Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/369547
3 0 V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T | S e p t - O c t 2 014 w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m Vineyard, who was the driving force behind bringing the new clonal material to the state (and which many credit with improving qual- ity), said that pinot noir has also played a role in chardonnay's revival in Oregon. "Yes, it took the clones coming in in the '80s and being able to plant them in the '90s," he said. "But it also took a change in the perception of the world about Ore- gon. The world became acquainted with Oregon and the Willamette Valley because of pinot noir, and that's opened up the mental pos- sibility for there to be chardonnay from Oregon." Despite the recent excitement about Oregon chardonnay, the cur- rent numbers are modest at best. There are a mere 1,160 acres of the grape planted in the state, while pinot noir and pinot gris have under vine 15,369 acres and 3,426 acres, respectively. Total annual char- donnay production is just 117,000 cases, with most of them account- ed for by larger wineries. "Char- donnay acreage will need to make a serious comeback for this to be a true movement," said Josh Berg- ström of Bergström Wines. RENEWED FOCUS ON QUALITY S o m e c r e d i t c h a r d o n n a y 's reawakening in part to wines like t h o s e o f B e r g s t r ö m , w h i c h i n many ways symbolize the evolu- tion of the variety in the state. In 2006, Josh decided to recreate his white-wine program, abandoning aromatic varieties such as pinot gris and focusing exclusively on high-end chardonnay to go with his acclaimed pinot noirs. In doing so, he came to the conclusion that part of the problem with Oregon chardonnay was with the producers themselves. "When I looked at the Oregon paradigm, I realized very quickly Winemaker Michael Davies of A to Z Winery says the rise of Oregon pinot gris helped weed out unbelievers among the state's chardonnay producers. BEAUTY AND BRAWN Stockton, CA 95205 • 209.944.0921 WesternSquare.com Lean, Green and Made in America WESTERN SQUARE I N D U S T R I E S NORTHWEST WATCH SEAN P. SULLIVAN