Dundee Hills is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in Yamhill County,

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

within the

Willamette Valley AVA Willamette Valley ( ) is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) which lies in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. The AVA is the wine growing region which encompasses the drainage basin of the Willamette River. It stretches from the Columbia River ...

, and is located about approximately southwest of Portland, Oregon, and about inland from the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

near the town of Newberg. It was established on November 30, 2004 by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB),

Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry; in a business context, corporate treasury. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be ...

after reviewing a petition submitted from Alex Sokol Blosser, secretary of the North Willamette Valley AVA Group, proposing the establishment of the 6,490-acre "Red Hills" viticultural area in Yamhill County. The petitioner subsequently amended the area’s name to "Dundee Hills." The area is in total size, with planted with grapes. The Dundee Hills are a north-south oriented line of hills on the western side of the

Willamette River The Willamette River ( ) is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Flowing northward ...

valley. The soil is Jory series reddish silt, clay and loam, moderately fertile and well-drained suitable for grape cultivation. The region gets of rainfall per year. The

Chehalem Mountains The Chehalem Mountains are a mountain range located in the Willamette Valley in the U.S. state of Oregon. Forming the southern boundary of the Tualatin Valley, the Chehalems are the highest mountains in the Willamette Valley. The range extends fr ...

to the north protect the region from the cool breezes that enter Willamette Valley from the

Columbia Gorge The Columbia River Gorge is a canyon of the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Up to deep, the canyon stretches for over as the river winds westward through the Cascade Range, forming the boundary between the state ...

. Over 25 wineries and independent vineyards in this region produce over 44,000 cases of wine. Dundee Hills has been a grape growing region since 1966, when

David Lett David Lett (1939 – October 9, 2008) was the founder and winemaker for The Eyrie Vineyards in the U.S. state of Oregon. He was a pioneer in the Oregon wine industry. Lett grew up on a farm in Holladay, Utah earned a degree in philosophy and pre ...

established Eyrie Vineyards, planting

Pinot noir Pinot noir (), also known as Pinot nero, is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name also refers to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French language, French words fo ...

and

Pinot Gris Pinot gris, pinot grigio (, ), or ''Grauburgunder'' is a white wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. Thought to be a mutant clone of the pinot noir variety, it normally has a pinkish-gray hue, accounting for its name, but th ...

. In 1975, Dick Erath and C. Calvert Knudsen formed Knudsen Erath Winery, the first commercial winery to open in the Dundee Hills. After 56 years of operation, Erath Winery closed its doors to its tasting room at end of day on March 14, 2023. Knudsen Vineyards resumed control of the property and opened their tasting room the following summer.

References

External links

The Dundee HillsWillamette Valley Wineries Association - Dundee Hills AVATTB AVA Map
American Viticultural Areas of Oregon Geography of Yamhill County, Oregon 2004 establishments in Oregon

See also

References

External links