2025 was the year I began my deep dive into Oregon wine, specifically the Willamette Valley American Vinicultural Area (AVA). I knew Oregon is the 5^th largest wine-producing state in the US, and this particular AVA is synonymous with pinot noir. Unfortunately, that was the extent of my knowledge.

I soon learned how terroir-specific Willamette wines can be. The larger Willamette Valley AVA alone has 11 smaller AVAs embedded within its borders, each with their own unique terroir (by comparison, Napa has 16 sub-AVAs, yet produces more than 10 x as much wine).

I also didn’t realize Oregon is an up-and-coming sparkling wine producer, with production more than doubling since 2022. To better promote this trend, in July 2025 Oregon producers banded together for the inaugural launch of “Method Oregon”, which featured over 50 sparkling wines made in the Méthode Traditionnelle.

One winery that showcases both of these revelations is Trisaetum Winery, located about an hour SW of Portland. Trisaetum also makes sparkling wine under its Pashey Wine portfolio.

While the winery is in the Ribbon Ridge AVA, Trisaetum also has vineyards in the Dundee Hills and Yamhill-Carton AVAs. They make both vineyard-specific wines and ones that combine all three sites, with pinot, riesling, and chardonnay planted at each (plus some gamay at Ribbon Ridge, and pinot meunier at their Yamhill-Carton site).

Founder James Frey must get a lot of inspiration from his family, since he named both labels after family members. “Trisaetum” is a merger of the names of his two children, Tristen and Tatum. “Pashey” is named after his grandmother, a Romani woman who accepted exile from her community so she could marry James’ grandfather (her photo is tagged to the cork).

My friends and I enjoyed two wines from Trisaetum; their 2023 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, and their 2021 Pashey Estate Cuvée sparkling.

2023 Willamette Valley Pinot

This bottle is one of Triseatum’s multi-AVA wine. We found it had a ripe-sweet nose with notes of cranberry or purple flower, perhaps accompanied by some black or red cherry, even candied plums.

I thought it had a light earthy palate with soft notes fruit, especially those candied plums again. Those fruit notes were backed by silky smooth tannins, a good mid palate, and some spice notes to accompany a long, persistent finish.

Wine critics note that Oregon pinot is reminiscent of Burgundy, but I think that’s both a compliment and a crutch. I think wines like this demonstrate Oregon doesn’t need the validation of being compared with Burgundy, no matter how high a praise that may be.

Winemaking details: 57% whole cluster press (for added tannin), aged 10 months in 17% new French oak, blended from fruit from all three estate vineyards.

2021 Pashey Estates Cuvée

This wine is red fruit driven, on the nose and palate. For me, raspberries were prominent on the initial ‘attack’, with a finish that was more mineral driven. My friends had additional notes of their own, with notes of chalk or allspice thrown in.

The winemaker was extremely restrained on the dosage. If you prefer very dry sparkling wines, this is a great choice (I later looked it up and was unsurprised it was only 3.0 grams per liter).

Winemaking details: 72% pinot noir, 14% chardonnay, 14% pinot meunier sourced from all three estate vineyards. It had 3.0 g/L, putting it in the Extra Brut range (translation: it’s pretty darn dry).

One downside of living in Virginia is small west coast producers don’t have a lot of local distribution, so your best bet is to purchase online.