Biodynamic Vine Wine Tops Portland Monthly's Oregon's 50 Best Wines List

A single vineyard designate Pinot Noir from Momtazi's Biodynamic vineyards made the #1 spot in Portland Monthly magazine's annual list of Oregon's 50 Best Wines. The contest was judged by 12 top Portland wine experts who are well versed in Oregon's offerings and was said to have selected from the broadest field of entries, more than in any previous year.

#1. Pinot Noir, St. Innocent Vineyards, Momtazi Vineyard - 2013

Winemaker Mark Vlossak of St. Innocent Vineyards made the winning 2013 Pinot Noir from Momtazi Vineyard, located in the McMinnville AVA. He leases 8 acres on a hilltop on the estate for this wine. Cases made: 1008. Price: $36.

Kudos to St. Innocent for putting a description of the vineyard on the back of the bottle, including a mention of the vineyard's Biodynamic certification. It would be great if more vintners making single vineyard designate wines would do this.

#6. Pinot Noir, Montinore Estate, Parson's Ridge - 2013

Montinore Estate, the second biggest Biodynamic vineyard in Oregon and in the U.S. (after King Estate), often gets the critics' love for its $20 Red Cap Pinot. Eric Asimov of the New York Times featured it in his Wine School post this week. So it's great to see that the winery's finer, single block wines are also getting some attention.

#21. Roussanne, Cowhorn - 2014
#37. Viognier, Cowhorn - 2014

Cowhorn, located in southern Oregon's hot Jackson County, is a great Rhone wine producer and their wines are perennial favorites on the top Oregon 50 list. Grown on their 25 acre estate, on cobbly soils first planted with the help of Alan York, a famed Biodynamic consultant (who also helped Sting with his vineyard in Tuscany), both their red and white wines are standouts.

Strangely this year there were no wines from Temperance Hill, Oregon's largest organic vineyard and a usual favorite, or Eyrie or Brooks, other top producers who usually make the list. Perhaps the experts wanted to give some other wineries or newcomers a chance.