The Secret to Getting Your Hands on Oregon’s Best, Small-Production Wines | Wine Enthusiast
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The Secret to Getting Your Hands on Oregon’s Best, Small-Production Wines

A lot of exceptional Oregon wines, created in small quantities by family-owned wineries, never make it out of the Northwest. There’s a simple solution, though, if you live in one of the many states with reciprocal interstate shipping laws: You can buy directly from the wineries or become a member of their clubs to get exclusive access.

Here are four small producers whose wines you won’t want to miss.

David Hill Winery

This heritage winery sits in the newly minted Tualatin Hills American Viticultural Area (AVA) and has taken on a multiyear project of renovating the original mid-1960s plantings by Oregon pioneer Charles Coury. Look for the Coury clone Pinots as well as a limited selection of such rarities as Sylvaner, all value priced from vines a half century old.

See recent reviews from David Hill Winery here.

Reustle Vineyards

Set on a steep hillside northwest of Roseburg in the heart of the Umpqua Valley AVA, Reustle produces a dizzying range of estate-grown varietal wines. Seek out their Grüner Veltliners, made in three different styles. Racy, fresh and mineral-driven, all are impressive. The Green Lizard reserve is the richest, while the concrete-fermented Dolium boosts the minerality.

See recent reviews from Reustle Vineyards here

Peter William Vineyard

One of a handful of producers working at Herb Quady’s Barrel 42 facility in the Rogue Valley AVA, this winery’s Viogniers are startlingly good. Despite the variety’s difficult nature, this wine achieves the hat trick of ripeness, complexity and balance, capturing the aromatic and botanical highlights, the powerful citrus and tropical fruits while steering clear of any over-the-top alcoholic burn. The quality for the price puts it in a league of its own.

See recent reviews from Peter William Vineyard here.

00 Wines

No recent Willamette Valley start-up has impressed more than Double Zero. With a laser focus on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, this boutique winery releases a half dozen versions of each annually. The top cuvées are named for family members Freya, Richard and Kathryn Hermann; they’re also some of Wine Enthusiast’s highest-rated wines from Oregon in the past two vintages. The Chardonnays can stand with the very best from anywhere in the country. Expensive? Yes, but well worth the splurge.

See recent reviews from 00 Wines here.