By Oset Babür-Winter
With new dollars comes the time to make critical decisions over the future of Oregon wine country.
Pinot Paves The Way
As Oregon Pinot Noir continues to rise in prominence (a recent report shows that in 2022, regional volume increased by 3% to 5.3 million cases) it’s unsurprising that vineyards in the region have attracted attention from major players in Napa and Sonoma. Constellation Brands staged a well-covered acquisition of Eoly-Amity winery Lingua Franca just last year, following in the footsteps of Napa’s Silver Oak, which in 2017 purchased the Prince Hill Vineyard from Dick Erath, one of the Willamette Valley’s original winemakers. Jackson Family Wines has acquired four Willamette Valley vineyards over the past decade. Burgundian wineries, no doubt enticed by Willamette’s similar climate and demonstrated ability to produce world-class Pinot Noir, have long been planting roots in Oregon as well, notably Domaine Drouhin in 1989, and Maison Louis Jadot, which acquired Résonance vineyard in 2013.
“Distributors were shy about Oregon wine in the ’70s and ’80s,” said Josh Bergström, general manager and winemaker of Bergström Wines, which has been producing Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Syrah in the valley since 1999. “If your goal is to make one million cases a year and you just know it’s going to start raining, that’s risky.” 2014 through 2017 were the hottest vintages in Oregon’s history, and this year was hot and dry [perfect weather for wine grapes] as well. “It’s hard to remember the last bad vintage in Oregon. People are much more excited about investing here because there’s a much clearer return now,” he added.
The Promise Of A Downtown-Driven Wine Country
While that potential to encroach on farmland (as opposed to staying outside agriculturally zoned limits, and closer to downtowns) is naturally higher for larger resorts than it is for small bed and breakfasts and inns, some developers — like Ken and Joan Austin, who opened the Allison Inn & Spa in the early ’00s — have made it clear that size isn’t an excuse. “Before the Allison Inn & Spa opened, there was a proposal for a big golf resort at the top of the Dundee Hills,” Lett recalled. “The people who were trying to develop that property were saying there was just no way to offer a ‘premium experience’ inside the small towns of Yamhill county. They would go off and talk about how those towns were charmless.”
The Allison has 85 rooms, an indoor swimming pool, spa treatment rooms, and various other bells and whistles that echo that of Napa and Sonoma’s tony resort scene. Since opening in 2009, the resort has proven what Lett considers a thoughtful investment in the parts of wine country that should be used to expand the region’s tourism infrastructure. “We need to take our farmland seriously,” he added. “I’m agnostic about where the source of money comes from, but I’m wildly enthusiastic when that money is invested in our local towns. We have so much cool stuff to offer here.”
