PATRICIA GREEN CELLARS: MARINE SEDIMENTARY MAGIC IN A BOTTLE

Now that Labor Day is over and fall is upon us, I am craving Pinot Noir. To me, Pinot is the perfect early fall wine. It has elegant, soft red fruits and refreshing acidity to combat the heat wave we're still in, and a hint of earthiness reminiscent of fall leaves, and now that fall is here, I am particularly excited to deep dive into Oregon's gorgeous and incredibly terroir-driven Pinot Noirs. I recently had the pleasure of visiting the vineyards in Oregon over the summer for an industry gathering known as Oregon Pinot Camp and was truly blown away by the gorgeous Pinot Noir being produced there. Burgundy is famous for its highly prized terroir of limestone and clay, but the Willamette Valley boasts a complex network of varying terroirs that produce a dizzying variety of Pinot Noirs that have to be tasted to be fully appreciated.  The wide mix of soils is due to a number of huge geologic events, including massive floods and volcanic explosions that occurred in the Willamette over the course of millions of years, and this allows the valley to produce wines of stunning complexity.

One of the highlights of my trip was a Pinot Noir tasting focused solely on soil type. We tasted multiple wines from the same producers, each from one of the main soil types of the valley, including volcanic Jory soils, Willakenzie marine sedimentary soils, and the loess blend known as Laurelwood. While Jory is the more famous soil type, the wines produced from marine sedimentary soils really stood our to me for their brightness, elegance and high toned fruit, and they were consistently my favorites of the tasting.

If you are a terroir nerd like me and also want to see how Pinot Noir expresses itself on the unique marine sedimentary soil type, Patricia Green Cellars' "Soil Series" offers amazing options to explore one of the Willamette's signature terroirs. The Marine Sedimentary Pinot is a blend of multiple dry farmed organic and biodynamic vineyards sourced from 100% marine sedimentary soils within the Chehalem Mountains and Ribbon Ridge AVAs. The inclusion of 50% whole cluster adds even more perfume and lift to an already beautiful wine, and only neutral barrels are used to ensure the beauty of the underlying terroir is allowed to fully express itself.  - KELLY RAU