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Feature Article
Oregon Chardonnay producers are abandoning the old Selection 108 clones and their winemaking bag of tricks, having discovered the newer and more suitable Dijon clones.
The Oregon Chardonnay Alliance Makes a Case for Willamette Valley Chardonnay
“Anyone who tastes the current wines (from Dijon clones) who knew the Oregon Chardonnays before – they are blown away!"
~ Eric Hamacher, Hamacher Wines
by
Rebecca Murphy
August 18, 2006
Oregon’s Willamette Valley is Pinot Noir country. In fact, many have called Willamette Valley the Burgundy of the U.S. So, if Burgundy can successfully grow Pinot Noir and Chardonnay side by side, why isn’t the Willamette Valley also considered Chardonnay country? Why has Oregon’s Chardonnay acreage declined from 1,512 to 842 in the last decade? Nearly half of that decrease – 405 acres – occurred in the Willamette Valley.
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