Hollywood star Will Ferrell has namechecked the Oregon wine region in Netflix series The Hawk. And it’s not the first time he has given props to the Willamette Valley…
In the 10-episode Netflix series The Hawk, Will Ferrell stars as fictional golf legend Lonnie ‘The Hawk’ Hawkins, famous for his uncouth demeanour and unorthodox golfing style.
The series premiered on the streaming channel on 16 July, pulling in 4.8 million views for the first episode. But now it has caught the attention of Willamette Valley Wineries Association, a trade body representing more than 500 member producers in the region.
Why? Because in one scene, Ferrell’s character, Hawkins, orders a glass of wine and over-enunciates: “I’ll take a Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley.”
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Willamette Valley Wineries publicly thanked the show for the mention and re-shared the clip on its social media channels.
“They have great taste,” the association captioned its Instagram post, complete with a clapping hands emoji.
“Thank you to The Hawk and Netflix for the love.”
It’s the second time that actor Ferrell, who shot to fame in films like Elf, Step Brothers andZ0olander, has referenced the Willamette Valley in his work. While starring as the hapless Ron Burgundy in Anchorman 2: The legend continues, Ferrell said: “I’ve only been out of the country twice. I went to Mexico a handful of times, and the second time, I went to Salem, Oregon.”
Salem is the capital city of Oregon, located smack bang in the middle of the Willamette Valley, not to be mistaken for Salem, Massachusetts, where the famous historical witch trials were held.
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Gifting luxury wine
In fact, wine is a recurring theme for Ferrell, who generously gifted basketball pro LeBron James an expensive bottle of Napa Valley wine produced by Colgin Cellars when he appeared on The Shop duringThursday Night Football.
Indeed, James is known for his love of fine wine, frequently sharing photos of himself enjoying luxury pours including Quiutarelli Giuseppe 2005, Sassicaia 1990 and Opus One 2004, and his appreciation of Ferrell’s gift became a viral meme.
Meanwhile, Ferrell himself lives in Los Angeles, so will no doubt be familiar with the Moraga Bel Air Estate, the only commercial vineyard in the city of LA. The estate was snapped up by media mogul Rupert Murdoch in 2013 for US$22.3 million, and in 2024 he hosted his daughter’s wedding at the property, with the accompanying press attention boosting awareness of the estate’s wines.
Speaking about Moraga, its winemaker Paul Warson said: “We have a gorgeous, rare and exceptionally special property in the heart of Los Angeles, and we want to bring neighbours and visitors together by creating the ability for us to share it whenever possible.”
Willamette Valley
The Willamette Valley is renowned for its exceptional cool-climate Pinot Noir, at a snip of the price of a Pinot from California’s Napa Valley. As db reported, buying one hectare of vineyard in the Dundee Hills AVA of Willamette Valley would set you back around US$270,000 compared to the US$1.17m it would cost to purchase one hectare in the Rutherford area of Napa.
However, Willamette Valley has had to contend with smoke taint spoiling its vintages in recent years, causing producers to get creative with how to re-employ their harvests. In 2024, Durant Vineyards turned 800 cases of tainted Pinot into BBQ sauce, while Patricia Green Cellars transformed 12,000 gallons of tainted Pinot Noir into a new brandy/whiskey blend, marketed under new brand name Patty Green.
Importantly, Willamette winemakers teamed up to sue PacifiCorp, the energy company owned by billionaire Warren Buffet, for negligence surrounding the 2020 wildfires that caused catastrophic smoke taint to their crops. The wineries involved claimed that PacifiCorp’s decision not to shut off power during a windstorm in 2020 contributed to the devastating wildfires that subsequently swept through the area.
Consequently, in October 2025 PacifiCorp agreed to a US$125 million settlement with 93 Willamette Valley wineries and vineyards in a coup for the region’s winemaking industry.
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