Willamette Valley ( ) is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) which lies in the

Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley ( ) is a valley in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley and is surrounded by mountains on three sides: the Cascade Range to the east, the ...

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 ...

. The AVA is the wine growing region which encompasses the

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

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 ...

. It stretches from the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...

in the north to just south of Eugene in the south, where the

ends; and from the

Oregon Coast Range The Oregon Coast Range, often called simply the Coast Range and sometimes the Pacific Coast Range, is a mountain range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges Physiographic regions of the world, physiographic region, in the United States, U.S. state of Or ...

in the west to the

Cascade Mountains The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as many of those in the ...

in the east. At , it is the largest AVA in the state, and contains most of the state's wineries; approximately 908 as of 2021. The AVA was established by the

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), commonly referred to as ATF, is a domestic law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice. Its responsibilities include the investigation and prevention ...

(ATF), Treasury on January 3, 1984 after reviewing the petition submitted by Mr. David B. Adelsheim, Chairman, Appellation Committee, Oregon Winegrowers Association, and owner of Adelsheim Vineyards, proposing a viticultural area in northwest Oregon, as part of the Willamette River Basin, to be known as "Willamette Valley." Since then, ten distinctly featured areas, referred as "sub-AVA" or "sub-appellation", were recognized within the Willamette Valley AVA, with nine of them in the northern region and the Lower Long Tom AVA in the southern. The Willamette Valley has a cool, moist climate, and is recognized worldwide for its

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 ...

. Although not officially recognized, many wine connoisseurs further define the Willamette Valley into northern and southern regions with the demarcation being the latitude of Salem (approximately 45° north).

Climate

The climate of Willamette Valley is mild year-round. Winters are typically cool and wet, summers are dry and warm; heat above only occurs 5 to 15 days per year, and the temperature drops below once every 25 years. Most rainfall occurs in the late autumn, winter, and early spring, when temperatures are the coldest. The valley gets relatively little snow ( to ) per year. The

hardiness zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most widely ...

is mostly 8b. Not all portions of the Willamette Valley are suitable for vineyards, however, and the largest concentration of wineries is found west of the

, on the leeward slopes of the Coast Range, or among the numerous river and stream valleys created by Willamette River tributaries. By far, the largest concentration of wineries is in Yamhill County.

Sub-appellations

There are ten American Viticultural Areas within the Willamette Valley AVA. These smaller AVAs recognize regions within the larger Willamette Valley AVA that have distinctive

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteoro ...

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by re ...

elevation The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''location'' is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational equipotenti ...

, or other physical features that make them noteworthy for wine production.

Chehalem Mountains AVA

The Chehalem Mountains AVA, established in 2006, stretches from Wilsonville in the southeast to Forest Grove in the northwest. The Chehalem Mountains includes Ribbon Ridge, Parrett Mountain, and Bald Peak. The petition process for the creation of the AVA began in 2001 and was led by David Adelsheim o
Adelsheim Vineyard
It contains two sub-regions, Laurelwood District AVA and Ribbon Ridge AVA.

Dundee Hills AVA

Dundee Hills AVA lies in the hills northwest of

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

encompassing about cultivating of grapes. Over 25 wineries and independent vineyards in this region produce over 44,000 cases of wine. The area is particularly noted for its

; several wineries in the AVA have won international recognition for their wines.

Eola-Amity Hills AVA

The Eola-Amity Hills AVA stretches from the town of Amity in the north to Salem in the south within Polk and Yamhill Counties. The hills cover an area west of the

approximately long by wide. The Eola-Amity Hills area benefits from steady winds off 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 ...

that reach the

through the Van Duzer corridor, a gap in the

, moderating the summer temperatures. The name Eola is a tribute to the windy conditions in the area, and is derived from

Aeolus In Greek mythology, Aiolos, transcribed as Aeolus (; ; ) refers to three characters. These three are often difficult to tell apart, and even the ancient mythographers appear to have been perplexed about which Aeolus was which. Diodorus Siculus m ...

, the

Greek god In ancient Greece, deities were regarded as immortal, anthropomorphic, and powerful. They were conceived of as individual persons, rather than abstract concepts or notions, and were described as being similar to humans in appearance, albeit larg ...

of wind.

