2007 Parr Selection Seven Springs Vineyard Pinot Noir

Parr Selections were wines made under the direction of Rajat Parr, the acclaimed wine director for the Michael Mina restaurant group. Parr, who trained as a sommelier, has earned numerous honors from national food and wine magazines and the food and wine industry for his restaurant wine lists and his work as a sommelier. From 2004 to 2008 he worked with California winemakers of note to make Parr Selections, a portfolio of California wines that reflected the style of traditional French wines. Since 2008 he has been making more commercially available wines under the Sandhi label.

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.