In a nutshell: Pinot Noir.

Main grapes: Pinot Noir (red); Pinot Gris (white).

Oregon produces quite a small amount of wine but an awful lot of noise. Which is not at all to say that the state's wine industry is overrun by brash publicists - rather the reverse. The typical Oregon wine operation consists of relatively neat, high-trained vines round a few old wooden shacks manned by a highly educated loner who revels in the contrasts between his wine region and California.

The most obvious difference is the climate, which in most of Oregon is distinctly cool and cloudy, especially in the Willamette (with the emphasis on the short A) Valley just south of Portland, where most of the wineries are clustered. The Willamette Valley is already being carved up into smaller appellations, so local are reputations here. Wine producers like to follow the burgundian model of growing their own grapes. Much is made locally of the fact that Oregon shares the 45th parallel with Bordeaux - although Burgundy would have been more convenient, given the determination with which Oregon wine producers have pursued the Holy Grail of Pinot Noir. This supposedly fickle grape is the state's most planted by far, and there has been much experimentation with different clones, especially so-called Dijon clones from Burgundy. Pinot Gris and Chardonnay  follow. Oregon has no such thing as cheap, bulk wine of indeterminate pedigree, although production has been increasing to such an extent that a small bulk wine market has emerged.

The vine has spread south from the Willamette however to the drier Umpqua Valley and the much hotter Rogue Valley in Southern Oregon, a conveniently large AVA almost on the California border (though many miles from any California vineyards). There are also a few vineyards which are effectively extensions of Washington state wine regions.

The perennial challenge for most Oregon wine producers is to persuade their grapes to ripen fully on the vine before the autumn rains arrive, bringing rot and spoiling the colour and flavours of the delicate Pinot Noir grape especially. So variable are the vintages here that the grape harvest may take place at any time from early September to November. Heat stress and drought are not unknown in high summer, however. Despite relatively high rainfall in such a high proportion of the state’s vineyards, organic and biodynamic viticulture are more widespread in Oregon than in any other wine region of its size.

Wineries tend to be small family affairs (although King Estate in the south of the Willamette Valley is an exception). Winemaking equipment has therefore tended to be fairly homespun, with steel-lined open fruit boxes commonly used as fermentation vats for example. Perhaps the most significant winery  is Domaine Drouhin, the only Oregon outpost of a burgundian merchant and, quite rightly, a source of great local pride.

There is more evidence of Oregon's appeal to outsiders in Argyle, a sparkling winemaking venture spearheaded by Brian Croser of Petaluma, arguably Australia's most influential winemaker, and Beaux Frères, a small but successful Pinot Noir producer owned by American wine critic Robert Parker and his brother-in-law.

Long-serving members of the Oregon wine community (and it is very much a community rather than an industry) include Adelsheim, Bethel Heights, The Eyrie Vineyards, Knudsen Erath, Ponzi and Sokol Blosser. Brick House, Cristom, Domaine Serene and Penner-Ash are noteworthy more recent arrivals. All these and more are involved in a uniquely friendly annual winefest known as the International Pinot Noir Celebration at McMinnville in Yamhill county, just south of the Red Hills of Dundee, Oregon's most famous wine terroir.

Success tends to be measured in terms of Pinot Noir, and Oregon Pinot tends to be delightfully true, not too heavy and convincingly variable in character according to the autumn weather. But Oregon Pinot Gris shows real distinction (which is more than can be said so far for most Oregon Chardonnay), as do some Rieslings and Gewurztraminers.

There have been experiments with using Oregon oak for wine maturation and it seems unlikely that the idiosyncratic inhabitants of this characterful wine region will stop their quest for wine quality.

See Oregon Wine for more information on this region.