At least two Willamette Valley vineyards are building new wineries to produce white and sparkling wines, perhaps indicating an expanding market in a region best known for red Pinot noir.
Domaine Serene, of Dundee Hills, has begun construction of an 8,000-square-foot winery dedicated to producing Chardonnay, sparkling wine and a white version of Pinot noir, the wine that made the Willamette Valley a player in the international wine scene.
The facility is expected to be ready in time for the 2018 harvest. Domaine Serene also has planted 25 acres of Chardonnay grapes over the past three years.
“We’re doubling down on it,” company spokesman Matthew Thompson said. “We feel very good about the high quality of Oregon Chardonnay.”
Reviewers appear to agree. Wine Spectator magazine rated Domaine Serene’s 2014 Evenstad Reserve Chardonnay second among the 10 best wines of 2016, and the top-rated white.
Instead of producing white wine elsewhere, Domaine Serene’s new winery will have dedicated facilities for Chardonnay and sparkling wines, plus cold storage capability. Construction began March 1.
Meanwhile, Willamette Valley Vineyards, based near Salem, added seven acres of Chardonnay grapes and is working with architects on a planned sparkling wine facility in the Dundee region as well.
Company Winery Director Christine Collier said consumer demand for lighter, crisp whites is driving the changes. Rosé wines also are increasingly popular.
“We’re definitely seeing a trend in Oregon wine to expand Chardonnay programs,” she said. “The demand is high right now.”
Michelle Kaufmann, newly appointed communications director at Stoller Family Estate, said Chardonnay is “absolutely on the rise” in Oregon.
“Many people believe that it will overtake Pinot gris as Oregon’s number one white wine, though I’m not sure there’s enough data yet to make that claim,” Kaufmann said by email.
She said the nuances of producing exceptional white and sparkling wines are different than making red wines, so wineries’ decision to have facilities dedicated to that production makes sense.
But Pinot noir isn’t fading by any means.
The Oregon Wine Board’s 2015 report showed Pinot noir accounted for 62 percent of the 24,742 acres planted to wine grapes in Oregon. A pair of whites were a distant second and third: Pinot gris with 3,403 acres, and Chardonnay with 1,181 acres.
“I don’t think it’s too far of a stretch at all that Oregon is entering the next chapter in our wine history,” Kaufmann said.
Kaufmann previously was communications director for the Oregon Wine Board. She and vineyard manager Jason Tosch are recent hires at Stoller, in Dayton. Also at the company, Ben Howe was promoted to winemaker and Austin Raz to digital brand manager.
