Wine Spectator | Oregon | Portland | Kimberly Bernosky
Toasting Oregon's Wines
by
Chuck ThompsonThe analogy doesn't stop there. The grape has a reputation for
being a temperamental superstar, difficult to control and
disastrous in the wrong hands. "It's one of the hardest grapes to
work with, but it also can yield the most complex and giving wines
in the world," says Kimberly Bernosky, co-owner of Noble Rot, one
of several trendy
Portland wine bars.
Oregon Pinot Gris,
Chardonnay, and Riesling are all respectable. But, despite the
chal-lenges, virtually everything in the state, from climate to
soil to lifestyle, seems ideally suited for one purpose.
"In Oregon, you're either making Pinot Noir, or you're not in the
wine business," says Sam Tannahill, the Portland-area winemaker
partly responsible for the state's highest-rated wine ever. His
Archery Summit Arcus Estate 1999 received a score of 95 from Wine
Spectator and was widely hailed elsewhere.
NORTHWEST EXPOSURE
Perhaps only sports fans care about numbers as much as wine people
- not surprising given that the difference between a 95 and a 84
Wine Spectator ranking can mean the difference between a new Land
Rover and a used Kia - and Oregon vintners have a crop load of
statistics to back up their "golden age" gloss. Since 1991, the
number of wineries in the state has risen from 78 to 197. Sales
have increased 331 percent. Estimated revenue for 2001 was $195
million.
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