A relative newcomer to Oregon, and credited by many for placing the Willamette Valley squarely on the world’s wine map, is Maison Joseph Drouhin. “When we first came to Oregon in 1987, we carefully researched the possibilities for both Pinot noir and Chardonnay,” says winemaker Véronique Drouhin. “Since our Pinots seemed to adapt well, we tried the same clones and rootstock we use in Burgundy for our Chardonnay. The classic grape of white Burgundies is extremely well suited to our Oregon estate site and we are very happy with the results.”

A new generation of Oregon vintners who had completed winery internships in France during the early 1990s were excited to see that the clones they’d seen perform so well in Burgundy were now available to their home vineyards. Among them was Luisa Ponzi, Dick Ponzi’s daughter and one of the first women winemakers in Oregon. “I was thrilled to learn of the local Dijon clone program,” she enthused. “We planted a selection of the new clones at our Aurora Vineyard and monitored them carefully. When they ripened before or alongside the Pinot noir, we knew we finally had Chardonnay ideally suited to our cool climate. We’ve never looked back.”

 Another winery setting its sights on premium Chardonnay is Domaine Serene. When owners Ken and Grace Evenstad set out to plant their vineyards in 1989, they gave winemaker Tony Rynders carte blanche to find and use the best Chardonnay and Pinot noir clones available. Rynders, who had once worked with Rollin Soles, turned to the Dijon clones. “Our first foray into Chardonnay was from the South slope of one of the earlier Dijon-clone plantings,” says Rynders. “We were so impressed with the results that we purchased this vineyard and proceeded to plant a different mix of clones on the east and west facing slopes. The low yields, intense flavors, and early ripening characteristics of these clones have consistently produced world-class Chardonnays.” Today, Domaine Serene grows over 10 acres of estate Chardonnay in the Dundee Hills, bottling the wine from each slope separately.

Rynders was not the only quality driven vintner to carefully watch the Dijon clones’ development. In 1995, Eric Hamacher founded Hamacher Wines with the simple objective of handcrafting high quality Pinot noir and Chardonnay. When asked why he selected Chardonnay over the more widely-planted Oregon white variety Pinot gris, Hamacher says “Chardonnay is the Holy Grail of white wines and, with these outstanding clones, we now have all the tools at our disposal to make Chardonnays that rival the best in the world, even Burgundy. The challenge to produce a wine that stands out in a sea of Chardonnays is exciting and one that Oregon winemakers are meeting head on.”

A New Tradition Takes Root

In Oregon, Chardonnay vines now flower and ripen at the same time as Pinot noir. For the first time, traditional Chardonnay fruit flavors of white peach and ripe melon with a light minerality on the finish have become the nomenclature of Oregon Chardonnay.

“Chardonnay is in the midst of a makeover in Oregon,” Says Harry Peterson-Nedry. “The seeming flood of Chardonnay in the marketplace comes not because there is too much White Burgundy or Chablis, but because growers in warm climates think the grape's agreeable nature and easy winemaking means they can artificially make good wine. The ‘Anything But Chardonnay’ camp has evolved because of the many over-oaked, sweet, acid-less chardonnays that bear no resemblance to steely Chablis, structured and unctuous Montrachets or Cortons, or, now, rich and finely tuned Oregon Chardonnays.”