Oregon’s winegrowing region takes pride in its distinction from the Californian area. The influence of the Pacific Ocean is perceptible here as well: finding its way inland through the mountain gorges of the Coast Range, however, providing some protection at the same time, resulting in a year-round, balanced climate crucial to any winegrowing area. Nonetheless, in general, local winemakers can suffer from the same unpredictability of nature’s forces as their peers in Burgundy. This uncertainty tends to materialize as cold summers and damp falls (due to the cooling effect of the Pacific).

As to the local varietals, the Pinot Noir variety is just as much associated with Oregon as it is the case with the world famous winegrowing region of Burgundy, however; the ones in Oregon are much softer and tend to ripen earlier than those in Burgundy. 40% of this region is planted with Pinot Noir, while Chardonnay is the other dominant variety in the area.   

The success of local winegrowing is primarily determined by the ripeness of clusters and the arrival of the rain in the fall. Summer droughts may cause  the “only” major problem as well as necessitate irrigation.