2012 Patton Valley Vineyard Willakia Chardonnay (Screwcap)

Patton Valley Vineyard was founded in the 1990s by Dave Chen and Monte Pitt, a pair of wine lovers who were classmates in business school in Chicago in the 1980s. They spent their spare time visiting the city’s wine shops and dreaming of someday having their own winery. After earning their graduate degrees, Chen moved to Oregon and became looking for property for an estate. Eventually the pair bought a 72-acre abandoned fruit orchard in Gaston. In 1997 the first vineyards were planted and the estate’s first commercial release was the 1999 vintage. Today the estate has 24 acres of vineyards planted entirely to Pinot Noir. Of note is the fact that the estate has been dry farmed since 1999 and it has earned a certificate of sustainability from Low Input Viticulture and Enology, a non-profit that advocates for and monitors sustainable viticulture practices. Also of note is the fact that since 2007 all Patton Valley wines have been bottled with screwcaps, a practice the estate says improves the ageability of its wines. Derek Einberger is winemaker.

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 white variety originated in Burgundy, but is now grown around the world. Its flexibility to thrive in many regions translates to wide flavor profile in the market. Chardonnay is commonly used in making Champagne and sparkling wines.