2011 Dusky Goose Lillie's Vineyard Pinot Noir

Dusky Goose is a limited production Pinot Noir producer in the Dundee Hills. It was started by the Carter and Lundgren families, and Lynn Penner-Ash is winemaker. John and Linda Carter are Oregon natives and John is Chairman of the Board at Schnitzer Steel Industries in Portland. Tamara and John Lundgren live in Connecticut, and Tamara is President and Chief Executive Officer of Schnitzer Steel Industries. Lynn Penner-Ash is a veteran winemaker whose resume includes winemaking at Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, Domaine Chandon and Chateau St. Jean. In 1988 she moved to Oregon to make wine at Rex Hill Vineyards and in 1998 opened her own winery with her husband. Dusky Goose makes Pinot Noir and a small amount of Chardonnay.

Willamette Valley AVA was established in 1983, and it is the oldest appellation in Oregon. Oregon’s modern wine industry began in the Willamette Valley in the 1960s when artists, vagabond winemakers, and U.C. Davis oenology graduates looking for new territory started their own, small, off-the-grid wineries. The appellation is the state’s largest, and it extends 175 miles from Columbia River on the Washington/Oregon border to just south of Eugene, near central Oregon. The Willamette River runs through the area, helping to give the appellation a mild year-round climate. There are six smaller sub-appellations within this AVA, but altogether the Willamette Valley has the largest concentration of wineries in Oregon, as well as the majority of the state’s most famous producers. Pinot Noir is king here, followed by Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Riesling. To most admirers of Oregon Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley offers the most distinctive wine choices in the state.

This red wine is relatively light and can pair with a wide variety of foods. The grape prefers cooler climates and the wine is most often associated with Burgundy, Champagne and the U.S. west coast. Regional differences make it nearly as fickle as it is flexible.