With the introduction of our 2006 Dominatrix Pinot Noir, Naked Winery now offers what most would say is Oregon’s most well known varietal.

With the introduction of our 2006 Dominatrix Pinot Noir, Naked Winery now offers what most would say is Oregon’s most well known varietal. We thought you would enjoy knowing a brief history of Pinot Noir in Oregon. After being devastated by prohibition, the Oregon wine industry started to rebuild in the 1960s. Hillcrest Vineyard opened near Roseburg in 1961 with its first vintage appearing for sale in 1968. Also in the 1960s, several winemakers started planting Pinot Noir grapes in the Willamette Valley, including David Lett, who in 1966 planted the Eyrie Vineyards in the hills outside of Dundee. But it wasn’t until 1979 that events in Europe put Oregon wines on the map.

David Lett’s Eyrie Vineyards' 1975 South Block Pinot Noir placed in the top 10 at the Gault-Millau French Wine Olympiades, and was rated the top Pinot Noir. Not only did the competition establish Oregon as a region capable of producing top-quality wines, it also established that premium winemaking was not the exclusive province of France. French winemaker Robert Drouhin arranged for a rematch, pitting the Eyrie Pinot Noir against a group of French wines considered to be finer than those in the Wine Olympics. The winner was Joseph Drouhin's Grand Cru 1959 Chambolle-Musigny; the Eyrie came in a very close second.

Oregon's Pinots won further acclaim in the 1985 Burgundy Challenge, wherein wine experts could not distinguish between Oregon and Burgundy Pinot Noirs in a blind taste test; in the rankings, the Oregon wines were rated ahead of the Burgundy entrants.

Today, Pinot Noir is Oregon's most famous red wine.