Page 40 - GV2020 Portfolio Master

OREGON
Oregon’s wine industry has been built on
small wineries producing wines of impeccable
quality. The state ranks third in the U.S. in
number of wineries, but only fourth in wine
production. Oregon winegrowers have
identified a range of growing conditions
within the state which is a hotbed of AVA
delineation with a steadily growing number of
approved appellations, including the
Willamette Valley (and its multiple sub-
AVAs), Umpqua Valley, Rogue River Valley,
Applegate Valley and small sections of Walla
Walla and the Columbia Valley. Most of the
state’s production is in the northern
Willamette Valley, from vineyards on lush
rolling hillsides in the foothills of the Coastal
Range. In this cool environment, Pinot Noir
has made the wine industry justly famous.
Umpqua, south of the Willamette, is generally
considered a cool-climate region, as Pacific
breezes and rainfall nourish the land. Even
further south, in the Rogue Valley, a mixture
of climates exists. Oregon has become the
leader of appellation consciousness in North
America.

Elk Cove
Pike Road
Ponzi
WILLAMETTE VALLEY
The Willamette Valley has set an
impressive standard for North Beaux Freres
American Pinot Noir, on par with the
world’s best. The 100-mile-long
Willamette Valley is currently
Oregon’s largest appellation which Duck Pond
includes seven sub AVAs, the newest Soter Lifevine
being the Van Duzer corridor Planet Oregon Great Oregon Wine Co.
established in 2018. Willamette Valley
encompasses 5,200 square miles and
the bulk of the state’s wineries, which
now number over 500 . Flanked by the
Coastal and Cascade mountains, this
appellation has built its reputation on
small, quality-oriented producers, Antiquum Farm
fervently devoted to Pinot Noir. The
grape benefits from growing on a
variety of hillside slopes and on a range
of soils, created by volcanic activity
and weathered sedimentary rocks.
Increasingly, Pinot Gris is also grown,
mostly in the foothills of the Coastal
Range. Willamette’s climate is
generally considered cool and wet. This
can be a misnomer, as most
precipitation occurs outside the
growing season.

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