2014 Big Table Farm Pinot Noir

Big Table Farm started in 2006 when Brian Marcy and Clare Carver uprooted themselves from Napa to farm 70 acres in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. The couple wanted a working farm with vineyards so they could produce not only food but wine. Brian had worked in Napa at Turley Wine Cellars, Neyers Vineyards, Blankiet Estate and Marcassin, among others. Carver is an artist who designs the labels. Big Table produces Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Syrah, Pinot Gris, Riesling and blends. Big Table Farm wines have won scores in the mid-90s from wine journals. The New York Times has called Big Table Farm “an up-and-coming producer.”

Willamette Valley AVA was established in 1983, and it is the oldest appellation in Oregon. Oregon’s modern wine industry began in the Willamette Valley in the 1960s when artists, vagabond winemakers, and U.C. Davis oenology graduates looking for new territory started their own, small, off-the-grid wineries. The appellation is the state’s largest, and it extends 175 miles from Columbia River on the Washington/Oregon border to just south of Eugene, near central Oregon. The Willamette River runs through the area, helping to give the appellation a mild year-round climate. There are six smaller sub-appellations within this AVA, but altogether the Willamette Valley has the largest concentration of wineries in Oregon, as well as the majority of the state’s most famous producers. Pinot Noir is king here, followed by Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Riesling. To most admirers of Oregon Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley offers the most distinctive wine choices in the state.

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.