🇬🇧 Joseph Drouhin in Oregon: Burgundy Meets the New World

In the world of fine wine, few estates embody tradition, innovation, and vision quite like Joseph Drouhin. Renowned for its historic Burgundy wines, this family-run domaine made a bold move in 1987 by planting roots in Oregon. Decades later, it's hailed as one of the most elegant bridges between Old World finesse and New World vibrancy.

🌎 A Dream of Pinot Noir Across the Atlantic

It began in the 1980s when Robert Drouhin, then head of the Burgundy estate, tasted some of the early Pinot Noirs from Oregon’s Willamette Valley. He was impressed by their freshness, structure, and age-worthiness. In 1987, he founded Domaine Drouhin Oregon in the Dundee Hills — becoming the first Burgundy house to invest in the New World.

This wasn’t an attempt to replicate Burgundy, but rather to explore a new expression of Pinot Noir: slightly sunnier, more generous, yet rooted in balance and elegance.

🍇 The Drouhin Signature: Finesse, Precision, Balance

Domaine Drouhin Oregon operates with a deep Burgundian spirit:

• Organic and sustainable farming

• Hand-harvesting

• Gravity-flow vinification

• French oak barrel aging, often from their own cooperage

The resulting wines — Pinot Noir and Chardonnay — reflect Oregon’s terroir while embracing the freshness, subtlety, and structure that define the Drouhin style.

The Pinot Noir is supple and complex, with red berry notes and a mineral-driven finish. The Chardonnay is precise, citrusy, and beautifully saline.

🧬 A Family Story on Two Continents

Today, the wines are crafted by Véronique Drouhin-Boss, the family's winemaker. Working between Beaune and Dundee Hills, she applies a cohesive philosophy that honors both regions without compromise.

“We’re not trying to recreate Burgundy in Oregon,” she often says. “We are simply letting Pinot Noir speak in a new voice, through a new place.”

🏅 International Recognition

Over 35 years since its first vintage, Domaine Drouhin Oregon stands among the most respected names in the Willamette Valley. Their wines prove that a heritage French house can fully embrace a foreign terroir — and elevate it with grace.