
I was recently in Oregon judging wines for the McMinnville Wine Classic Competition and I had a subsequent post tour of Willamette Valley.
Needless to say that Willamette Valley is devoted to Pinot Noir by 69% of all wine grapes planted. Keep in mind that Oregon is growing 100 varieties in total and in addition to cool climate regions it also has warm climate AVAs like Rogue Valley, Umpqua Valley, Applegate Valley and The Rocks Districts of Milton-Freeman. Pinot Gris is synonymous with Oregon and it is the largest produced white wine and Chardonnay is the number two white wine grape.
I have always wondered why Chardonnay is not the number one wine grape. I will be writing about Oregon Chardonnay in greater detail later. Chardonnay has long been planted for some time in Oregon. The continuous rise has been due to optimum plant material. While the New World is dominated by the Wente Clone it is not the optimum clonal material for Oregon. Dijon Clone 95 and 96 are more suited to the Willamette Valley (and there are additional clones being implemented in Oregon). While Wente Clone had been utilized in some Willamette Valley vineyards in past generations; the fruit produced was less than satisfactory. Going back to the drawing board Oregon producers sought to implement the optimum plant material i.e. Dijon clones for it’s cooler climate.
Oregon Pinot Noir has been successful because of climate, terroir, clonal material and world class wine making capabilities. The careful congress of choices has been made, and it shows with Pinot Noirs, the most anticipated world class wines produced from Oregon. So too are the Chardonnay’s coming from Oregon—I have asked for so long ‘but what about Chardonnay’?! I am getting the answer; it is a serious effort and the proof is in the wine glass. An awesome variance of styles and expressions are being produced now–expressive, authentic and, in some producers, absolute delight, sophistication and elegance.
New York is the US’s greatest wine market. Outstanding wine collections, assortments and wine lists are not just the best in the US but amongst the best in the world. I do look at wine lists carefully wherever I am and I do love a large wine list. While it is not a testament of finally having arrived as a recognition point it is still an important nod. Oregon Chardonnay is being discovered and being recognized; its recognition is slower than I would expect. I have a friend who only drinks Chardonnay and no other wine variety (white or red); and he doesn’t have Oregon Chardonnay on his ‘must taste list’ (until now–I keep driving the point that Oregon Chardonnay’s are ready to taste and relish now).
In New York, and yes some wine lists are nearly exclusively French or Italian like Baltazar or Babbo (a few French wines mainly Champagne); I did look for lists that would include Oregon and California wines. I looked for restaurants that have published lists and some restaurants that previously published a wine list like Eleven Madison Park no longer publish their list.
Wine lists are always going to feature French and Italian wines in often higher proportions than other wine producing countries. Wine lists do show their personality of the establishment and also the wine director/Sommeliers – a large wine list is done over time and given the rarity of some wines it is assembled by several people. I was curious to look at how many Oregon Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are listed as well as California Chardonnay and Pinot Noir on lists (I knew right away Oregon would be in the minority position). Also, what is the relationship of wines featured from Oregon and California on wine lists? Firstly, it is a recognition that the selected wines deserved to be on the respective wine list and secondly it is the label itself but also the appellation. Lists also show the wine director/Sommeliers palate as well.
Here are the New York restaurant wine lists I looked at:
- Atera
- The Four Horsemen
- Gotham Bar & Grill
- Marc Forgione
- Marea
- Per Se
- River Cafe
- Smith & Wollensky
- Tuomo
- Union Square Cafe
Many of the above are well known restaurants and some newer and not-as-well known restaurants are in this mix. I did expect to see both more Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from California and Oregon on restaurant lists in general but that is not what I found. Also, this search was not to pin one wine state against another but I did want to see what relationship that might exist between them (Oregon and California).
I did create these two charts below to review. The red and blue lines (California and Oregon respectively) and the slightly transparent lines are trend lines. I used a trend line to show the difference between each state’s number of wines on respective wine lists. This trend line does not show a difference in time. The trend line does help to show a difference between Oregon and California wines on each restaurant’s wine list. While it might seem like a large difference, Oregon Chardonnay is being represented nicely especially as many more Oregon producers have a Chardonnay than a generation ago.
Y-Axis Represents # Wines
Oregon and California Pinot Noir producers show a closer relationship between each wine state’s Pinot Noirs on respective wine lists. Each wine state has quite a number of AVA/Sub-AVAs producing Pinot Noir. This is a closer relationship between California and Oregon Pinot Noirs as there are a large number of AVA/Sub-AVAs between both states. If I was an Oregon producer, I might see this in two ways – 1) achievement/recognition 2) growth and opportunity for more Oregon wines to be featured.
Y-Axis Represents # Wines
There is no perfect way to sort this chart for a better view – I did sort from low–to-high. Union Square Cafe has a lot of California Pinot Noir on their list and relatively few Oregon Pinot Noir. The trend line is helpful in visually understanding of relationships. Again, this trend line is the difference between Oregon and California Pinot Noir and does not represent a difference in time. Oregon Chardonnay and Pinot Noir is not a competition with California Chardonnay and Pinot Noir; I see them as offerings from each state. I do think both can be represented and both have an opportunity to be increased over time in terms of wine list representation. Now the selection of these wine categories is made by wine professionals and it is evident especially looking at Union Square Cafe.
There is a room for increased assortment in wines from both Oregon and California for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay on all wine lists. I would urge a viewing of these and additional wine lists periodically; not even yearly but every other year to observe if there are changes. Changes are slow insofar as change out of wine selection but also turn over of inventory and the opportunity to buy new vintages from producers familiar to producers new.
There will be changes and I don’t think it is an increase of “pie slice” but it is increasing the size of the pie itself i.e. increased coverage of both states wines on respective New York wine lists. In all of the wines in the lists there is some predictability of wines selected but also a few good surprises. Diversity is the future and that doesn’t mean turning backs on esteemed producers—that will not happen (and rightly so) but newer producers or yet to be selected producers will be featured. My trip to Oregon verified Pinot Noir and Chardonnay as being world class once more amongst other wines being produced in the state. I’m haunted by so many beautiful, dazzling and memorable experiences and wines from Oregon.
I’d love to hear your thoughts as well. And a great New Year to you!
Cheers,
James
© 2023 James Melendez / James the Wine Guy— All Rights Reserved – for my original content, drawings, art work, graphs, photographs, logo, brand name, rating, rating, taxonomy, graphic and award, my original art work and all designs of James the Wine Guy. James the Wine Guy is also on Facebook, Twitter and most major social medias.
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