Julia Crowley - Willamette Valley Pinot Noir

Posted by Julia Crowley, May 11, 2012.

After traveling for several years throughout Europe as a travel agent and creating wine tour programs for escorted tours in France, Italy and Spain, I left the travel industry to focus on the wines of Oregon. Living in the heart of Oregon’s famed Willamette Valley inspired me to open a wine shop and wine bar that focused solely on Oregon wine. Wine enthusiasts were able to experience wine from Oregon’s best known wineries to wineries that were truly Oregon’s best kept secrets. After being open for just nine months, my wine shop and wine bar, named Julia’s, was voted one of the top five wine bars in Lane County, Oregon.

In March of 2010, I was offered an opportunity to write for the South Willamette Wineries Association, and I soon discovered my passion for writing about wine. I sold Julia’s Wine Shop and Wine Bar in April of 2010, and I’m currently the Senior Writer for the South Willamette Wineries Association, the Food and Wine Editor for Eugene Daily News, and the creator of WineJulia.com.

While the Pinot Blancs, Pinot Gris' and Pinot Meuniers of Oregon have my attention, the Willamette Valley Pinot Noirs have captured my heart. The beautiful wines produced from this finicky grape continue to amaze me - each and every time I pop the cork on a bottle, a new experience unfolds.

Replies

109 64: Reply by Terence Pang, May 13, 2012.; Welcome Julia!

Looking forward to learning more about Oregon wines from you!

Cristom and Shae are my favourite Pinot Noir producers from that region, but I've had some conflict with the Argyle Nuthouse.

Very limited access to the other varietals here in Australia.

103 118: Reply by Craig Bilodeau, May 14, 2012.; Welcome, Julia. I am with you in that Oregon Pinot's hav stolen my heart away! What an incredible region for that varietal!

37 12: Reply by Julia Crowley, May 16, 2012.; Hi Terence! I love both Shae and Cristom...you have spectacular taste! I'm sorry to hear of your limited access to the great wines of the Willamette Valley, maybe that will change as our wine industry continues to grow here in Oregon! One of the local winemakers here is from Australia. He makes wine for Sweet Cheeks Winery and he has his own label too - William Rose Wines.

Cheers to you!

37 12: Reply by Julia Crowley, May 16, 2012.; Hello Craig! Yes, Oregon Pinot's steal hearts everyday! I recently had a 2009 Pinot Cuvee from ArcherySummit that was out of this word delicious. I'll be adding it to my top List, so keep an eye out for it! Cheers~

103 118: Reply by Craig Bilodeau, May 16, 2012.; Thanks, Julia! I have added it to my Wishlist!

161 38: Reply by Welkja, Mar 19.; Julia

My name is John Welk and I am a recently retired school teacher who has recently passed the advanced level WSET test .I have recently joined Snooth and I too love Oregon Pinots. I went to Oregon in September of 2012 for a week and spent most of my time near Portland visiting wineries, purchasing 3 cases to ship back home to Wisconsin and joining a boutique winery club with Utopia wines. I made it to at least 80 wineries during the vacation but did not make it down to the Eugene area. I have purchased wine from Brandborg in southern Oregon but would like to learn of other wines from this region of Oregon. I enjoy the wines of Ponzi, Bergstrom, Adelsheim, Lange, Domaine Serene, Scott Paul and others in this area. I look forward to hearing of some of the wines you enjoy from Oregon. I have thought about moving to Oregon to work as a wine educator in a winery setting.

Thank you!

John Welk

5 1386: Reply by amour, Mar 22.; Hi Julia!

See what I mean....Snooth certainly attracts exceptionally exciting WINE FOLK!!!..Julia is one of them!

We sincerely praise Willamette Valley / Oregon a great deal on Snooth....

Look above on Forum...see I pulled up the wine thread / topic GOOD MORNING....there goes Amour....me.....pointing positively to your lovely productive region, Willamette Valley!!!!

Hope to exchange notes with you on the Forum! CHEERS!

Cardwell Hills, Broadley, Argyle, Territorial...have all been commented upon, from time to time, among other fantastic Willamette Valley Wineries.

135 1384: Reply by napagirl68, Apr 3.; Hi Julia,

I am looking forward to reading your recommendations.. I love pinot, and love Oregon pinot, as well as sonoma coast, russian river, and santa cruz mts.

It has been ~6 years since I tasted physically in Willamette Valley. I need to return. At that time, Tyee winery in Corvallis had a nice Pinot Gris, and I enjoyed Pinot Noir from Bethel Heights the most. A more recent fav. is Stoller, which I was fortunate to taste here from a virtual snooth tasting a few years ago. So that was back in 2010 or so.

Most of the distributed Oregon wine (like California) is not their best offering. I, too, have issues with Argyle Nuthouse.

Based on my preference, albeit a few years old, for Bethel Heights and Stoller, do you have any other recommendations?

NG

153 360: Reply by penguinoid, Apr 4.; Hi Julia

A local wine shop currently has a couple of bottles of Argyle's Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. What's your thought on this wine? Is it likely to be a good example of Oregon pinot for some one who hasn't tried all that many?

Thanks!

103 374: Reply by Lucha Vino, Apr 5.; NG

I like Cristom and Anam Cara. Both offer several Pinot Noirs and they are all nice. I did the Stoller VT and think these compare nicely. You could also look for Adelsheim. I'm not sure what type of distribution these three wineries have. My guess is you will have an easier time finding Cristom and Adelsheim.

I have had the Argyle and would consider it to be OK. There are plenty of other Oregon Pinot Noirs out there that I prefer at the same price points.

Cheers!