Oregon Flashcards
Oregon State Labeling Laws
- State % 100%
- County %75%
- AVA % 95%
- Vineyard % 95%
- Variety% 90%
Oregon’s Willamette Valley
-which stretches 120 miles southward from Portland between the Cascades and the Coastal Range, is synonymous with quality Pinot Noir production.
David Lett of Eyrie and Charles Coury
-were the first to explore pinot noir potential in Oregon, traveling northward from California to plant Pinot Noir in the Willamette Valley in the mid-1960s.
“South Block Reserve”
David Lett’s 1975 Pinot Noir achieved outstanding results in French competition and brought vindication to the efforts of these early trailblazers, the Burgundy négociant Maison Joseph Drouhin purchased Dundee Hills property in 1987, further validating the up-and-coming region.
Willamette valley’s Pinot Noir wines
-are a steppingstone between California and the Côte d’Or: lighter in style and earthier than the former, riper and more forward than the latter. The cool, temperate climate of the valley invites further comparisons to Burgundy, and vintages are more variable than in Sonoma or Santa Barbara.
Oregon AVAs
- Willamette Valley
- Umpqua Valley
- Rogue Valley
- Applegate Valley
- Red Hill Douglas County
- Elkton Oregon
- Southern Oregon
- Dundee Hills
- McMinnville
- Eola-Amity hills
- Ribbon Ridge
- Chehalem Mountains
- Yamhill-Carlton District
- Walla walla Valley*
- The Rock of Milton-Freewater
- Columbia Valley*
- Columbia Gorge*
- Snake River Valley
Oregon Climate
- overall continental
- Climatic influences vary from one nested AVA to the next as well.
- Pacific winds funneling through the Van Duzer Corridor, a gap in the Coastal Mountains that separates the valley from the ocean, directly impact McMinnville and the Eola-Amity Hills, generating more tannic styles of Pinot Noir.
- The Chehalem Mountains, on the other hand, has a number of north-facing vineyards that are among the valley’s coolest sites.
Applegate Valley AVA
-is the warmest and driest growing region west of the Cascades in Oregon
