2012 White Rose Estate White Rose Vineyard Pinot Noir

White Rose Estate is on the upper elevations of the Dundee Hills, just up a gravel road from some of Willamette Valley’s most venerable wine producers, including Archery Summit and Domain Drouhin. White Rose was founded in 2000 when Greg Sanders purchased the 10-acre White Rose Vineyard, one of Oregon’s oldest and most renowned vineyards. Sanders had been an entrepreneur in the aerospace industry when, in 1995, he started taking viticulture courses at UC Davis. The White Rose Vineyard was planted to Pinot Noir in 1980, and over the years it was a source for premium grapes for Torii Mor, Panther Creek and St. Innocent. Sanders produced his first commercial vintage inn 2001. In 2009 Sanders purchased an additional four acres. Jesus Guillén has been head winemaker since 2008. White Rose focuses on Pinot Noir. Wine writers have been complimentary, often rating the wines in the mid- to high 90s. Wine Advocate wrote “Old vines, low yields, and a willingness to stretch the envelope have made White Rose Estate one of the premier producers of American Pinot Noir.”

Oregon is the fourth largest producer of wine in the U.S., after California, which produces nearly 90% of all wine made in the U.S., Washington State and New York State. Though winemaking in Oregon started in the 1850s, thanks in part to several German immigrants who planted German wine grapes, as in other American wine regions the Oregon industry folded in the beginning of the 20th century during Prohibition. Starting in the early 1960s modern winemaking pioneers planted vineyards in south central Oregon and the more northern Willamette Valley. Pinot Noir did well in the cool microclimates of Oregon, and by the late 1960s the state was already earning a reputation for its artisanal Pinot Noirs. By the 1970s innovative Oregon viticulturalists were traveling to Burgundy for Pinot Noir clones, and to Alsace for Pinot Blanc clones. Today the state has about 20,000 acres planted to wine grapes and more than 400 wineries. Pinot Noir remains the state’s most celebrated wine, followed by Chardonnay, Riesling and Pinot Gris. The Willamette Valley just south of Portland is Oregon’s most acclaimed wine producing region.

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.