Patricia Green Cellars

Established in 2000, Patricia Green Cellars is located in the Ribbon Ridge Appellation of the Willamette Valley on a 52-acre estate purchased by Patty Green and Jim Anderson. The winery, and thus the two friends are noted for producing a broad selection of Pinot Noirs from vineyards representing some of the best sites in the Willamette Valley AVA with a particular focus on Ribbon Ridge, Dundee Hills, and the Chehalem Mountains sub-appellations. Patricia Green Cellars strives to produce Pinot Noir that shows the distinct characteristics of individual sites and vintages within the context of the wines.

In each vineyard a unique combination of geology, topography, elevation, aspect to the sun, degree of slope, type of water, age of vine, clonal material, flora and fauna that come together to make up the concept that is referred to as terroir. All their vineyards are either organically or sustainably farmed to produce a range of textures, aromatics, and flavors that are specific to the site from which they are harvested. Their goal is to work with unique vineyards that have wide ranging profiles so that they can showcase Oregon Pinot Noir at its best.

The winery currently produces 10,000 cases annually, 90-95% of which is solely dedicated toward the production of Pinot Noir. It’s well worth noting that more of Patricia Green Cellars wines have scored 90 points or higher than any other Oregon winery since 2000. To date, eighty nine of their releases have been rated 90 points or above and late last month, they received 100-points from the Wine Enthusiast for their 2016 Estate Vineyard Bonshaw Block Pinot Noir, making them the first Willamette Valley winery to achieve a perfect score. 

Critical Acclaim

Pinot Noirs from the Willamette Valley have been firmly in the national and international consciousness for decades now. More acreage is devoted to vinifera grapes than ever before and the number of wineries has increased rapidly over the past decades. People and companies have moved from all over the world to acquire land and wineries in Oregon’s wine country. Seemingly everything that could happen to a wine industry has occurred, from David Lett’s iconic 1975 Eyrie Pinot Noir stealing the show in Paris decades ago to becoming one of the most recognized and visited Pinot Noir producing regions in the world. 

However, despite the ever-increasing quality and quantity of Pinot Noir, none of the nationally circulated wine publications has ever awarded a Willamette Valley wine 100-points. A perfect score on the widely used system for rating wines. Until now.

On April 17, 2018 The Wine Enthusiast released their Advanced Buying Guide for the June issue and published the following review:

100: Patricia Green Cellars 2016 Estate Vineyard Bonshaw Block Pinot Noir (Ribbon Ridge): This 100% Pommard clone wine from a 1990 planting is immensely deep, dark and textural, with complex aromas that instantly draw one in. Its compact berry, plum jam and baking spice scents come with underlying mineral and earth notes. It hits the palate with a powerfully woven matrix of lush flavors: blueberry, plum, cherry, chocolate, butterscotch and toasted coconut. It’s thick, supple and lingering—an ethereal and extraordinary wine.”

Patricia Green Cellars has been producing wine in rural, northwest Newberg in what is now known as the Ribbon Ridge AVA since 2000. In November of last year co-founder and winery namesake Patty Green unexpectedly passed away at her home in Roseburg. She had just turned 62 at the time of her passing.

“While we are, of course, honored to receive this sort of praise for one of our wines I think it is important for people to know that this region was destined for this and that there are more of these to come,” commented co-owner and winemaker Jim Anderson. “Not only was this wine made by the vineyard and vintage it was made possible by everyone who has worked in the winery and vineyard over the years, by our neighbors, friends, colleagues that contributed information, knowledge and support and by the wineries and winemakers that came before us that set the stage and tone for this industry to thrive. The Willamette Valley does not need a 100 point score to serve as validation for what is happening here but since we have one everyone should take some measure of pride that we’re on the board now.” — Paul Gregutt