What Foris Shares in Common with Alsace

Why would an Oregon winery choose to compare itself to an area as unfamiliar to most people as Alsace? What is Alsace, and how is it helpful in understanding the wines of Foris?

Alsace is a French grape growing region on the German border outside Strasbourg. The area has switched hands between the French and Germans many times over the years and its history, culture and winemaking are a synthesis of the two. The grapes are mostly whites- Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Blanc, and Pinot Gris. The wines can range from bone dry to extremely sweet, but what they all tend to share is a roundness, unctuousness, and power emanating from the warm days and a crisp acidity locked in by the cold nights of the growing region. This diurnal shift between temperature highs and lows is what makes the wine of Alsace important and is what our vineyards in the Illinois Valley share in common.

An easy way to experience this phenomenon is to taste these varietals from other winegrowing regions around the world that do not share this large diurnal temperature change. Pinot Gris would be the easiest. Compare a Pinot Gris from Alsace or Oregon with a Pinot Grigio (same grape, Italian name) from Italy. Though there are exceptions, most Italian Pinot Grigio is grown in areas characterized by warm days and mild nights. Not cold nights, but rather warm or at least mild nights. What happens is that without the cold nights the acidity in the grapes gradually diminishes and we are left with a fairly light, soft textured wine. While certainly pleasant, they do not share the exuberance of an Alsatian or Oregon wine made from the same grape.  The bright acidity emphasizes the fruit, brings it into focus, and carries it along throughout the finish.

In Oregon, few areas replicate the growing conditions in Alsace as well as the Illinois Valley does, the home of our estate vineyards. Unlike the rain prone Willamette Valley, the Illinois Valley generally experiences a warm and very dry summer with surprisingly cold nights throughout the growing season.  Coupled with low-fertility sites, low yields and careful farming the winery is almost assured of crisp, exuberant fruit with which to work with.

Back to Vineyards »