100% Pinot Gris

Food pairings: A versatile wine that stands easily on its own as an aperitif, then pairs with Japanese, Chinese and Korean dishes, as well as soft cheeses.

Winemaking: The wine was fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks at no more than 55°F, and malolactic fermentation was prohibited to keep its bright, lively character. It then rested five months in stainless steel before bottling under screwcap. The 2024 season opened with a cool spring and a slow, drawn-out budbreak, followed by a cool May and June, July heat spikes and an August with cooler temperatures and some rain. A cool, dry September and October gave extended hang time, excellent acid retention and an even-paced harvest.

Vineyards and terroir: 60% of the fruit comes from Ponzi's own LIVE Certified Sustainable estate vineyards, including Aurora and Avellana in the Laurelwood District of the Chehalem Mountains, and the rest from select partner vineyards around the Willamette Valley.

Family and history: In 1969 Dick Ponzi, an engineer who had designed rides for Disneyland, moved his family to Oregon convinced it could make cool-climate wines to rival the world's best. With his wife Nancy he founded Ponzi Vineyards in 1970, Oregon's third winery, and in 1981 introduced the first commercial Pinot Gris made in the United States, helping establish it as Oregon's first quality white grape. Their daughter Luisa, trained in Beaune, became winemaker in 1993, co-founded the LIVE sustainability certification and championed the Laurelwood District AVA. Champagne Bollinger chose Ponzi as its first property outside France in 2021, and in 2024 Luisa, now Legacy Winemaker, handed the title of winemaker to Max Bruening, who joined the cellar team in 2016.

In the pictures: Legacy winemaker Luisa Ponzi tasting in the winery (photo: Andrea Johnson Photography); the Ponzi Vineyards tasting room and winery at dusk; and a bin of freshly picked Pinot Gris in the vineyard (photo: Polara Studio). Photos courtesy of Ponzi Vineyards.