2014 Soter North Valley Origin Series Dundee Hills Pinot Noir

Soter Vineyards was started by Tony and Michelle Soter in the late 1990s. For both of them it was a return home. Tony and Michelle were raised in Portland, but the couple spent 20 years in Napa Valley where Tony Soter was a much-admired winemaking consultant for such producers as Araujo, Dalle Valle, Shafter and Viader. He started his own Etude Wines label in 1982 and sold it to Beringer Blass in 2000 to concentrate on his Oregon venture. Soter Vineyards is located at Mineral Spring Ranch in the Yamhill-Carlton appellation. It includes 30 acres of Pinot Noir and two acres of Chardonnay. Wine Advocate wrote that “Tony Soter has been making wine in his native state for long enough now that this iconic figure of California wine history can be said to have achieved a similar status in Oregon.”

Dundee Hills AVA is in Yamhill County, and it is entirely contained within the Willamette Valley AVA, Oregon’s best known appellation. Dundee Hills is about 30 miles southwest of Portland, and has 1,300 vineyard acres. It was awarded AVA status in 2004 and, like much of Oregon, is known for Pinot Noir. Several of Oregon’s 20th century wine pioneers established their vineyards and wineries in Dundee Hills, adding to its status as a region long-recognized for producing high quality, iconic Oregon wines. Eyrie Vineyards, Erath Winery and Sokol Blosser remain some of Oregon’s most celebrated producers, and all were founded in what is now Dundee Hills in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

This red wine is relatively light and can pair with a wide variety of foods. The grape prefers cooler climates and the wine is most often associated with Burgundy, Champagne and the U.S. west coast. Regional differences make it nearly as fickle as it is flexible.