The state of Oregon in the United States has
established an international reputation for its production of wine. Oregon has
several different growing regions within the state's borders which are
well-suited to the cultivation of grapes; additional regions straddle the
border between Oregon and the states of Washington and Idaho. Wine making dates
back to pioneer times in the 1840s, with commercial production beginning in the
1960s.
American Viticultural Areas entirely within the state
include the Willamette Valley, Southern Oregon, Umpqua Valley, and Rogue Valley
AVAs. Parts of the Columbia Gorge, Walla Walla Valley, and Snake River Valley
AVAs lie within Oregon. Pinot noir and Pinot gris are the top two grapes grown,
with over 16,000 tons (14,515 metric tons) harvested in 2005. As of 2005,
Oregon wine makers produced over 1.5 million cases combined.
History
Wine has been produced in Oregon since the Oregon
Territory was settled in the 1840s; however, winemaking has only been a
significant industry in the state since the 1960s. Grapes were first planted in
the Oregon Territory in 1847. Valley View, the first recorded winery, was
established by Peter Britt in the late 1850s in Jacksonville. Throughout the
19th century, there was experimentation with various varietals by immigrants to
the state. In 1904, an Oregon winemaker won a prize at the St. Louis World's Fair.
Wine production stopped in the United States during Prohibition. As in other
states, the Oregon wine industry lay dormant for thirty years after Prohibition
was repealed.
The Oregon wine industry started to rebuild in the
1960s, when California winemakers opened several vineyards in the state. By
1970, there were five commercial wineries, with 35 recorded acres (14 ha).
This included the planting of Pinot noir grapes in the
Willamette Valley, a region long thought too cold to be suitable for
viticulture. In the 1970s, more out-of-state winemakers migrated to the state
and started to organize as an industry. The state's land use laws had prevented
rural hillsides from being turned into housing tracts, preserving a significant
amount of land suitable for vineyards. In 1979, Eyrie Vineyards entered a 1975
Pinot noir in the Wine Olympics; the wine was rated among the top Pinots in the
world, thus gaining the region its first international recognition.
The accolades continued into the 1980s, and the Oregon
wine industry continued to add both wineries and vineyards. The state industry
continued to market itself, establishing the first of several AVAs (American
Viticulture Areas) in the state. The state also grew strong ties with the
Burgundy region of France, as Oregon's governor paid an official visit to
Burgundy and a leading French winemaking family bought land in Dundee.
In the early 1990s, the wine industry was threatened
by a Phylloxera infestation in the state, but winemakers quickly turned to the
use of resistant rootstocks to prevent any serious damage. The state
legislature enacted several new laws designed to promote winemaking and wine
distribution. The state found a newfound fous on "green" winemaking,
leading the global wine industry into more environmentally friendly practices.
Several new AVAs were established. By 2005, there were 314 wineries and 519
vineyards in operation in Oregon. By 2009, the number of wineries in the state
has increased to 453 and remains the 3rd largest wine producer in the country
Varieties of
wine
Like other wines produced in the United States, Oregon
wines are marketed as varietals. Oregon law requires that wines produced in the
state must be identified by the grape variety from which it was made, and for
most varietals it must contain at least 90% of that variety. The exceptions to
the 90% law are the following varietals: Red and White Bordeaux varietals, Red
and White Rhône varietals, Sangiovese, Tempranillo, Zinfandel and Tannat. For
these wines, they follow the Federal guidelines of 75%. Oregon law has long
forbidden use of place names, except as appellations of origin. Oregon is most
famous for its Pinot noir, which is produced throughout the state. Pinot noirs
from the Willamette Valley have received much critical acclaim from wine
connoisseurs and critics, and Oregon is regarded as one of the premier
Pinot-producing regions in the world.
Major
wine-producing regions
There are, loosely speaking, three main wine producing
regions with a major presence in the state of Oregon, as defined by
non-overlapping American Viticultural Areas. Two of them—the Willamette Valley
AVA and the Southern Oregon AVA—are wholly contained within Oregon; a third,
the Columbia Gorge AVA straddles the Columbia River and includes territory in
both Oregon and Washington; however, this AVA is considered to be an Oregon
AVA. Portions of the Walla Walla Valley AVA, an area which is primarily in
Washington (along with the Columbia Valley AVA which contains it), descend into
Oregon in the Milton-Freewater area. The Southern Oregon AVA was recently
created as the union of two Southern Oregon winegrowing regions long considered
distinct, the Rogue Valley and the Umpqua Valley. Several other smaller AVAs
are found within some of these larger regions.[14] The Snake River Valley AVA,
which straddles Oregon's border with Idaho along the Snake River, is the first
AVA to include a part of Eastern Oregon.[15]
Willamette
Valley
The Willamette Valley AVA is the wine growing region
which encompasses the Willamette Valley. It stretches from the Columbia River
in the north to just south of Eugene in the south, where the Willamette Valley
ends; and from the Oregon Coast Range in the West to the Cascade Mountains in
the East. At 5,200 square miles (13,500 km2), it is the largest AVA in the
state, and contains most of the state's wineries; approximately 200 as of 2006.
