La Crema's Oregon wine debut, Union Wine Co. soars: Wednesday Wine Roundup

(OregonLive) - Competition proved fierce for space in this week’s Wednesday Wine Roundup, but the result should be rewarding.

There are two significant entries about Oregon’s commercial wine industry, as well as more news that wine, very literally, save lives.

And if that’s not enough, we’ll spill the juice on San Francisco's first new vineyard in more than a century.

Dizzy with anticipation? We are, too. As always, it’s all the news that’s fit to sip.

1. Jackson Family Wines unveils its first Oregon pinot noir

One of the biggest developments for Oregon’s wine industry in 2013 was word that California wine giant Jackson Family Wines was leading a wave of out-of-state investments.

A story in Marketwired says the company this spring will unveil its first Oregon product when the La Crema 2012 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir is released. At a suggested retail price of $30, the offering will fit nicely among the middle tier of Oregon pinot price points.

2. Union Wine Company’s “industrial chateau”

Staying in the Beaver State, winemaker Ryan Harms continues to create a buzz from his “industrial chateau” tucked in the middle of a manufacturing area in Tualatin.

Forbes.com’s story, the third in a series exploring wine-industry business models, charts the rapid growth of Harms’ Union Wine Company. With total winery production of 100,000 cases, Harms is now one of the state’s larger wine concerns.

3. California pinots get a make-up call

We took a little too much pleasure in last week’s roundup pointing out that not a single California pinot got a shout-out from Chilean winemaker Vina Leyda. So when we saw that wine blogger Jamie Goode found 10 Golden State pinots that “will blow your mind,” we knew what we had to do.

It’s fair to note that Goode doled out 95-point scores like they are going out of style and that one wine had a "haunting minerality." Still, we’re all Left Coaster’s here so no worries, right?