Oregon

Oregon wines make a splash on magazine Top 100 lists

Published

1 year ago

November 21, 2023

Oregon wines make a splash on magazine Top 100 lists

Seven Oregon wines appear on Wine Spectator magazine’s recently released “Top 100 Wines for 2023″ list. When the magazine debuted its Top 100 list in 1988, the Oregon wine industry considered it a great year if even one Oregon wine was mentioned.

How times have changed.

In addition to Wine Spectator, several Oregon wines made the cut for similar lists compiled by Wine Enthusiast and Wine & Spirits Magazine. The average score for the 18 Oregon wines listed in those publications is 94.7 on the ubiquitous 100-point scale. The average bottle price is $56.40.

A few things about these lists stood out for me. First, the grapes involved aren’t all pinot noir, which is still Oregon’s global calling card. Wines featured on these lists were made with everything from syrah, grenache and tempranillo to viognier, pinot gris and riesling.

And what a showing for riesling. Three of the 18 Oregon wines listed here are made with the riesling grape, the pride of Europe’s Rhine River region.

Even more impressive – the 2019 Brooks Jois Boli Riesling, at number 23, finished as the second-highest ranked riesling in the world on Wine Enthusiast’s Top 100 list. This result was likely celebrated at a recent tasting of eight vintages of Jois Boli hosted by Brooks at their winery in Amity.

I was also impressed by the number of Oregon wineries that placed multiple wines on these lists.

Big Table Farm has a pinot noir on the Wine Enthusiast list while placing a syrah with Wine & Spirits. In addition to the Bois Joli, Brooks Wine landed a pinot noir with Wine & Spirits. Bergström Wines efficiently put the same pinot noir on two different lists.

My favorite Top 100 list story involves Bionic Wines, owned by Christophe Baron of Cayuse fame.

Bionic Wines has wines appearing on the Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast lists. Even though the listed Cayuse and No Girls wines are made in Milton-Freewater, Oregon, with grapes grown on the Oregon side of the Walla Walla Valley, it was common for people to miss counting them in their Oregon column.

Here are the complete lists of Oregon wines. Who knows? If the wines haven’t already sold out, you may find some holiday gift ideas here.

(Disclosure: I cover Oregon, Washington and Canada for Wine Enthusiast.)

The ranking, points scored and winery price for each wine is listed in parentheses.

The 2021 Bergström Silice Pinot Noir made two “end of the year” lists for major wine publications.Michael Alberty

Wine Spectator Top 100

2021 Résonance Wines Pinot Noir Willamette Valley (No.9 – 94 – $40)
2021 Domaine Drouhin Laurène Pinot Noir Dundee Hills (No.16 – 95 – $75)
2021 Purple Hands Lone Oak Ranch Pinot Noir Willamette Valley (No.20 – 94 – $30)
2019 No Girls Double Lucky No.8 Red Blend Walla Walla Valley (No.28 – 95 – $55)
2021 Bergström Silice Pinot Noir Chehalem Mountains (No.32 – 95- $92)
2021 Archery Summit Vireton Willamette Valley (No. 56 – 93 – $34)
2021 Ken Wright Pinot Noir Eola-Amity Hills (No.69 – 93 – $38)

Closeup of a wine label. — While strongly associated with Walla Walla, Washington, wines like the Cayuse En Cerise Syrah are made in Milton-Freewater, Oregon.Michael Alberty

Wine Enthusiast

2020 Cayuse En Cerise Vineyard Syrah Walla Walla Valley (No.10 – 96 – $94)
2021 Big Table Farm Cattrall Brothers Pinot Noir Eola-Amity Hills (No.22 – 96 – $72)
2019 Brooks Bois Joli Riesling Eola-Amity Hills (No.23 – 95 – $28)
2019 Soter Mineral Springs Brut Rosé Sparkling (No.49 – 95 – $75)
2020 Domaine Serene Rockblock Viognier Applegate Valley (No.67 – 91 – $45)

Eight bottles of wine sit on a winery tasting room bar. — A vertical tasting of Bois Joli riesling was recently held at Brooks winery in Amity. The 2019 vintage made Wine Enthusiast’s Top 100 list in 2023.Photo by Jillian Barnhart

Wine & Spirits Magazine

Wine & Spirits Magazine doesn’t have a Top 100 list exactly like the ones published by Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast. I thought it was important to have them involved, so I asked Patrick Comiskey to provide six wines that stood out for him this year.

Comiskey is Wine & Spirits Magazine’s critic for all domestic wines outside of California and he is easily one of the very best in the business. He was gracious enough to provide brief descriptions for each wine, so I have included them here.

2019 On Wine Hill (Golden Cluster) Reduction Chardonnay Willamette Valley — crazy wine, totally improvised, a paean to reduction and millerandage fruit. (95 – $35)
2021 Ovum Off the Grid Cedar Ranch Riesling Rogue Valley — astonishing riesling from one of the country’s most unique, expressive sites. Ksenia and John seem to guide the flavors and stay out of their way at the same time. (96 – $25)
2021 Brooks Ara Willamette Valley Riesling — drawing from two old vine parcels, dramatic complexity and range of flavor. (94 – $38)
2021 Walter Scott Sojeau Pinot Noir Eola-Amity Hills — totally expressive and seductive, one of the most ‘alive’ pinots I tasted all year, pulsing in its vibrancy. (97 – $80)
2021 Bergström Silice Pinot Noir Chehalem Mountains — assertive use of whole cluster meets spectacular, expressive fruit. (95 – $92)
2019 Big Table Farm The Rocks Funk Estate Syrah — a Pinot guy managing all the funkiness of Rocks fruit, the flavors bold, the texture restrained and elegant. (95 – $68)

— Michael Alberty writes about wine for The Oregonian/OregonLive and Wine Enthusiast Magazine. He can be reached at malberty0@gmail.com. To read more of his coverage, go to oregonlive.com/wine

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Oregon

Strong winds knock out power to thousands on Oregon coast

Published

2 hours ago

December 18, 2024

Press Room

Strong winds knock out power to thousands on Oregon coast

CANNON BEACH, Ore. (KPTV) – Strong winds overnight caused power outages throughout northwest Oregon and southwest Washington.

