photo: traveloregon.com
Not long ago, a friend gave me a bottle of chardonnay from a
big-name Oregon
producer as a “thank you” gift.
Recently, my husband and I opened it with a nice dinner. He asked me what I thought of it, and gaveme
a surprised look when I answered: “Still
expensive, but now it’s pretty good.”
He was puzzled, as perhaps you are, too.
You see, while Oregon
has built up a great reputation over the last 40 years making world-class pinot
noir, its chardonnay has generally been second-rate. Oh sure, there are exceptions, but in
general, Oregon
chardonnays were relatively high-priced and not very good.
This was a big surprise to me when I moved here nearly 14
years ago because chardonnay and pinot noir often thrive side by side. In fact, it was one region – Burgundy in France – that made both wines
famous. Thus, I wondered, how could Oregon make such
fantastic pinot noir and such mediocre chardonnay?
It turns out that I wasn’t the only one surprised by this
fact. The people who were growing the
chardonnay in Oregon
were baffled, as were the scientists who advised them. They seemed to be doing everything right, but
the wines didn’t improve. Why?
In recent years, they’ve discovered the secrets.
