100% Pinot Gris

Food pairings: A summer salad of heirloom tomatoes, nectarines and creamy burrata, and, for dessert, mini lemon curd pavlovas topped with fresh berries.

Winemaking: The 2023 Classique was fermented and aged 90% in stainless steel with a kiss of neutral French oak puncheons, a combination that gives the wine its round, supple texture and aromatic charm while keeping clarity and purity of fruit. It is made from Pinot Gris clones 152 and 148. After a slow start, the 2023 season came on strong after budbreak, with warm May temperatures, mid-June rains that charged the soils, and ideal conditions through July and August; nearly everything was picked before significant rain ended the season on September 24. The white wines of the vintage are juicy, vibrant and fruit driven.

Vineyards and terroir: The fruit comes from the Yamhill and Tukwilla vineyards and from Lange's own estate vineyard in the Dundee Hills, drawing on some of the most established Pinot Gris plantings in the Willamette Valley.

Family and history: Don and Wendy Lange moved north from Santa Barbara, inspired by a few bottles from Oregon pioneers Eyrie and Erath, and founded Lange Estate in 1987 on a hilltop parcel in the Dundee Hills whose elevation and aspect reminded Don of the Grand Cru vineyards of Burgundy. They made their first vintage that year from purchased Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Gris and planted their estate vineyard in 1988. Considered New World pioneers of Pinot Gris, they were the fourth producer of the grape and the first to barrel ferment it in the New World. Today their son Jesse Lange makes the wines, and the family has grown to three estate vineyards with a winery and tasting room at the crown of the estate.

In the pictures: Winemaker Jesse Lange in the estate's heritage blocks at harvest; the Lange estate vineyard on an autumn morning; and the winery and tasting room above the vines in the Dundee Hills (photos courtesy of Lange Estate Winery).