On Tuesday, the National Weather Service issued a High Wind Warning along the Oregon coastline and a Wind Advisory in the I-5 corridor. The winds began to calm by 4 a.m. Wednesday.

SHARE YOUR STORM PHOTOS HERE

As of 6:35 a.m., Pacific Power was reporting about 16,632 customers without power from Cannon Beach to Astoria. About 235 customers were without power in the Lincoln City area.

Pacific Power confirmed the outages were due to storm damage. Crews are working to make repairs and restore service.

The Jewell School District, the Neah-Kah-Nie School District and the Warrenton-Hammond School District will all be starting on a two-hour delay due to power outages on the coast.

SEE ALSO:

This cold, rainy weather in the Portland metro is a reminder that the winter storm season is nearly here.

Portland General Electric was reporting about 1,860 customers without power throughout their service area Wednesday morning.

Due to power outages, the Colton School District in Clackamas County is starting three hours late Wednesday.

Welches School (K-8) and Firwood Elementary in the Oregon Trail School District will be closed due to no power.

Vancouver police responded to a downed tree on Northwest Lincoln Avenue between Northwest 59th Street and Northwest 62nd Street. Crews quickly cleaned up the debris and reopened the roadway.

Traffic Alert!
NW Lincoln Ave is closed between NW 59th St and NW 62nd St due to a tree in the roadway. Please use an alternate route. pic.twitter.com/2FbTMhELw2
— Vancouver Police USA (@VancouverPDUSA) December 18, 2024

Clark PUD was reporting about 667 customers were without power just before 7 a.m.

View the latest weather forecast from the FOX 12 Weather team here.

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Oregon

Oregon women’s basketball crushes Air Force

Published

9 hours ago

December 18, 2024

Press Room

Oregon women’s basketball crushes Air Force

It was a one-sided affair Tuesday night as the Oregon Ducks routed Air Force 98-36 in a nonconference women’s basketball matchup in Eugene.

Phillipina Kyei scored 14 points in 18 minutes, and Nani Falatea and Sarah Rambus added 11 points each for the Ducks (8-3) as 4,551 watched at Matthew Knight Arena.

Oregon got contributions from up and down the roster, with 10 players scoring at least eight points and no one needing to play more than Deja Kelly’s 22 minutes. Kelly finished with eight points, eight rebounds and four assists. Elisa Mevius added eight points and eight assists.

The Ducks, who entered having lost three of their past four games, handed the Falcons (9-2) their second loss of the season and first since Air Force fell 57-51 to Army in overtime on Nov. 15.

Oregon raced to a 22-9 lead by the end of the first quarter and then matched that score in the second quarter for a 44-18 halftime lead. The Ducks continued to pull away in the second half, steadily increasing their lead the rest of the way. A 21-0 run in the fourth quarter extended Oregon’s lead to 65 before the Falcons trimmed it to a 62-point final margin.

The Ducks shot 58.9% from the field and held Air Force to 23.2% shooting. Oregon scored 68 points in the paint, 56 points on layups and 32 points off of turnovers. The Ducks also had a 23-0 advantage in fast-break points and racked up 31 assists compared with seven for the Falcons.

— Joel Odom

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Oregon

Meteorologists warn heavy rain, snow, wind could impact Oregon Christmas week

Published

17 hours ago

December 17, 2024

Press Room

Meteorologists warn heavy rain, snow, wind could impact Oregon Christmas week

A long-range forecast says heavy rain, high-elevation snow and strong winds could impact Oregon and the Pacific Northwest during the busy Christmas travel period.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a “hazards risk” for the Dec. 24 to 28 period that includes potential impacts for anyone traveling.

“Travel conditions may be negatively impacted by unsettled weather,” NOAA said in a statement.

The concern is fueled by forecasts for a low pressure system that could develop into an atmospheric river or “bomb cyclone.”

Prepare for rainy, windy Christmas travel in Oregon

National Weather Service meteorologist Noah Alviz said the key message is to be prepared and watch the forecast before hitting the road around Christmas.

“Right now there is moderate confidence,” or about 40-60% chance of a major impact, Alviz said. “The key point to take home is that if you’re on the Oregon Coast or Coast Range, to prepare for possible flooding, and if you’re traveling over the Cascades, to prepare for winter weather.”

Bomb cyclone or atmospheric river could create flooding in Pacific Northwest

Days to watch for heavy precipitation in the Northwest — and possible mountain snow — include Dec. 24 and Dec. 25-28, NOAA said.

In Oregon, long-range forecasts are trending toward the weather being warmer than normal, which could indicate a greater threat for flooding than snow, Alviz said.

“We’re into a wet pattern, with rivers gradually rising, so if we end up with another low-pressure system, bomb cyclone or atmospheric river, that could lead to some flooding,” he said. “But people will just have to stay turned on that and make sure to keep an eye out.”

NOAA echoed that sentiment.

“Please stay tuned to shorter-term forecasts, as specific impacts remain unclear for any given location at this extended forecast range,” the alert said.

Zach Urness has been an outdoors reporter in Oregon for 16 years and is host of the Explore Oregon Podcast. To support his work, subscribe to the Statesman Journal. He can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6801. Find him on Twitter at @ZachsORoutdoors.

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