Wine production in Oregon owes its existence to a band of hardy pioneers (Richard Sommer, David Lett, Charles Coury, Dick Erath) who ignored the conventional wisdom which held that the state was too wet and too cold to produce the quality of grapes required to make fine wine.  After over 40 years of grape growing and producing quality wines, the pathfinders, and those who followed closely behind, have conclusively refuted the arguments of the "soothsayers" and Oregon is now recognized as one of the world's leading cool-climate wine regions.  In this post I will examine the characteristics of Oregon ...