The climate of Willamette Valley is mild year-round,
with cool, wet winters and warm, dry summers; extreme temperatures are
uncommon. Most rainfall occurs outside the growing season and the valley gets
relatively little snow. Not all parts of the Valley are suitable for
viticulture, and most wineries and vineyards are found west of the Willamette
River, with the largest concentration in Yamhill County.
The region is best known for its Pinot noir, and also
produces large amounts of Pinot gris, Riesling, and Chardonnay. The region also
produces Cabernet Sauvignon, Gewürztraminer, Müller-Thurgau, Sémillon, and
Zinfandel grapes, but in far smaller quantities.
The region is divided into six subordinate AVAs:
Chehalem Mountains AVA, Dundee Hills AVA, Eola-Amity Hills AVA, McMinnville
AVA, Ribbon Ridge AVA, and the Yamhill-Carlton District AVA. In addition, many
wine connoisseurs further divide the Willamette Valley into northern and
southern regions approximately at the latitude of Salem.
photo: BBC.com
Southern
Oregon
The Southern Oregon AVA is an AVA which was formed as
the union of two existing AVAs—the Rogue Valley AVA and the Umpqua Valley AVA.
(A small strip of connecting territory is included in the Southern Oregon AVA
to make it a contiguous region; however, this strip passes through mountains
regions not suitable for vineyards.) This AVA was established in 2004 to allow
the two principal regions in Southern Oregon to jointly market themselves. As
the Rogue Valley and Umpqua Valley regions produce different grapes and
different varietals, they are examined separately.
Umpqua Valley
AVA
The Umpqua Valley AVA contains the drainage basin of
the Umpqua River, excluding mountainous regions.[20] The Umpqua Valley has a
warmer climate than the Willamette Valley, but is cooler than the Rogue Valley
to the south. It is the oldest post-prohibition wine region in Oregon. Grapes
grown here include Tempranillo, Baco noir, Pinot noir, Pinot gris, Cabernet
Sauvignon, Chardonnay, and Riesling, Grüner Veltliner, and a host of lesser
known Vitis vinifera. The region includes two sub-AVAs, the Red Hill Douglas
County, Oregon AVA, a single vineyard AVA, as well as the Elkton, Oregon AVA,
which was established in early 2013.
Rogue Valley
AVA
The Rogue Valley AVA includes the drainage basin of
the Rogue River and several tributaries, including the Illinois River, the
Applegate River, and Bear Creek. Most wineries in the region are found along
one of these three tributaries, rather than along the Rogue River itself. The
region is 70 miles (110 km) wide by 60 miles (100 km) long (although much of
the land within the AVA is not suitable for grape cultivation); there are
currently 32 wineries with only 1,100 acres (4 km2) planted. The three valleys
differ greatly in terroir, with the easternmost Bear Creek valley being warmest
and driest, and the westernmost Illinois River valley being coolest and
wettest. Each river valley has a unique climate and grows different varieties
of grapes. Overall, however, this region is the warmest and driest of Oregon's
wine-growing regions. The region has one sub-AVA, the Applegate Valley AVA.
Columbia Gorge
The Columbia Gorge AVA is found in the Columbia Gorge.
This region straddles the Columbia River, and thus lies in both Oregon and
Washington; it is made up of Hood River and Wasco counties in Oregon, and
Skamania and Klickitat counties in Washington. The region lies to the east of
the summits of nearby Mount Hood and Mount Adams, situated in their rain
shadows; thus, the region is significantly drier than the Willamette Valley. It
also exhibits significant differences in elevation due to gorge geography, and
strong winds common in the area also play a factor in the region's climate.
This allows a wide variety of grapes to be grown in the Columbia Gorge. The
region has nearly 40 vineyards, growing a wide variety of grapes, including
Syrah, Pinot noir, Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon,
Pinot gris, Riesling, and Sangiovese.
Walla Walla
Valley
Portions of northeastern Oregon (in the vicinity of
Milton-Freewater) are part of the Walla Walla Valley AVA, which was established
in 1984. This appellation, which is part of the Columbia Valley AVA, lies
primarily within Washington state. This region has nearly 100 wineries and
1,200 acres (5 km2) planted. Wines grown in the valley include Syrah, Merlot,
and Cabernet Sauvignon, as well as Sangiovese and a few exotic varietals
including Counoise, Carmenère, Mourvèdre, Cabernet Franc, Nebbiolo and Barbera.
A new AVA, The Rocks District of Milton–Freewater, was
proposed in 2014.
Snake River
Valley
A new viticultural area along the Snake River was
established on April 9, 2007. Principally located in Idaho, the area also encompasses
two large counties in Eastern Oregon, Baker County and Malheur County. The
region's climate is unique among AVAs in Oregon; the average temperature is
relatively cool and rainfall is low, creating a shorter growing season. Current
production is led by hardy grapes such as Riesling, Gewürztraminer, and
Chardonnay. The climate also lends itself extremely well to the production of
ice wine. However, the AVA is quite large and warmer microclimates within the
area can also support different types of grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon and
Merlot.
Source: www.wikipedia.com
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