-like conditions. However, there are not the same disease pressures in Washington that Oregon encounters with its high humidity. In the 1960s and 1970s the region was best known for its white wines. Today the area is also well known for the quality of the Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon produced whilst plantings of Syrah and Cabernet Franc have also increased reflecting the confidence producers have in these particular varieties. External interest and faith in the region has also come from high profile European producers – Château Ste. Michelle has had joint ventures with Mosel’s Dr Loosen to produce “Eroica” Riesling and also collaborated with Tuscany’s Antinori to make “Col Solare” – a blend of classic red Bordeaux varieties.
The producers of the Pacific Northwest have long lived in California’s shadow. Stylistically and cost-wise the wines of Oregon and Washington provide a very viable alternative as the wines generally offer excellent value and a more restrained style of winemaking philosophy. The exciting strides that have already been made will, no doubt, see more attention focused on each individual state rather than the over-simplistic term Pacific Northwest.
Tasted Wines
(TLN Recommended wine)
This low profile producer was established in 1992. The winemaker’s enthusiasm for producing wines that show the best match between site and variety is evident from their travel to Piedmont in Italy to make Barbera. Returning to Oregon, Firesteed’s Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris offerings have received substantial critical acclaim. Most Pinot Gris is versatile but this example is particularly flexible and displays why Oregon is making a name for itself in the Pinot Gris category. The very pale colour with distinct green hues hints at the unusually cool growing season of the 2007 vintage. However, ample warmth and sunshine has resulted in ripe stewed pear and melon aromas with a delicate spicy undertone. The palate is medium bodied with bracing acidity to balance the creamy, broad and, otherwise, weighty texture giving a fresh, lively and sustained finish. (Available from Straits Cellars)
Domaine Serene Evenstad Reserve Pinot Noir 2006, Willamette Valley, Oregon
The combination of a very successful business career and a passion for good wine was the catalyst for Grace and Ken Evenstad to move from Minnesota to Oregon in 1989 and establish Domaine Serene. Although the producers have several individual vineyard bottlings, the Evenstad Reserve is the estate’s flagship wine which is a blend of the finest barrels from each vineyard. The classic Pinot Noir colour of medium intensity ruby/garnet lulled me into a false sense of expectation and I was most surprised to find that this wine really packed a punch and would significantly benefit from decanting. With time the prickly, hot nose dissipated to display concentrated red fruit characters. The powerful structure of the palate with licorice flavours and abundant tannins demonstrated that this wine needs time to show it’s true worth and pedigree. (Available from Hermitage Wine)
Beaux Freres Pinot Noir 2005, Yamhill County, Oregon
Brothers-in-law Robert Parker (yes, THE Robert Parker) and Michael Etzel released their first wine in 1991. The robust, extremely heavy bottle held a full-bodied, quite bold style of Pinot Noir that is not necessarily associated with Oregon. The garnet/ruby colour of medium plus intensity also displayed a little evolution of colour on the rim. This development has given a complex nose of intense, spicy, ripe red fruit with a lifted fragrance together with the some attractive earthy characters. The palate has a strong backbone of tannin and acid but with abundant ripe black cherry flavours to cloak those elements. At 4 years of age this is still an extremely young wine that has the capacity to develop much further with careful cellaring over the next 2-3 years. (Available from Auric Pacific)
Snoqualmie Reserve Syrah 2003, Columbia Valley, Washington
Followers of the cult TV series “Twin Peaks” of the early 1990s are likely to know exactly where Snoqualmie is – and will probably know how to pronounce it too! In fact, it is just as it looks – sno-kwall-mee. This producer’s website states that its location is, “Nestled in Prosser, Washington, where the pace is slow, hats are tipped in greeting and business is done with a handshake”. Tasting this wine helped me to understand why Washington is so excited about the Syrah wines it has begun to produce. Opaque in colour with a very lively crimson hue and rim the wine showed no signs of its 6 years of age. Initially quite restrained and closed the nose opened up to be dense and brooding with lots of smoky black fruit undertones evident. The palate was concentrated with more black fruit as well as a savoury element, possibly partly attributed to the 19 months spent in a mixture of 80% new French and American oak barrels. (Available from Le Vigne)
L’Ecole No. 41, Seven Hills Vineyard Syrah 2006, Walla Walla, Washington
In 1979 Baker and Jean Ferguson began to renovate an historic school originally built in 1915 and located 13 miles west of Walla Walla, hence the elementary school painting of the premises on the label. Thankfully the label has evolved over the years and the painting no longer features so prominently. They began to make Merlot and Semillon with 1983 being their inaugural vintage. The Fergusons have now widened their portfolio to include, amongst other varietals, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. The wine is deep crimson in colour with a bright hue and rim. The nose has concentrated ripe mulberry characters with a background of mineral notes. The luscious palate has dense, ripe black fruit with lots of licorice evident. Ripe, very fine-grained, well integrated tannins and juicy acidity lift the palate. Writer and critic Hugh Johnson refers to the wines from LÉcole No.41 as “blockbuster but balanced” – a comment with which I totally concur. (Available from Le Vigne)
Columbia Crest Grand Estate Merlot 2004
Established in 1983, Columbia Crest is located in eastern Washington’s Horse Heaven Hills along the Columbia River and is part of the big Château Ste Michelle family of wineries. The riverside vineyard locations protected from precipitation by the Cascade Mountains offer ideal, sunny microclimates for cultivating Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grapes. Though Wine Spectator just awarded the winery’s Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Best Wine of 2009, the winery is very well-known for its Merlot as Columbia Crest was an early Merlot producer and leader in making the varietal known in the US market. This 2004 Grand Estate Merlot gives beautifully rich and concentrated aromas of dark cocoa, licorice, vanilla, creme de cassis, warm plums and blackberries. The time in oak is evident throughout yet gives the wine a velvety mouth feel to frame the fine-grained tannins and lively but balanced acidity. (Available at Cornerstone Wines)
Suzanne Brocklehurst 26/11/08
(Reprinted with permission from The Local Nose)
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