Pudding River Wine Cellars in Salem is an east Willamette Valley gem

If you visit only one new Oregon winery this summer, make it Pudding River Wine Cellars in Salem.

The wines are excellent, and the picturesque farm country drive to get there is quite relaxing.

Pudding River Wine Cellars is best known for: brilliant white wines.”

Our stainless steel-fermented chardonnay, in particular, sells out quickly,” Sean Allen said.

Allen is Pudding River’s winemaker and co-owner, joined by his wife, Melinda Cooper.

A “must try” current release: Despite my longtime love for Pudding River’s whites, I could not resist the 2017 Pudding River Wine Cellars Estate Pinot Noir ($35 – 13.6% ABV). This graceful pinot noir packs a lot of flavor without hitting you over the head with a ton of alcohol and new oak.

The wine’s black cherry and bittersweet dark chocolate aromas are joined by touches of cedar and violets. It is beautifully balanced, with silky tannins, bright acidity and flavors like blackcap raspberry, wild strawberry, espresso and a little caramel.

A long love affair with wine

While attending Whitman College, Allen learned that Walla Walla was surrounded by wine.

“I remember getting a Woodward Canyon chardonnay for our fraternity party. That wine really got my attention,” Allen said.

Even though he enjoyed drinking Walla Walla wines, Allen opted for a career in mechanical engineering instead of winemaking. The wine calling came much later.

When Allen’s parents-in-law purchased a 12-acre farm on the Pudding River, his father-in-law asked him if he might be interested in planting pinot noir vines there. Allen said he quit his job in Seattle and moved straight to Oregon – his 13-year mechanical engineering career was over.

When Allen arrived in Oregon in 2004, he helped plant 3 acres of pinot noir on a property once home to a chicken poultry farm. He then studied winemaking at Chemeketa Community College’s Wine Studies program in 2005, followed by his first commercial vintage in 2006.

Today, Allen owns the property housing his winery and vineyard, where he makes approximately 1,200 cases annually. Pudding River wines range from Walla Walla syrah and malbec to Oregon pinot gris and chardonnay.

What we didn’t know: Allen operates a custom crush program where he makes wine for others, like the Puffin Wines he makes for Steven and Maryann Sinkler.

The Sinklers sell the popular Puffin wines at their retail store in Cannon Beach, the Wine Shack.

Fun facts: Pudding River’s rooster logo reflects that their winery building was once a pole barn for a chicken poultry farm.

Allen said the Pudding River, a tributary of the Molalla River, was originally named Riviere au Boudin by French fur trappers. The name is in honor of a blood pudding they made from an elk shot near the river.

Last live concert attended: Celine Dion in Hyde Park. Allen was visiting London, England, in the summer of 2019 when he stumbled upon Dion’s show, which he described as “awesome.”

Biggest inspiration: “Barney Watson,” Allen said. Allen explained that Watson, who had retired from Oregon State University after a 28-year career as an enology extension specialist, went to Chemeketa Community College to help open the program’s winery in 2005.

“He was a legend, and suddenly he was my professor. So much of what I do now, I learned from him,” Allen said.

Key insight: Allen said the east Willamette Valley’s climate helped create a different wine experience for consumers.

“Because we are up against the Cascade Foothills, we get more cloud coverage, cooler temperatures and a little bit more rain, 2-3 inches maybe, than other parts of the valley. That keeps our alcohol numbers low and helps to preserve the acidity and floral notes of white wines out here,” Allen said.

Allen added that the east Willamette Valley’s climate also makes for lighter-bodied, balanced pinot noirs that are lower in alcohol. “My pinots rarely go above 14% ABV,” Allen said.