That’s a great stat John. Perhaps it tells the story a little too clearly for comfort, but I’m actually relieved to see there are 700 acres. The good side of that might be that it leaves a lot of room for planting. It would be great to see a discussion of what the truly great Oregon Riesling site really looks like. Wineries already making Riesling might need to be excluded, since we all know the greatest sites are the ones we work with already It’s crazy to think that in 30 years, Riesling has increased by less than $300/ton. There’s no better value in wine than Riesling.
Bill, thank you for the compliment, and thank you for using one of my wines as an ambassador. It means a lot that you would choose one of my wines to show in Germany. European wines, and definitely German wines, are why I do this for a living, and often they are the wines that inspire me to keep working harder to find out what the possibilities in Oregon actually are.
Fortunately it is growing, in size if not in importance commercially! Although not as much relatively to the other varietals in the state. And at least we no longer have to label it “White Riesling” as the 1982 report did.
A discussion of great Riesling sites would be welcome. I only have experience via consumption, but as I’ve said, the best I’ve had was from Feren (Red Hill) Vyd, but then again that year was apparently unusual - reported botrytis. And there is (and was) a lot of Riesling planted in Douglas County…is anyone even making Riesling from that site any more?
I would be interested what people here think of the Snake River Valley AVA (Idaho plus a little of Oregon). I know little about it other than the fact that one of their producers, Ste Chapelle, makes one of my favorite cheap ($6-$8) rieslings. Ste Chapelle’s wines are not profound, but the fruit is quite good and (damning with faint praise) they match up favorably with almost all domestic rieslings I’ve had outside of the Finger Lakes.
Ste Chapelle gets very little distribution on the East Coast, and I’ve never seen another wine from that AVA. Given the fact that Ste Chapelle can produce a wine of this quality for such a low price, I do wonder about the potential for the area.
Have you considered the Finger Lakes in New York State? Several great producers making acid driven, mineral influences dry riesling such as Ravines, Hermann Wiemer, Bloomer Creek, etc. The lakes are extremely deep (some in the 600ft + deep range such as Seneca) and very narrow that has steep sloping hillsides running down to the lake. Much of the soil is limestone and shale and was carved out by glaciers. Not sure about land prices though but it may be cheaper the PAC NW. Not much of it makes it outside the East Coast but if you get a chance, I would recommend any of the above I mentioned.
Here is some info from Cornell University on the soil types founds in the finger lakes. http://www.fruit.cornell.edu/grape/pool/nutrition.html
I got to enjoy a bottle of their Pinot Noir Rose a couple of months ago and was blown away. It’s hardly rose, being more a long the lines of a white Pinot Noir, there is barely any color in the wine. The wine is an absolute joy though, high acid and very complex, especially at the price point. I look forward to drinking more.
It’s crazy to think that in 30 years, Riesling has increased by less than $300/ton. There’s no better value in wine than Riesling.