It’s the (other) most wonderful time of the year: Oregon Wine Month! We kicked off the celebrations with a Pinot noir tasting out in Oregon wine country and now the festivities continue at home with Duck Pond Pinot Noir made by The Great Oregon Wine Company.
Wines made in Oregon can range far and wide thanks to geological science and prehistoric flooding, but it may be best known for its ability to produce some of the finest Pinot noir in the world. Oregon’s unique soil, paired with a cool climate, make it a haven for growing and harvesting the famously fussy Pinot noir grapes.
The Great Oregon Wine Company took it a step further by becoming a certified USDA organic winery in May 2020. It’s also one of the first commercially farmed vineyards in Oregon to remove the use of glyphosate (pesticide) in the farming process, earning them the Clean Label Project Purity Award. 
Their wines are handcrafted and produced in small lots with attention to detail and minimal intervention along with vertical integration delivering hand crafted consistency in every bottle. Each vintage provides the opportunity to celebrate the diversity of Willamette Valley farmers that share their organic and pesticide-free farming and environmental beliefs.
Pinot noirs pair with foods pretty easily, so we went with a strong sourdough to make a “grown up” grilled cheese with roasted organic pork and Jarlsberg. The verdict? It was absolutely divine.
We’ve still got a good amount of time left in Oregon Wine Month, so if you haven’t celebrated yet, no worries! I recommend an at-home tasting but if you’re itching to get out of the house to visit a winery, be sure to book a tasting in advance. There’s no shortage of wineries in Oregon, but spots seem to be filling up fast.
Cheers!