As the climate shifts and old vines adapt, Maison Bollinger bets on an Oregon identity still waiting to be discovered<\/strong><\/h3>\nwritten by Erika Mantovan<\/em><\/p>\nThere is a before and an after Bollinger\u2019s acquisition of Ponzi Vineyards<\/a>.<\/strong> And for anyone wondering whether the Champagne house plans to make sparkling wine in Oregon, the answer during our visit was a \u201cno\u201d: that was never the intention from the start. The aim of the investment is a vision of the potential of a rising region for still wines, a sustainable approach to the vineyard, the family, and the seriousness of the project. These are the real levers that moved the house famous for having James Bond drink its Champagne to invest in the Laurelwood District AVA<\/strong>.<\/p>\nWinemaker Max Bruening<\/strong>, the first from outside the family to lead the cellar, who tells us about his wines with real passion, confirms Oregon\u2019s potential when it comes to climate: this year, July was the second coolest since 2015, with only four days above 90\u00b0F (about 32\u00b0C), compared with around fifteen last year.<\/p>\nA climate that is rewriting the calendar<\/strong><\/h3>\nSummer 2026<\/strong> has followed a bell-curve pattern: temperatures sitting in the mid-to-upper 70s, creeping up to a peak of about 94-95\u00b0F, then dropping right back down. A breather after seasons that forced a rethink of everything. \u201cEvery year, more and more, we are seeing that window open.\u201d<\/p>\nThis year bud break came two weeks early and bloom a week to a week and a half early. In 2025 harvest ran from September 1st to September 28th, \u201cvery compressed<\/em>\u201c: ten years ago picking began around the 11th, with a little fruit for sparkling wine. 2022 was the first year with a hard late frost, at the end of April: some sites were hit very hard, others hardly at all. With bud break at the end of March, \u201cyou\u2019re not out of all the sporadic winter<\/em>,\u201d like the cold snaps that come down from Canada. And the problem is harder now that the vineyards are organic: in 2026 Ponzi obtained CCOF certification<\/strong> (CCOF certification (the leading organic guarantee mark in the United States, issued by an independent body, certifying compliance with strict USDA Organic standards, with no GMOs or synthetic pesticides throughout production).<\/p>\nThe response is agronomic and in the cellar. For the winemaker, \u201cthe heat isn\u2019t going anywhere<\/em>,\u201d so he works with Pinot Noir at lower pH. In the vineyard he is rediscovering the heritage clones<\/strong>, which ripen well in a warmer climate and \u201cyou never lose that acidity\u201d<\/em>: a tool to bring a wine back into focus, with an \u201cintentional linearity.<\/em>\u201d He also looks to geography: \u201cIf we want to continue to do that here, we need to plant higher and we need to plant closer to the coast.\u201d<\/em> The most recent vineyard bought by the family, the furthest west and highest in elevation, points in that direction: roughly every decade the Ponzis buy a new one, looking to where the climate is heading. All producing vineyards remain dry-farmed, with no irrigation.<\/p>\nThe wind helps. At Ponzi, on the northeast side of the Chehalem Mountains<\/strong>, it doesn\u2019t come from the Van Duzer Corridor<\/strong> as it does in Eola-Amity, but from the Columbia River Gorge<\/strong>, from the north: \u201cit helps move stagnant air around<\/em>\u201d and favors thicker skins, and so more tannin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/vertdevin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/planting-abetina.jpg\")
<\/a><\/div>\n1975 \u2013 Planted Abetina Vineyard in the Laurelwood District alongside Oregon State University.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/vertdevin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/B4CC4588-789F-43AC-90F8-BC8AC0C18B4C-1920x1920-3.jpg\")
<\/a><\/div>\n1981 \u2013 Introduced the first commercial Pinot Gris ever produced in the United States.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nHistory: from pioneers to Bollinger<\/strong><\/h3>\nDick Ponzi left California, where he was an engineer on \u201cthe Disney teacup ride<\/strong>,<\/em>\u201d and moved to Oregon in search of a cooler climate, inspired by the wines of Alsace, \u201cbefore there was even an industry.<\/em>\u201d The winery was founded in 1970. The first vineyard in what is now the Laurelwood District, Abetina, was planted in 1975. In 1981 came the first commercial Pinot Gris in the United States. The 1983 Pinot Noir Reserve is the one that, they say, changed Parker\u2019s perception of Oregon: \u201ca reference point for American Pinot Noir.\u201d The sustainability path began in 1997 and led to LIVE certification in 2000, three years later. In 2020 Laurelwood became the first American AVA defined by geology and not just geography.<\/p>\n
