If you want a one-stop-shopping answer to the question of what differentiates Oregon wines from those of California, look no further than this gem, the Ponzi Reserve Chardonnay 2006 ($29). It has chardonnay’s rich mouthfeel but it’s marked by an assertive citrus zest and a huge mineral finish, and as such is more elegant, and European, in style than it’s competitors in California. It is also about as good as it gets for a new world chardonnay.

Oregon winemaking is characterized by a cooler climate and the employment of more restrained winemaking techniques, and this combination leads to less flashy, less show-offy wines, wines with more structure, more dignity.

In this approach the Ponzi family are not alone – they share the same philosophy as many of their fellow Oregon pioneers of the 1970’s in being deliberately and self-consciously NOT California winemakers. Of course their industry is tiny compared to their southern neighbors,

Early Days in the Willamette Valley

but they take pride in even this as they see themselves as crafting not so much mass-market wines to appeal to the lowest common denominator of taste, but wines for the educated consumer, the wine drinker who expects more from his or her bottle of chardonnay than creamy oak juice.

And the fact that nearly forty years after Dick & Nancy Ponzi first bought land in Willamette Valley the family run company is thriving, producing 30,000 cases annually of 12 different kinds of wine, is testament to the wisdom of what at the time was considered a quixotic and visionary venture.

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To find this wine near you, try www.wine-searcher.com