“It’s a serious wine, a high-quality wine, but it’s also a bright and fresh style of wine that I think for a lot of people is just more approachable,” offered Jon Owens of Balsall Creek. The winery, in the Chehalem Mountains outside of Newberg, is a leader in the effort to elevate aligoté in Oregon. One thing the winery soon learned was that aligoté delivers, in a couple senses. It naturally produces a big crop without sacrificing character… and it also does well at the box office.