Meh. We're a pinot nois state.

Isn't pinot gris supposed to be dull?

Hmm. Pinot gris is my favorite wine. Guess I'm dull.

9 out of 10 times, I order good beer anyway.

Oregon wines are generally thin and dull. I'm unconvinced by the hype over the past 10 years. Winning contests I've never heard of mean nothing to me.

Low cost French or Italian wines usually have better flavor and more body than many of the celebrated (and more expensive) Oregon wines.

Anne Amie is owned by sand, gravel and newspaper tycoon Bob Pamplin (his daugthers are named Anne and Amy).

I'll be excited when Oregon produces a good malbec, though I'm wondering if that will require a couple more decades of global warming.

Hmm... This one sadly falls in the Who Cares department for me. As I understand it the vast majority of Oregon wine is made from Washington grown grapes. It all seems rather over priced compared to competition from Chile, Australia, Italy, Spain, etc. etc. etc.

Bergstrom.

Many of the best Oregon Pinot Gris' (Noirs too) are from smaller wineries that lack East Coast name recognition. Or produce amounts that get sold quickly to their fans/club members, so don't have a more commercial following.

Mike D... stick to Bordeaux... not everyone has the complex palate to appreciate an Oregon Pinot Noir.

Gil... Southern Oregon could easily turn out a nice Malbec... and I believe a couple Rogue Valley wineries are doing a pretty nice job already.

2006 Pinot Gris from Van Duzer Winery was nice.

I'm thinking that the upper Columbia River Valley / Wenatchee area might be a nice location for Malbec. Also, a new area in the Horse Heaven Hills along the north side of the Columbia just east of the I -82 bridge. Everybody out there seems to be growing more and more cab, though. Too damn much cab.

Gil Johnson and pacnwjay, have you tried Abacela's (Roseburg) malbec?:
http://www.abacela.com/Wines/Malbec06.htm

Certainly less expensive malbecs can be obtained from France, Chile, Argentina, and CA; but Abacela's will not disappoint, which can be said about virtually all of their many vintages.

pacnwjay's observation regarding the lack of East Coast distribution is accurate. OR has so many smaller vineyards that there really is no "OR pinot gris." RoxyAnn, for example, favors fruit, while Siltstone, for another example, emphasizes minerality. The few OR wines that reach NYC cannot be taken as standard or even representative. One thing that can be said: you needn't spend $20 to obtain an intriguing OR pinot gris.

Nonny Mouse, Central WA, which accounts for the majority of that state's 600+ registered vineyards, does produce a lot of cab; but why travel so far when varietal bliss is near. Try Cor and Syncline in Lyle, just east of White Salmon. Indeed, the whole Hood River/White Salmon region has become rather exciting; the number of wineries has been increasing every year. Have you tried Maryhill's cab franc? If you have the time, head east to Walla Walla, where sangiovese is very popular. Save an hour to visit Zerba on this side of the river.

Gardner -

Why travel so far when varietal bliss is near you ask?

Best reason in the word. 'cause my sweetie lives in Kennewick.