Tour Oregon Pinot Noir Country
With Patrick McElligott

By Kathy Ward

Tasting Card · Bridgeview · Foris · Girardet ·Henry · LaVelle· Silvan Ridge · Amity · Beran
Ten Mercer

It's been said that Patrick McElligott may know more than any man alive about the cellars of Oregon. No surprise, as he's been part of the industry for 21 years as manager of an independent tasting room that stocks 175 wines from nearly 70 local wineries.

We are indeed fortunate to have this guru of the Oregon grape as a dynamic speaker for an Enological Society program.

Overseeing the Oregon Wine Tasting Room near McMinnville, Patrick provides sampling from every Oregon viticultural appellation, some from wineries rarely or never open to the public. He and his establishment have been covered in various magazines including Alaska Airlines, LA Style, British Vogue and the Philadelphia Inquirer.

A judge at various wine competitions and a blending consultant for several wineries, Patrick is also an articulate tutor having conducted a 200-person tasting for the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business. Oh, and he's also a part-time cowboy riding the range of his family ranch in northeast Oregon, so perhaps he'll gallop in wearing authentic boots and Stetson.

No horsing around though, Patrick will take us on a tour of four Oregon growing regions, through a tasting card of eight representative Pinot Noir wines from 1998 and 1999. The theme will encompass oak components as well.

The program is a chance to look at two highly touted Pinot Noir vintages. Considered a banner year, 1998 had a shaky beginning in a wet spring that delayed buds and bloom. But summer warmth and a dry fall were decisive factors, ending in a small-yield harvest of extra intensive fruit and well-balanced wines. And 1999 is the "miracle" year of late ripening but everything coming in on time. The vintage shows uniformity in wine characteristics among all growing regions, a similarity Patrick says he has not seen since 1979.

But he advises that we not get too captivated by the year on a label and says people should make up their own minds about tastes. "Vintages don't make wine, people make wine," Patrick explains. "I tend to look at wines rather than vintages."

Regions and People

Rogue Valley, historically Oregon's oldest wine region dating back to the late 1800s, is also the most elevated, warmest and driest in the state and has more than 1,100 acres of winegrapes. In the dry and warm Umpqua Valley, with varied soils and a great day-to-night temperature range, interconnected hillsides and river drainages confer the name "hundred valleys."

In the picturesque South Willamette Valley, most vineyards are situated on firm, compact soils over sandstone rock beds. Almost two thirds of Oregon's wineries can be found in the North Willamette Valley, heart of the wine country.

Wineries on our tasting card are for the most part family owned and operated.

• Bridgeview Vineyards, one of the largest production wineries in Oregon, reflects the German heritage of owners Robert and Lelo Kerivan in European style vine spacing. Their '99 Pinot Noir garnered Best of Show for Reds and a Gold award at the Oregon State Fair.
  
  
• Foris Vineyards Winery, whose name is Latin for "out of doors," is surrounded by flowing rivers and the lush Siskiyou Mountains. The '99 Pinot Noir, aged in French oak, is a blend of 20 separate lots from five vineyards, including three terraced-hillside estate sites.
  
  
• Girardet Wine Cellars was founded in 1971 by Philippe Girardet, who first experienced winemaking in the French-influenced small Swiss town near the headwaters of the Rhone where he was raised. The '98 Barrel Select won a Silver Medal at the Mondial Du Pinot Noir Vinea, Suisse.
  
  
• Henry Estate Winery is allowing us a new-release preview of their '98 Barrel Select aged in American oak. Five Henry family generations have farmed the Umpqua Valley, three currently operate the vineyards and winery. Founder Scott Henry designed a new open-canopy trellis system used worldwide.
  
  
• LaVelle Vineyards (formerly Forgeron) is a secluded property owned by Texas transplants Douglas and Susan LaVelle. Their '98 Vintage Select, sourced from four vineyards and aged in French and Oregon oak, won a Silver at the Northwest Wine Summit.
  
  
• Silvan Ridge, sister winery of Hinman Vineyards, is maintained in European tradition by owner Carolyn Chambers. The recently released '98 Pinot Noir is expected to age well over the next seven years.
  
  
• Amity Vineyards, a small family operation specializing in Pinot Noir, is among the oldest wineries in the Willamette Valley. Founder Myron Redford is debuting his first vineyard bottling from Schouten, 24 percent whole berry racked to neutral French oak, which won a Gold at the Oregon State Fair.
  
  
• Beran Vineyards, owned by Sharon and Bill Beran, is dedicated exclusively to producing small quantities of estate bottled Pinot Noir. They used all new French oak for the '99, a blend of several clones and different vineyards.

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