By Gina Trippi

Located in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, Torii Mor Winery is a real American story, a melting pot. It was founded by Oregon-born neurosurgeon Dr. Donald Olson in 1993, and was at the forefront of Oregon’s burgeoning wine industry. As with so much American culture, its name, style and staff draw on international influences.

Olson was committed to the Burgundian style and the Willamette Valley was the perfect location for him to pursue a domestic equivalent of Burgundy. The first winemaker, Jacques Tardy, was an eighth-generation Burgundian winemaker from Nuit-Saint-Georges who brought the enduring French style and tradition.

In naming the winery, Dr. Olson wanted to convey the winery’s strong connection to the earth. Torii, borrowed from Japanese, refers to the ornate gates often seen at the entrances of gardens. Mor, meaning “earth,” was chosen as an homage to Olson’s Scandinavian heritage. The phrase creates a linguistic concept meant to convey a “beautiful gate to the earth.”

Today, Jon Tomaselli is head winemaker for Torii Mor. Three years ago, Metro Wines met with Tomaselli, who is of Sicilian heritage. With three generations of Italian winemakers in his family, he began, at four years old, assisting the elder Tomasellis in the vineyards, and by eight, he already knew his calling in life: wine.

Tomaselli began his career brokering wine grapes from California to wineries. But after moving to Oregon in 2006, his focus began to change from the sale of wine to the art of it. He was offered a position at Torii Mor and by 2007 was promoted to associate winemaker.

Tomaselli explained to us that the winemaker can control the weight of the wine. He is suitably unhappy with what has happened to most domestic versions of pinot noir. The wine has become “too big, unbalanced and unstructured, just too much,” says Tomaselli. He likened the process of controlling body to dipping a tea bag in a cup of hot water. “Every time you dip the bag, the tea becomes stronger,” he says. “It’s the same with wine.”

The 2019 Pinot Noir from Willamette Valley has rich, complex aromas, with ripe blueberries and blackberries, earth and oak notes framed by perfumes of wild flowers and roses. The forward flavors have balanced acidity, leading to concentrated blueberries and blackberries enhanced by notes of cooking and oak spices. The palate is rich, complex and elegant, with a long finish.

The 2021 Pinot Gris is a light golden color in the glass. On the nose, you will find aromas of fresh pears, ripe apples and yellow peaches, with honeysuckle floral notes. The palate presents a bright, refreshing acidity, followed by notes of ripe apples and pears and delicate spice notes.

These international influences have blended to make superior domestic versions of pinot gris and pinot noir perfect for the melting pot that is the Thanksgiving table!

Gina Trippi is the co-owner of Metro Wines, 169 Charlotte Street in Asheville. Gina can be reached at gina@metrowinesasheville.com or 828.575.9525.