A few weeks back we received an invitation to something new for the Oregon Wine industry–the 2011 Oregon Pinot Gris Symposium presented by Oak Knoll Winery, one of Oregon’s most recognized labels as a local favorite and especially outside of Oregon.  The focus of this get together was to examine how to showcase the spectacular attributes that make Oregon Pinot Gris as a singular varietal a world apart from Pinot Grigio in Italy and Pinot Gris from other wine growing regions. In reality they are the same grape but grown in different locations and they take on very different characteristics.

I would not focus so much on this except at the close of IPNC in 2009, there was a tasting of Oregon Riesling at the Dundee Bistro and a discussion broke out between the Master of Wine graduates from England and the MWs from the USA who were in attendance and the gist of the discussion was how much in England Pinot Grigio is always considered a lesser quality wine than Sauvignon Blanc from Australia, New Zealand, South America and France offered at similar price points. They went on to debate if that standard was prevalent among UK shoppers when confronted with a Pinot Gris label from Oregon. One might balk at the $12 to $18 per bottle thinking it was the same quality wine as they were receiving from Italy. The English took a beat down that day I must say as two of the best wine experts from the Northwest weighed in (Lisa Shara Hall and Joel Butler) and set the story straight referring quite convincingly to the complex attributes of Oregon Pinot Gris being beyond the simplistic offerings of the often one dimensional Pinot Grigio wines that come from Venice and Friuli.

But back to the story at hand. Jo and Jose Diaz of Diaz Communications, a California based PR Marketing firm known for their passionate results for the Petite Sirah group (P.S. I Love You) produced this first inaugural event with respectable results from the intensely independent Pinot Gris wine producers of Oregon.

Some of the press, including myself were initially invited for lunch and a wine tasting after the symposium speakers were finished, except for the keynote speaker the venerable Washington wine guru Paul Gregutt author to several books about NW wines. We later received a note that we were welcome to attend the entire event, but the late notice of a 8:30AM appointment on a Thursday did not seem like a realistic possibility. It was something I was to regret not preparing for later, especially the fourth session about marketing which was presented first by Ryan Lumaco, a newly promoted Vice President at Odom-Southern distributing. He had the arduous task of teaching the producers how to make their Pinot Gris stand out from the Oregon Crowd. I heard from Jason Bull, he (Ryan) did a very good job. I was happily surprised. Now I wish I had been there to hear it. Maybe that is how he made the fast track to Vice President at Odom-Southern and that makes him the exception to most wine distributors I have personally worked with through the years.

After reading the statements made by a couple of the most renowned wine distributors in the country quoted on Fermentation I’m not really sure any distributor wants to teach the winery anything about how to market their wines, obviously Ryan Lumaco excluded. Check out the dialog on the CARE act (HR 1161) currently going through the legislative process if you want to know how the relationship between producers and distributors is panning out these days. This opinion does not reflect on all wine distributors; however I have four distinct views so I guess my opinion does encompass the big picture.

Here is a description of those views and scenarios where I have interacted with wine distributors on different levels.

(1) As a customer in wine stores when you see the distributor stocking and you know they distribute the wine you are asking questions about, I have yet to meet one who has the time or desire to help a retail customer. After all that is not their job.

(2) As a writer who has reached out to a distributor for information about an international wine they distribute because you would expect if they did not know the answer to my questions they might be willing to put me in touch with someone at the winery who would (has not happened yet).

(3) As an employee for a winery in the capacity as a marketing manager or director of consumer sales. When someone used to call me from a state or they happen to be in the tasting room and they would ask where can I buy your wine in our state? I would grab my distributor list, give them the phone number and ask this favor; If you do not get a warm welcome and an answer that helps please call me back because we would like to know what our distributors are saying when a retail customer calls with a question. Most often than not I would get a call back and the results often led to changing distributors.

(4) I have actually worked for a wine distributor and from the top of the organization down to the newest sales representative the attitude was always the producers are lucky to have us without our services their wines would not get sold.

Now that I have my distributor rant out of the way let’s get this story back on track and talk about the 2011 Oregon Pinot Gris Symposium. If you were lucky enough to have attended the early part of the event you would have also benefited from the session three presentations from Robert Brittan, Jason Bull and Jeff Herinickx on Enology. This guy (Robert Brittan) is one of those unspoken heroes of the wine world who most likely you have tasted his wine if you happen to have only one glass a week. He is legendary in Napa and all other wine regions for his winemaking consultation skills and ability to straighten out a problem.

We arrived right before the break for lunch and I had a couple of minutes to catch up with Marj Vuylsteke the matriarch of the Oak Knoll Winery family. Back when I represented a Willamette Valley winery we used to run into each other often while pouring our wines at events. She was and always is cordial and humble.  Marj is the pinnacle of hospitality in action, many would be hospitalitarians could learn a lot from her. Most of our conversation revolved around the 2010 and 2011 weather as it pertains to viticulture but that is a story for a different time.

Lunch was provided by Claye’s Catering located in Downtown North Plains, the food and wine was good but the company at the table I decided to sit at was better.  I was fortunate to have as my companions Robert Brittan, Jim Gullo, Ryan Reichert and my partner co-founder of Enobytes Pamela Heiligenthal. Turns out Robert was from Bakersfield, CA and started his winemaking career about the same time I was stationed at Castle AFB which was located pretty close to Bakersfield. Pamela actually received her official single engine pilot’s license in Bakersfield. Talk about degrees of interaction, I like that phrase much more than degrees of separation, but now I am beginning to sound like Andy Rooney.

Here is the real reason this event invited us and offered us lunch to attend and that was to taste the current offerings of Pinot Gris available from the wineries that attended the summit.  I suspect that they also wanted us to throw our opinions into the mix (not that anyone was going to take them too seriously) but hey press is press and the organizer seemed to have a knack for knowing who can make the most noise.  Well, more like who was willing to attend that day and might make some noise.  I had a few favorites in the bunch and I will mention their names but not review the wines.

For 2010 I already have reviewed a Pinot Gris that I think sets the bar for everyone else in the Willamette Valley and that would be Van Duzer 2010 Pinot Gris the first vintage of their wines made by Jerry Murray. You can read that review here or on the Van Duzer website.

Mt. Defiance Wine Company, Methven Family Vineyards, Left Coast Cellars, Spindrift Cellars, Cardwell Hill Cellars, Terrapin Cellars, Airlie Winery and Sokol Blosser were some of my favorites that we tasted that day. I was surprised at the lack of wineries that participated who were not trying to send a bottle home with the press who attended. After all press is press.  I am already looking forward to the 2012 Oregon Pinot Gris Symposium.

If you have tasted a great Pinot Gris that was not listed here please leave a comment letting us know who we should be checking out.