Laurelwood District AVA

The Laurelwood District AVA is located west of the city of Portland and lies entirely within the Willamette Valley and Chehalem Mountains AVAs since it was established by the TTB in May 2020. It covers approximately and contains 25 wineries and approximately 70 commercially-producing vineyards that cover a total of approximately . The distinguishing feature of the Laurelwood District is the predominance of the Laurelwood soil series.

Lower Long Tom AVA

The Lower Long Tom AVA was established in 2021. It is located in the southern

Lane In road transport, a lane is part of a roadway that is designated to be used by a single line of vehicles to control and guide drivers and reduce traffic conflicts. Most public roads (highways) have at least two lanes, one for traffic in eac ...

and Benton Counties, near the towns of Junction City and

Monroe Monroe or Monroes may refer to: People and fictional characters * Monroe (surname) * Monroe (given name) * James Monroe, 5th President of the United States * Marilyn Monroe, actress and model Places United States * Monroe, Arkansas, an unincorp ...

. Its coverage is approximately and contains 12 wineries and 24 commercially-producing vineyards that plant approximately . As of 2022, the Lower Long Tom is the only nested appellation located in the southern Willamette Valley AVA, in contrast to nine nested appellations in the north. The region is primarily known for its

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 ...

McMinnville AVA

The McMinnville AVA near McMinnville was established in 2005, in the hills to the southwest of McMinnville, roughly running from McMinnville to Sheridan. The AVA includes 14 wineries and of vineyards, and includes lands with elevations ranging from 200 to .

Mount Pisgah, Polk County, Oregon AVA

Mount Pisgah, Polk County, Oregon viticultural area surrounds the city and county seat of

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

in Polk County. It was established on June 3, 2022 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 ...

as the state's 23rd and 11th appellation in the Willamette Valley. It encompasses approximately and contains 10 commercial vineyards cultivating about under vine with two wineries. The viticultural area surrounds Mount Pisgah (, ''pisgá'': literally means "

summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used only for ...

"), formed 65 million years ago as a sea floor volcano, covered by marine sediment and pushed up out of the ocean, among the hills of the Willamette Valley rising from the foothills to its peak. The long name was assigned to avoid confusion with another "Mount Pisgah" in a different county or state.

Ribbon Ridge AVA

The Ribbon Ridge AVA, between Newberg and Gaston, is a ridge containing uplift of ocean sediment. It lies at 45° 21' N, 123° 04' W, at the northwest end of the Chehalem Mountains. The name originates in the 19th century. The ridge is approximately wide and long, and is in area, with planted on 20 vineyards. It is estimated that between and in the region is suitable for planting.

Tualatin Hills AVA

The Tualatin Hills AVA was established in May 2020 and is located in the upland hills of the Tualatin River watershed and encompasses elevations between . To the south and southeast are the Chehalem Mountains, which includes elevations of over , are considered to be a separate, distinct landform from the Tualatin Hills. The AVA is approximately with 33 commercially-producing vineyards covering approximately and 21 wineries. The distinguishing features of Tualatin Hills are its soils, elevation and climate.

Van Duzer Corridor AVA

Van Duzer Corridor is located in Polk County just west of Eola-Amity Hills AVA encompassing approximately . The AVA is known for its low elevations, gently rolling hills, cool breezes from the

and soils which are primarily uplifted marine sedimentary loams and silts with alluvial overlay. The AVA was established in 2019.

Yamhill-Carlton District AVA

The Yamhill-Carlton District AVA is located in the area surrounding the towns of Yamhill and Carlton. Only grapes grown in vineyards with elevations ranging from to may be used to produce wines that bear the appellation name on their labels. The AVA includes over of vineyard, and the region is in the

rain shadow A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side. Evaporated moisture from body of water, bodies of water (such as oceans and larg ...

of the Oregon Coast Range, a short distance to the west. The AVA was established in 2005.

References

External links

Willamette Valley AVATTB AVA Map
{{coord, 45.351262994, -123.06958525, format=dms, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-OR_dim:27000 American Viticultural Areas of Oregon Willamette Valley 1984 establishments in Oregon