What I Hate About Oregon Wine - Gripes from a Fan

Howdy, All. This is a repost of piece from my newsletter. Caveats: This is my third post, and I’m in the trade.


WHAT I HATE ABOUT OREGON WINE
A Few Gripes From a Sincere Fan

The other day, a client emailed me with a curious declaration. “You only write good things about Oregon wine,” he accused. “You never say anything bad about anyone, so I cannot trust you to give me unbiased information.”

Needless to say, I was deeply hurt. Well, perhaps mildly annoyed is more accurate. The fact is, I complain about various things regarding Oregon wine quite often.

It’s true that my notes are always quite positive. After all, I am picking those wines for special attention. Why would I choose to sell a crummy wine, mail it to you, and then pan the wine in my notes? Makes no sense at all.

I also avoid writing bad reviews just to prove that I can be critical. Rather than scaring folks away from bad wine, I prefer to send them towards the good stuff. Easier work, makes more friends.

That said, there are things about our industry I’m not fond of. And here they are:

BAD WINE - Everyone knows that we have somewhere around 686 wineries here, now. But are you aware of how many of them make bad wine? Of all the wineries that have started up in the past five years, many of them are mediocre at best.

This is bad news, because people buy that stuff! Folks who hear great things about Oregon wine are being lured into buying poor quality stuff. If the wine is then terrible, it does a disservice to the entire industry. Who wants the good name of Oregon pinot noir associated with miserable plonk?

HIGH PRICES - I talked to a young fellow the other day with a new pinot noir. He was only 30 years old, perhaps, and wants $75 retail for his new pinot noir. It was decent, but not seventy five bucks decent. I told him so. He looked smug. “We have great confidence in our product and our marketing plan,” he told me. I’m not going to buy the wine, though - it’s a complete rip off.

Now, Oregon producers will respond with “but we are still cheaper than California pinot noir.” Guess what? That horrible, gooey stuff is also overpriced - it is just more dramatically overpriced than our stuff. It’s actually at the point where Oregonians who are interested in wine cannot afford the domestic product! Take pride in offering good juice for less money, folks. Not every pinot is worth $50 or more. Check your ego at the door, or the market will do it for you. How many unsold 2011 pinots do YOU have left in inventory?

EGO DRIVEN WINERIES - You know the kind. Some folks make a bunch of money selling computer chips or drugs or weapons of mass destruction. They come to Oregon and hire a team: Vineyard guy, consulting winemaker, graphic designer, marketing wiz, PR firm. Next thing you know, a winery is born. There’s no need to own a vineyard, or a grape press, or even to get your hands dirty. Just throw some money at it, and you’re living la vida vino.

Sorry, that’s NOT being part of the wine industry. This type of “winery” is just a soulless management project. New Rule: You have to work harvest in a foreign wine region as a low-level cellar rat before you are issued a producer’s license. Might work.

WINERY LITERATURE - Every winery in Oregon is, essentially, the same winery! Read their literature - it was all written by one person, I’m convinced. They all grow grapes with the greatest care possible, sensitive of their connection to the land, honoring the sense of place, and strive for minimal intervene as the noble vine produces great winegrapes, and exercise stewardship, gently, harmony, balance, family, friends and wine, blah, blah, blah.

Is it possible to come up with a new way to tell the story? “We were sitting around getting drunk with our pals, like always, and figured that making wine would be more interesting then our current, boring job.” Really, just anything at all. New is good! Figure out a new way to pitch the product.

Let’s finish this up with one more pet peeve:

TOO MUCH OAK - Okay, Mr. and Ms. New Winemaker, listen up. Putting your juice into 100% new, heavily toasted oak barrels is NOT a good idea. Nor does is qualify as a “Reserve” bottling. Nor is it justification for charging too much. Nor does it taste any good at all.

This happens all the time. I call it “new winemakeritis,” or maybe “new winery-itis.” Their inexpensive pinot sells for a lot less and tastes a whole lot better, because it has been treated with less new oak. The most extracted, oaky, overdone and gawdawful juice becomes the “Reserve.”

Oregon pinot loves 15-20% new, medium-toasted oak. A little less is okay, too. If your wine is good, your barrels are perfectly matched to the wine, and you know what you’re doing, even 1/3 or (rarely) ½ new oak can work. But until your name rhymes with “Mike Etzel” don’t even try it. Give our collective palates a break, man.

There! I hope this proves that I can be as cantankerous and irascible at the next curmudgeon.

1 Like

Isn’t pretty much all of that transferable to most wine regions?

Great first-timer post! But this really does apply to MOST wine regions, imo.

I agree with Anthony and Markus - good rant, and one which applies to most other wine regions as well.

