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Article: AS CHENIN BLANC FADES, OREGON'S PINOT BLANC PICTURE IMPROVES
- Article from:
- The Columbian (Vancouver, WA)
- Article date:
- September 2, 1997
- Author:
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ROBERT MAYFIELD
The Columbian
09-02-1997
And now, a tale of two blancs. One on the rise, the other on a slippery decline.
Chenin blanc and pinot blanc are two white wines of middling distinction.
Both harken back to the Old World.
Both have flourished in the Northwest. Chenin blanc, more in Washington. Pinot blanc in Oregon's Willamette Valley.
You may know chenin blanc by its famous French incarnation, Vouvray. Deep, golden-hued wines, often off-dry, sometimes downright sweet.
But when transferred to the New World, something got lost. Perhaps it's the vines, the vineyards, the care taken, but the chenin blancs of the Northwest, while fresh and flavorful, seem a bit ...