Steve Doerner, of Cristom, explains, “I think preferences are starting to shift away from where they were just a decade ago, which was bigger is better. In the beginning, part of the big shift towards Pinot Noir was its attraction as an elegant variety, but people still preferred the bigger styles. As time goes on, not only are people more tolerant of elegant wines, they are actually favouring them. I think that trend is happening in other wines as well, not just Pinot Noir.” Dave Paige, of Adelsheim, agrees, vindicated by his stylistic perseverance, “Fortunately, I think most Pinot Noir drinkers have a growing appreciation for elegance and complexity. We used to worry more about the image of our Pinot 10 years ago, when the press and consumers still seemed caught up in the bigger is better mode. But we stuck to our guns and couldn’t be happier.” Josh Bergstrom, of Bergstrom, addresses the shift circumspectly, “There was a brief fashion for enormous, well-endowed Pinots that is now changing in favour of balance. I don’t know if the newbie to Pinot knows what to expect or what they really want, they just know that they like it. I’m aspiring to make wines that I enjoy for the very long term. Although I am guilty of making brash, opulent wines in my youth, I have now settled into a
style that balances the elegant side of opulence as a correct interpretation of the vintage; a place I hope to be for many decades to come, regardless of fad or fashion.” Nevertheless, achieving this stylistic tightrope is not without its challenges. All winemakers I spoke to had added water to their musts in certain years (the dry-grown evangelists usually the most culpable), and as a marginal climate there are real struggles for ripeness in many years (I heard of Pinot - for still wine - coming in at 19oBrix in 2011). Then, even with a good/great product in bottle, Oregon shares the same sales and marketing hurdles as any region predisposed to premium Pinot Noir. It’s not quite looking in a mirror, but there is a connection and similarity to it all; as Harry Peterson- Nedry of Chehalem says, “My friends and I view New Zealand Pinot as the third leg of the Pinot Noir stool, along with Burgundy and Oregon”. And the stool is a comfy one. The Burgundy leg very old, but very sturdy, the Oregon leg just starting to rust with signs of fleck, and the New Zealand leg still quite bright and shiny, waiting for time and age to reveal her destiny, be it a path well-trodden or a journey off the beaten track. ■ max@maxmarriott.com
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NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2013
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