EGO DRIVEN WINERIES - You know the kind. Some folks make a bunch of money selling computer chips or drugs or weapons of mass destruction. They come to Oregon and hire a team: Vineyard guy, consulting winemaker, graphic designer, marketing wiz, PR firm. Next thing you know, a winery is born. There’s no need to own a vineyard, or a grape press, or even to get your hands dirty. Just throw some money at it, and you’re living la vida vino.

That one is particularly classic Napa Valley. We used to always ask who owned the winery when we visited tasting rooms, until we realized the answer was almost always the same - so and so was CEO of big company, super successful trial attorney, got rich off some invention, etc., then decided later on that wine was their passion so they bought a bunch of prime vineyards and facilities, have the gorgeous home on top of a hill surrounded by vineyards, etc.

I don’t begrudge people having that life - I’m sure I’d be quite happy to have it myself if I could - but it did become kind of funny that it was the same story over and over again.

Well done, sir. Lively writing. Pithy observations.

But here’s one of my pet peeves: hyperbole

“Guess what? That horrible, gooey stuff is also overpriced - it is just more dramatically overpriced than our stuff.”

I know you are probably just having a bit of fun at California’s expense, but the blanket characterization of one region’s wines tends to create an us vs. them mentality among the warring tribes of wine aficionados that can get tiresome.

My mini-rant aside, keep on writing and posting. Good stuff! [cheers.gif]

1 Like

Cheers Robert
Great post.

Welcome, Robert! Loved your post, looking forward to many more.

Really good post, and, yes, applies to washington and elsewhere. And, sorry, I agree with the Cali comments as well. The problem is the garage winery that makes great stuff for $20 that will pull it’s way up to a fabulous money making estate is also a bit of a fantasy. You just have to be really picky and trust your palate.

Hey, I buy a lot of that $20 plonk and love every drop. [snort.gif] Some of those winemakers even post on this board. [wink.gif] Well most all of them do. [wow.gif]

I’ve been going up to Orgeon a lot the last 18 months. I love visiting the area. The Allison Hotel is just amazing and I love the laid back feel of the place.

My feeling one of the things hurting them is that American buyers want… fruit. Lots of fruit. Those that want Burgundian styled Pinots often just buy Burgundy. Heck, most of those who do want Burgundian styled Pinots buy Cali, also. At least direct. Cali Pinots do not compete with Burgundy at all because they are not trying to be that and their buyers don’t (mostly) want that. Most people don’t know this but KB has a longer mail list than the any two Napa Cabs you can think of… combined. No wine in Napa is even in the same galaxy of demand as KB (although the average dollars spent per order is much larger for top Napa Cabs.)

So when people try Oregon they get a sort of riff on Burgundy. When they have RRV or Sonoma Coast, they get that fruit “hit” they have learned to like from Napa Cabs. And there are simply a lot more people that want that than Oregon’s style. At least outside Oregon. Maybe not on Berserkers, but in the larger world. Prices and sell-through rates prove that.

Most newish $65 Cali Pinots with a 94pt score will outsell (direct) a $50 Oregon Pinot with the same score from a legendary producer because of style differences. But Oregon producers see these wines here charging more and they try to keep up on price, figuring that “we have been doing this 25 years and this new producer in Sonoma is charging more than us!” I understand the thinking, but logic is not really a factor in the supply-demand curve.

I think what hurts Oregon is that Portland is not a worldwide draw like San Fran is, therefore the big collector dollars fly more here than there. Add in the fruitfulness of Sonoma by comparison plus the culinary options and it is difficult for Oregon to keep up.

I tell anyone who will listen to go stay at The Allison in Oregon if they have been out here many times because I think it would be an eye opener. But it is a hard sell. Try to tell your Sonoma Pinot collectors to go there instead of here and you will see that for yourself.

Oregon wine country needs more high-end restaurants, imho. Within a 500-yard stretch in Yountville, there are something like 9 Michelin stars. That is a huge draw. Yet the last time I was at The Jory Restaurant, which I think is great, it was 40% empty on a Friday night. I was bummed by that. Weekenders from SF come to Napa/Sonoma all the time but I sensed less of that with Portland.

I think Oregon wineries needs to stop saying they are “the closest thing to Burgundy in the USA.” Few really care about that, frankly. No one really cares they share the same longitude either. This is not France, most people spending huge money on Pinot don’t care about the things Burgundians do. It comes down to perceived flavor. It’s that simple, like it or not. And for the region, making Willamette a place where collectors want to go to and spend tons of money is important. Many are trying!

