In honor of Oregon Bounty, OPB’s Think Out Loud recently featured an introspective on the Oregon wine industry. Featuring panelists including Jason Lett (Eyrie Vineyards), David Adelsheim (Adelsheim Vineyards) and Eric Hamacher (Carlton Winemakers Studio), the show examined the storied past of Oregon’s wine industry and explores how the industry continues to push the limitations of its boundaries.

Listen to the entire show below and join in on the conversation on the Think Out Loud site.

In this show we’ll talk about the heritage of wine in Oregon — including a discussion about its founder, David Lett, who passed away last month, leaving his son to run Eyrie Vineyards — and then move forward to what’s happening now: Tempranillo and other “big reds” in Southern Oregon, a Reisling resurgence, and even vineyards popping up in Central Oregon.

Lett first came to Oregon in 1965 seeking a place that could produce Pinot noir that was equal to the wines coming from the Burgundy region of France. Although he was at first viewed as “naive” to think that this cantankerous grape would take off in Oregon, David soon proved his critics wrong. The rest as they say, is history. Read more about David Lett here.

On a day when we remember the unwavering optimism of David Lett, the words we used to describe him in our first “Dreamer” print ad a few years ago seem appropriate.

As it so happened one day, a man who came to be known as Papa Pinot fell in love with a curious spirit—the curious spirit being a kind of grape they call pinot. He was so head over heels for the mysteriously delicious fruit and what happens to it when left to sit in a barrel for a bit with some yeast, that he set out to create his own special vineyard just for them. He searched high and low and as it so happened the grapes with whom he fell in love just so happened to fall in love with the long, cool growing season of the beautiful green hillsides in Oregon.

So they settled here to start their life together. And instead of listening to the ways of the European and Californian wine makers, Papa Pinot decided to listen to what his vines had to say. He tended them with care and admiration, not forcing them to be anything but what they wanted to be. And he found that when given the chance, Oregon pinots have many secrets to share. So when you come to Oregon, be sure to try a bottle or seven. Their secrets are delicious. See the ad here

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Lett family today as they say goodbye to a true Oregon dreamer.