King Estate Winery


King Estate Winery is an organic winery located southwest of Eugene, Oregon, United States near the community of Lorane. Matt Kramer of The Oregonian considers King Estate the benchmark producer of Pinot gris in the country. While the winery also makes Pinot noir and limited amounts of Chardonnay, it is mainly credited with bringing the Pinot gris grape varietal into national consciousness.
The winery was founded in 1991 by Ed King, Jr. and his son, Ed King III. The estate itself, at, is Oregon Tilth Certified Organic and includes of organic vineyards, as well as of fruits, vegetables and flowers. The visitor center features a restaurant and wine bar. Complimentary wine tasting and winery tours are available as well as full lunch and dinner menus that incorporate estate and locally grown organic ingredients.
In the 2007 edition of Wine & Spirits magazine's annual restaurant poll, a survey of only the top Zagat rated restaurants across the United States, King Estate Pinot gris was the number one ranked domestic wine in the Pinot gris/Pinot grigio category, and number two overall in the category, the highest rank for an Oregon producer in the 18-year history of the poll.

Sustainability

King Estate Winery is Certified Organic by Oregon Tilth one of the most rigorous and stringent certifying bodies in the United States. The estate is and with planted to grapes is recognized as the world's largest contiguous organic vineyard. In 2005, King Estate was recognized by Oregon Tilth as the Organic producer of the year.

Culinary

King Estate has always highlighted the importance of producing food friendly wines and has established a fine-dining restaurant on the estate which sources organic ingredients from the estate gardens. During the 1990s King Estate published two cookbooks, each of which focuses on recipes designed to pair with their two core varietals, Pinot gris and Pinot noir. King Estate's New American Cuisine King Estate Pinot Gris Cookbook and New American Cuisine King Estate Pinot Noir Cookbook were written in conjunction with the 13-part New American Cuisine television series broadcast by PBS and other public television stations nationwide. In 1997, New American Cuisine was nominated for the prestigious James Beard Award for best national cooking series. The cookbooks contain recipes contributed by world-renowned celebrity chefs including Alice Waters, Roy Yamaguchi, Charlie Trotter, and Jean-Georges Vongerichten.