In 2023, Time put the Willamette Valley on its annual list of the World’s Greatest Places — and called it “the next Napa.” The honor looked sudden. It was sixty years in the making.
When Time magazine named the Willamette Valley one of the World’s Greatest Places of 2023, the rest of the country seemed to discover Oregon wine overnight.[1] For those of us who spend our days here, the recognition felt less like a debut than a long-overdue curtain call. The valley did not become great in 2023. It simply got noticed — and the story of how it earned the notice is the best reason to visit.
What Time actually said
Each year Time publishes its World’s Greatest Places — roughly fifty destinations its editors and correspondents single out as the most worth your time. In its 2023 edition, the fifth annual list, the Willamette Valley made the cut, praised as a “pinot noir powerhouse” and, in the headline that traveled fastest, “the next Napa.”[1] The magazine pointed to the sheer growth of the place: a wine scene that has expanded from a literal handful of vineyards in the 1960s to more than 700 wineries across Oregon today.[2]
| The honor | Time, World’s Greatest Places 2023 (5th annual list)[1] |
|---|---|
| Time’s phrase | “The next Napa” · a “pinot noir powerhouse”[1] |
| Why now | Growth from a handful of 1960s vineyards to 700+ Oregon wineries[2] |
| An AVA since | 1983 — today with 11 nested sub-appellations[3] |
The sixty-year overnight success
The phrase “the next Napa” is a compliment with a short memory. The Willamette Valley’s rise was anything but instant. It began in 1965, when a young Californian named David Lett arrived with a car full of Pinot Noir cuttings and a conviction — widely considered foolish at the time — that this cool, grey valley could ripen Burgundy’s most temperamental grape.[4] He was right, and the proof came in Paris.
In 1979, Lett’s 1975 Eyrie South Block Pinot Noir placed tenth among the Pinot Noirs at a vast blind tasting run by the French magazine Gault-Millau. The Burgundian house of Joseph Drouhin, rattled, staged a rematch the next January — and the Oregon wine came second by two-tenths of a point.[4] That is the deeper story behind Time’s headline, and we tell it in full in the valley’s own Paris moment.
- 1965
- David Lett brings Oregon’s first Pinot Noir cuttings north, planting them at a Corvallis nursery.[4]
- 1966
- Lett sets the Eyrie Vineyard in the Dundee Hills — the valley’s first Pinot Noir planting in the modern era.[4]
- 1979–80
- Eyrie’s 1975 Pinot stuns Paris, then finishes a razor-thin second to Drouhin in the Beaune rematch.[4]
- 1983
- The Willamette Valley is established as an American Viticultural Area.[3]
- 2023
- Time names the valley one of the World’s Greatest Places.[1]
It took the valley sixty years to become an overnight success — and that history is exactly what you taste in the glass.
Why the honor is really an invitation
A magazine list is a fine thing, but it is a postcard, not the place. What makes the Willamette Valley worth the trip is not that Time said so — it is that every hillside here carries the story above: the stubborn pioneers, the Paris tastings, the medieval idea of terroir that explains why one slope tastes of dark cherry and the next of forest floor. You can read the whole arc in the history of Oregon wine, and you can taste it on a visit. If you are weighing whether to come, our guide to planning a first trip is the place to start.
The valley’s recognition has made its tasting rooms busier and more appointment-driven than ever, especially in the September–October harvest weeks. Book ahead, keep the day unhurried, and let someone who knows the back roads — and the history — do the driving.
That is exactly what we do. Coming to see the place Time put on the map is the easy part; making a day of it that you will still be telling stories about is ours. When you are ready, our private Willamette Valley wine tours turn the headline into a day in the hills where it all happened.
Related reading: Planning your first trip · The best vineyard views · The history of Oregon wine
Frequently asked questions
Why did Time name the Willamette Valley one of the World’s Greatest Places?
In its 2023 list, Time praised the valley as a “pinot noir powerhouse” and “the next Napa,” citing its growth from a handful of 1960s vineyards to more than 700 Oregon wineries.
When did the Willamette Valley make Time’s World’s Greatest Places list?
In 2023, on Time’s fifth annual World’s Greatest Places list of roughly fifty destinations worldwide.
Sources
- “Willamette Valley, Oregon: World’s Greatest Places 2023,” Time. time.com/6261537/willamette-valley-oregon
- “‘The next Napa’: Willamette Valley makes Time’s list of ‘World’s Greatest Places’” (growth from 1960s vineyards to 700+ Oregon wineries), KGW / Wine Industry Advisor, March 2023. kgw.com
- “Willamette Valley” and “Oregon Wine AVAs” (AVA established 1983; 11 nested sub-AVAs), Oregon Wine Board. oregonwine.org/regions/avas
- “Wine Legend: The Eyrie Vineyards South Block Reserve Pinot Noir 1975,” Decanter; “History of Oregon wine,” Wikipedia; Oregon Wine History Archive (Lett’s 1965 cuttings / 1966 Eyrie planting; 1979 Gault-Millau result; 1980 Drouhin rematch). decanter.com
Want to read more?
Books we drew on and recommend for going deeper on Oregon wine.
Oregon Wine: A Deep-Rooted HistoryScott Stursa
The Sommelier’s Atlas of TasteRajat Parr & Jordan Mackay
Wine Folly: Magnum Edition — The Master GuideMadeline Puckette & Justin HammackAs an Amazon Associate, Wine History Tours earns from qualifying purchases. This supports our research at no extra cost to you.