I like what Oregon is and even appreciate those who like to make nuanced, lower alcohol wines. I’ve hung out with John Thomas and really like his Pinots. But if Oregon wants to make more money per bottle (and they do,) they need to see the reality of the situation and adjust. Sonoma is capitalizing on all the work Oregon did keeping Pinot alive for decades until Sideways came along. But they are not reaping the rewards as much as California is. And waiting in the wings in The Santa Rita Hills which will also be a threat soon and, in my mind, has an up and coming food scene that is far more hot than Oregon Wine Country. Ten million people in Los Angeles are just 2 hours away and they are still up for grabs.

If I were making a Pinot in Oregon, I would go directly AFTER Sonoma. Forget Burgundy. I’ve been to Bergstrom and Beaux Freres. I’ve had Antica Terra, which I think is great. My verdict? They are so successful because they are NOT Burgundian. Both are ripe and each can compete blind with Sonoma Pinot with their fruit and still have some flavor components that Sonoma Pinot often do not. That is why they sell from $75-100+ each. I suspect this is why Jackson Family is buying everything in sight… they have a plan. And it isn’t to make Burgundian-styled wines, I promise you. My guess is they will drag Oregon wine country where it needs to go.

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[quote=“Roy Piper”

"If I were making a Pinot in Oregon, I would go directly AFTER Sonoma. Forget Burgundy. I’ve been to Bergstrom and Beaux Freres. I’ve had Antica Terra, which I think is great. My verdict? They are so successful because they are NOT Burgundian. Both are ripe and each can compete blind with Sonoma Pinot with their fruit and still have some flavor components that Sonoma Pinot often do not. That is why they sell from $75-100+ each. I suspect this is why Jackson Family is buying everything in sight… they have a plan. And it isn’t to make Burgundian-styled wines, I promise you. My guess is they will drag Oregon wine country where it needs to go.[/quote]"

Roy, I like this part best. I think that KJ has big plans. But I also think, based on what I see, that it encompasses both ends of the spectrum. Oregon has only a couple of brands that are supermarket-sized, suitable for major distribution networks, and even the biggest of those is a modest player to date. But KJ has the money and reach to put one or more Oregon brands into play in mass market, and I think that’s a big part of the plan. Yes, they can buy Penner Ash and ramp up to 20K cases a year for their restaurants or somesuch, but I think mass market appeal of pinot – along with their market research showing the potential of pinot in general and Oregon pinot particularly – is what is driving the acquisitions in the Willamette Valley right now. We’ll see.

Okay, you’ve caught me! I like plenty of cooler-climate CA pinots. But as an Oregon wine guy, well, I don’t want to broadcast that too often. It’s also required that I hate cabernet . . .

Welcome Robert. Largely agree with your dislikes but they really are just as applicable to many other wine regions.

Roy’s take on OR Pinot is always interesting. I very much don’t see the OR Pinot biz (or the goal of what the Pinots should be like) the way he does, but he’s an inveterate Napa Cab guy…so there you have it.

RT

HateSmurf.png

We got to make it up to Allison Inn & The Jory.

I think letting American tastes dictate the style of Oregon Pinot will be as successful as letting American tastes dictate the direction of the auto industry in the 70s and 80s, unless the only measure of success you use is how much you can charge for a bottle. The winemakers up here are more artists than capitalists, otherwise we wouldn’t have wineries with such lovely names like Hammacher Schlemmer, Biggio Hamina, or my favorite name in Washington: Gifford Hirlinger.

Robert, thank you for your intelligent, well-written post. I enjoyed reading while I was nodding my head in agreement!

About all marketing material written by the same person - so true, but in print how do you differentiate your winery among the crowd? The proof has to be in the results, but gee whiz, some of these prices are just way too high to take a chance on. And just to high for my budget regardless of how good it might be.

As luck might have it, I am at a 4 day Jackson Family Winery Winegrowers Conference at the Allison Hotel right now. All of the winemakers and estate vineyard managers are here along with the Executives. Lots of guest speakers such as Roger Bolton and Patty Skinis of OSU.
Currently in a break from a seminar on Water and Wine - getting ready for a tasting comparing dry fArmed and irrigated wines from the same vineyards.

I have further thoughts on why Oregon now and what the future is - but difficult to do on my phone. Will share later.

Adam Lee
Siduri Wines

This seems nothing more than stating the obvious isn’t it?

You are going to find underachievers and overachievers in every corner of the wine market.

Egomaniacs overpricing their products, and old timers underpricing their products.

And people catering to the majority of consumers current tastes? That’s been going on since the beginning of the modern wine industry (who are these idiots using French wine casks in California?)

There is one thing you can count on in this industry: The more things change, the more they stay the same.

that HS is great pinot… :wink: