Illahe Vineyards — Pinot Gris — Willamette Valley, Oregon — 2025
Price: $23; IllaheVineyards.com
To be honest, this wine made me wonder if I even liked Pinot Gris. Illahe Vineyard’s 2025 Pinot Gris wasn’t my favorite, but it gaslit me in a way that I felt like it was my fault. I mean, how can I not love a wine from Oregon?
This Willamette Valley wine had a pungent scent. The tartness of lemon zest was immediate, followed by a soft apple. First sips leaned heavily into tart apple, like a green apple, and a lemony tingle.
This pale gold Pinot Gris was very high in acidity at the start, which had a long finish, and after several sips, my stomach started to hurt from the acid. This is when I started to wonder if perhaps Pinot Gris was not my cup of tea wine. I’ve had Pinot Grigio several times before, but it was usually from cheaper bottles of wine that I would find in my sister’s fridge. And they didn’t taste as tart as this.
After leaving the wine open in my fridge for about 30 minutes (and then 10 minutes on my counter), I could taste a difference in the wine. Mostly, it felt softer. The longer exposure to air and a little warmth took away a lot of acidity. It was almost creamier, and had a hint of honey, like a natural very slight sweetness was finally invited to the party.
I wasn’t expecting to have to give this wine nearly 45 minutes of air to make it shine, especially since it’s a young white wine. But this wine needs it. It goes from super tart lemons and green apples to a soft and sweet apple creaminess with that time. But even then, the wine wasn’t hitting well with me, probably because I already had the upset stomach from the early acidity.
My score is then based on an unexpected added 40 minutes for this Oregon Pinot Gris to reach its potential, the early sourness and eventual palatability.
Score: 6.5
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