In case there was doubt, let it be known: Oregon wine country rules. As far as international connoisseur's magazine Wine Enthusiast is concerned, we're now the one to watch, of all the world's grape-growing regions. On November 10, the magazine named Oregon's own Willamette Valley its 2016 Wine Region of the Year. Among the reasons we beat out contenders from Crete to Sonoma, Wine Enthusiast cited the maturity of the industry here—now home to 530 wineries and counting—along with an influx of new money from "French and California-based powerhouses" like Louis Jadot and Jackson Family.

Top honors go to the Willamette Valley, writes Paul Gregutt, for "the outstanding quality of its wines, the resulting international recognition and the tectonic shifts in wine investments these have engendered."

We agree. And this time, Wine Enthusiast, we'll forgive the reference to tectonics. Read the full article here.