There is a before and an after Bollinger\u2019s acquisition of Ponzi Vineyards<\/a>.<\/strong> And for anyone wondering whether the Champagne house plans to make sparkling wine in Oregon, the answer during our visit was a \u201cno\u201d: that was never the intention from the start. The aim of the investment is a vision of the potential of a rising region for still wines, a sustainable approach to the vineyard, the family, and the seriousness of the project. These are the real levers that moved the house famous for having James Bond drink its Champagne to invest in the Laurelwood District AVA<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Winemaker Max Bruening<\/strong>, the first from outside the family to lead the cellar, who tells us about his wines with real passion, confirms Oregon\u2019s potential when it comes to climate: this year, July was the second coolest since 2015, with only four days above 90\u00b0F (about 32\u00b0C), compared with around fifteen last year.<\/p>\n Summer 2026<\/strong> has followed a bell-curve pattern: temperatures sitting in the mid-to-upper 70s, creeping up to a peak of about 94-95\u00b0F, then dropping right back down. A breather after seasons that forced a rethink of everything. \u201cEvery year, more and more, we are seeing that window open.\u201d<\/p>\n This year bud break came two weeks early and bloom a week to a week and a half early. In 2025 harvest ran from September 1st to September 28th, \u201cvery compressed<\/em>\u201c: ten years ago picking began around the 11th, with a little fruit for sparkling wine. 2022 was the first year with a hard late frost, at the end of April: some sites were hit very hard, others hardly at all. With bud break at the end of March, \u201cyou\u2019re not out of all the sporadic winter<\/em>,\u201d like the cold snaps that come down from Canada. And the problem is harder now that the vineyards are organic: in 2026 Ponzi obtained CCOF certification<\/strong> (CCOF certification (the leading organic guarantee mark in the United States, issued by an independent body, certifying compliance with strict USDA Organic standards, with no GMOs or synthetic pesticides throughout production).<\/p>\n The response is agronomic and in the cellar. For the winemaker, \u201cthe heat isn\u2019t going anywhere<\/em>,\u201d so he works with Pinot Noir at lower pH. In the vineyard he is rediscovering the heritage clones<\/strong>, which ripen well in a warmer climate and \u201cyou never lose that acidity\u201d<\/em>: a tool to bring a wine back into focus, with an \u201cintentional linearity.<\/em>\u201d He also looks to geography: \u201cIf we want to continue to do that here, we need to plant higher and we need to plant closer to the coast.\u201d<\/em> The most recent vineyard bought by the family, the furthest west and highest in elevation, points in that direction: roughly every decade the Ponzis buy a new one, looking to where the climate is heading. All producing vineyards remain dry-farmed, with no irrigation.<\/p>\n The wind helps. At Ponzi, on the northeast side of the Chehalem Mountains<\/strong>, it doesn\u2019t come from the Van Duzer Corridor<\/strong> as it does in Eola-Amity, but from the Columbia River Gorge<\/strong>, from the north: \u201cit helps move stagnant air around<\/em>\u201d and favors thicker skins, and so more tannin.<\/p>\n Dick Ponzi left California, where he was an engineer on \u201cthe Disney teacup ride<\/strong>,<\/em>\u201d and moved to Oregon in search of a cooler climate, inspired by the wines of Alsace, \u201cbefore there was even an industry.<\/em>\u201d The winery was founded in 1970. The first vineyard in what is now the Laurelwood District, Abetina, was planted in 1975. In 1981 came the first commercial Pinot Gris in the United States. The 1983 Pinot Noir Reserve is the one that, they say, changed Parker\u2019s perception of Oregon: \u201ca reference point for American Pinot Noir.\u201d The sustainability path began in 1997 and led to LIVE certification in 2000, three years later. In 2020 Laurelwood became the first American AVA defined by geology and not just geography.<\/p>\nA climate that is rewriting the calendar<\/strong><\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/div><\/a><\/div>History: from pioneers to Bollinger<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/vertdevin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/IMG_2847.heic\")
<\/a><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/vertdevin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/IMG_2848.heic\")
<\/a><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n