Results Are In – 40 Oregon Chardonnays to be Featured During 2015 Oregon Chardonnay Symposium

In early December, I was one of several people chosen to blind taste 96 Oregon Chardonnays that were submitted for the 2015 Oregon Chardonnay Symposium.  Of those 96 Chardonnays, our small group of sommeliers, wine buyers, winemakers and wine writers were selected to narrow in on 40 that best represent our region’s distinctive Chardonnays.

Oregon Chardonnay fills the flights of wine to be blind tasted by the judges.

The blind tasting took place at Portland’s Red Slate Wine Co., owned by Sommelier David Speer, the same owner of the popular Champagne Bar, Ambonnay, located in the same building and just down the hall.  David not only provided the perfect space for the event, but he was one of the wine judges, as well.  Hosted by co-founders of the Oregon Chardonnay Symposium, Erica Landon of Walter Scott Wines and Paul Durant, of Durant Vineyards, the tasting concluded without a hitch and was an incredible experience.

Brown paper bags keep the labels out of view.

Judging a various range of stylistic approaches while searching for the best representation of Oregon Chardonnay, we rated each of the 96 wines from 1 to 5, with 5 being absolutely flawless.  Some of us would agree in unison regarding a particular wine, or even a whole flight of wine (which we tasted in sets of six), while the next flight would showcase a roller coaster of notes and votes.

The bottles of empty wine lined up as we tasted through the entire 96 submissions

The Fourth Annual Oregon Chardonnay Symposium will be held at the beautiful Stoller Family Estate on March 14, 2015.  Attendees of this very special event have the option to participate in a Technical Tasting followed by a Grand Tasting that features the 40 Chardonnays our group of blind tasters voted as the state’s most representative Chardonnays.

The results are in, and the participating wineries have been announced:

Argyle
Adelsheim
Airlie
Alexana
Antica Terra
Authentique
Belle Pente
Beaux Freres
Bergstrom
Big Table
Brickhouse
Brittan Vineyards
Carabella
Chehalem Wines
Crowley Wines
Dancin
DeLancellotti
Division
Dobbs Family Estate
Domaine Drouhin
Domaine Serene
Durant Vineyards
Dusky Goose
EIEIO
Fairsing
Foris
Hyland
Johan Vineyards
Kramer
Lange Estate Winery
Left Coast Cellars
Lemelson
Lundeen
Matello
Matzinger Davies
Monte Ferro
Omero Cellars
Phelps Creek
Rex Hill
Roco
Seven of Hearts
Shea Wine Cellars
Sokol Blosser
Solena
Soter
Stoller Family Estates
Tendril
Utopia Vines
Walnut City Wine Works
Walter Scott
Winderlea

Technical Panel and Tasting at the 2014 Oregon Chardonnay Symposium

Tickets for both the Technical and Grand Tasting are available for purchase on the Oregon Chardonnay Symposium website here.  With a line-up that includes some of Oregon’s pioneers and top producers; including, Jason Lett of Eyrie Vineyards, Mimi Casteel of Bethel Heights, John Paul of Cameron Winery and more, and with a focus on exploring the specific characteristics of various clone groups, this is one event not to be missed.