The case for putting the Willamette Valley's eggs in more than one basket. Above, David Hill winery and vineyard's proud boast of having planted this block of Gewürztraminer in 1965.
Specialisation is a global phenomenon. The Willamette Valley where I am based is 70% planted to Pinot Noir (up from 69.3% in 2019) according to 2020 data. This makes my home region a prime example of specialisation.
A year and a half ago, Jancis wrote an article entitled The world’s favourite grapes. It was based on Professor Kym Anderson and Dr Signe Nelgen’s indispensable text describing the...