McMINNVILLE, ORE. — Willamette Valley sparkling wine caught the perfect wave.

Just as bubbly experienced an upswell in demand, the region was ready with a surge in supply of traditional method sparkling wines.

That led to rave reviews and more momentum.

Oregon already is recognized for world class Pinot noir, but experts believe the Willamette Valley can become the new world equivalent of Champagne.

“We’re not there yet, but we could be. They do have a 400-year head start on us,” quipped Andrew Davis, founder of Radiant Sparkling Wine Company.

Increased production

When Davis was the winemaker at Argyle Winery, peers asked him about helping them make traditional method sparkling wines, which are notoriously difficult and costly.

In 2013, Davis launched Radiant to ease those barriers to entry with the state’s first custom sparkling winemaking company. He hoped to get 10 clients and produce 5,000 cases to become profitable.

“We’re at 38 clients, about 38,000 cases of wine,” Davis said.

The Oregon Wine Board didn’t have traditional method sparkling wine data, but insiders estimated the state’s production was roughly 150,000 cases.

A dozen years ago, Oregon’s sparkling production was estimated at about 30,000 cases, almost all from Argyle.

Oregon then had just a handful of traditional sparkling producers but now there are more than 100, according to Vinovate Custom Wine Services, a custom crush facility.

The company announced April 30 it had acquired Radiant, which could expand production as it creates the state’s first full-spectrum sparkling service provider.

Vinovate can supply customers base wines for sparkling and the Radiant team will continue to bring tiny bubbles to life.

Contractors spur change

Jim Bernau, founder of Willamette Valley Vineyards, one of Oregon’s largest wineries, credited the state’s production increase to contractors such as Davis.

He became one of Radiant’s first clients and now produces 2,000 cases of sparkling for Domaine Willamette, a $20 million tasting room that opened in the Dundee Hills in 2022.

“That’s how it made sense for the industry. That was the puzzle to solve,” Bernau said.

Traditional method sparkling wine requires specialized knowledge and expensive riddling and disgorging machinery from Europe.

Contractors that had the expertise and equipment allowed wineries to dive into sparkling without heavy investment.

“I joked with my wife, ‘We didn’t buy a house. We bought a bottling line,’” said Kenny McMahon.

In 2024, the couple started the Oregon Sparkling Wine Company in Amity, Ore. He and Allison McMahon help clients produce 9,000 cases of bubby.

They also founded Arabilis Wines, and 90% of production, or about 1,500 cases a year, is sparkling.

McMahon said as wineries release more traditional method, various styles will surface. “You’ll see a lot of different tiers in terms of price point and quality,” he said.

Argyle and Oregon’s sparkling ‘godfather’

The Willamette Valley has produced outstanding bubbly for decades, but as an outlier.

Experts described Rollin Soles as the “godfather” of the segment. He created Argyle Winery in 1987 in Dundee, Ore., aiming to make high quality sparkling wine.

“We always felt like one hand clapping in the woods because nobody else was showing up to make sparkling wines,” Soles said.

Argyle also makes still Chardonnay and Pinot noir, but never lost its emphasis on sparkling, becoming the standard in Pacific Northwest grocery stores and the fridges of savvy residents.

“There is a sense of pride that we see in consumers,” said Kate Payne Brown, Argyle’s current head winemaker.

Argyle has grown in recent years, and now produces 120,000 cases annually, 40,000 to 50,000 of which are sparkling wine.

Payne Brown and Erica Miller, Argyle’s vineyard manager, don’t see new sparkling makers as competitors, but rather as participants in a movement that will boost the industry.

Miller said there’s plenty of market space for new sparkling producers.

Rave reviews for Oregon sparkling

Soles moved on to other ventures long ago, founding ROCO Winery with his wife Corby Stonebraker-Soles in 2003 and helping Davis start Radiant.

ROCO’s 2013 RMS Brut Delayed Disgorgement 10-year Sparkling topped Wine Enthusiast’s 100 Best Wines of 2024.

It was the first Oregon wine to achieve the No. 1 spot on the list, beating out 23,000 bottles from around the world.

“It boosts sales, for sure,” said Soles, who has had 14 wines crack Wine Enthusiast’s top 100 over the years, including still Pinot noir and Chardonnay.

Also on the list were Willamette Valley sparkling offerings from CHO Wines (No. 32), Corollary Wines (No. 36) and Domaine Serene (No. 40), and sparkling from Irvine & Roberts Vineyards in Southern Oregon (No. 71).

All Oregon wines in the ranking were sparkling.

Great climate for grapes

Pinot noir and Chardonnay form the foundation of traditional sparkling, along with lesser known Pinot meunier.

Wine is seen as an expression of place and experts think Willamette Valley growing conditions, including climate and soil, are amongst the best in the world for those grapes.

The relatively high latitude and cool temperatures allow grapes to retain intense fruit character with lower sugar, so the taste is elegant rather than powerful.

The grapes, which are picked early, also don’t lose the high mineral acidity that makes the best sparkling wines, insiders said.

North facing slopes that are higher elevation and cooler work better for sparkling, opening up acreage considered poor for still wines. Once fallow land now could have considerable value.

Increased demand

For generations, great moments have been celebrated with a glass of Champagne.

Experts said less expensive sparkling and sweet fizzy wines boomed in popularity in the early 2000s, serving as a gateway to Champagne as enthusiasts grew more affluent and discerning.

Sparkling sales also skyrocketed during the pandemic as people stuck at home tried to lighten their lives.

That built appreciation of sparkling as a complex and nuanced accompaniment to meals.

Bernau said carbonation in bubbly lifts aromas up into the nose and helps flavors dance on the tongue.

“It’s a supercharged wine,” he added.

Focused solely on sparkling

Experts said Oregon will see new businesses solely focused on sparkling rather than adding bubbly as a side gig.

That’s already happening to an extent.

En Tirage, a bar dedicated to traditional method sparkling wine, opened in 2024 in Dundee, Ore.

Sparkling aficionados Jeanne Feldkamp and her husband Dan Diephouse ditched tech industry jobs to start Corollary Wines in 2017.

“We were like, ‘Why isn’t there more sparkling here?’” she recalled.

The couple, who are Radiant clients, only make sparkling, producing 2,000 cases annually.

In 2022, they purchased a former timber property 800 feet above sea level near Amity, Ore. They planted a vineyard, which will boost production, and built a tasting room designed from the ground up for sparkling.

“There’s really not another winery like it,” Diephouse said.

Method Oregon Grand Tasting

Winemakers said the Willamette Valley’s sparkling segment must capitalize on its momentum.

“Early Pinot noir producers got together and did a good job branding together as an entire region,” Feldkamp said. The same collaboration can create the reputation of Oregon as a world class region for sparkling wine.

The inaugural Method Oregon Grand Tasting, scheduled for July 26 at Domaine Willamette, is seen as a first step toward building a proper scene.

More than 50 traditional method wines from 22 wineries will be featured at the event.

Bernau created Domaine Willamette as a sparkling showcase and said more venues will emerge.

“In time, people — wine and culinary enthusiasts — will fly from all over the world to drive out into wine country to visit these facilities. They will become one of Oregon’s crown jewels,” Bernau said.