USA Oregon

Question 1

Oregon

General

Answer 1

Oregon is primarily regarded for its Willamette Valley Pinot Noir

Shares 4 AVAs with Washington state: Columbia Gorge, Columbia Valley, and Walla Walla Valley, and The Rocks of Milton-Freewater AVA.

Question 2

Northern Oregon AVAs

Answer 2

Columbia Gorge

Columbia Valley

Walla Walla Valley

The Rocks of Milton-Freewater AVA

Willamette Valley

Question 3

Willamette Valley

Answer 3

Between Cascades and coastal range.

History (no need to know all, but interesting)
David Lett of The Eyrie Vineyards and Charles Coury of Charles Coury Vineyards were the first to explore its potential, traveling northward from California to plant Pinot Noir in the Willamette Valley in the mid-1960s.
Dick Erath, Dick Ponzi, and others followed not long after. Lett’s 1975 South Block Reserve Pinot Noir achieved outstanding results in a French competition and brought vindication to the efforts of these early trailblazers. Soon after, in 1987, the Burgundy négociant Maison Joseph Drouhin purchased a Dundee Hills property, further validating the up-and-coming region. Today, the 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.

10 nested AVAs

Great variety of pinot noir (per different sites, elevation, climate, winds, soil)

Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and Riesling are planted as well.

Question 4

Southern Oregon AVAs

Answer 4

Umpqua Valley

Elkton Oregon

Rogue Valley

Applegate Valley (warmest and driest region)

Red Hill Douglas County

Grapes
Pinot Noir, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer, and Chardonnay

Undeveloped wine region

Question 5

Labeling

Answer 5

Varietal wines from Oregon—excluding those produced from white and red Bordeaux varieties, major Rhône grapes, Zinfandel, Sangiovese, Tannat, and Tempranillo—must contain a minimum 90% of the stated variety rather than the standard 75%.

Oregon also maintains stricter state laws for labeling by region: a wine labeled by an AVA within Oregon must contain a minimum 95% of grapes grown in the respective appellation, rather than the 85% mandated by federal law.

100% if its Pinot Noir.

Question 6

Producers

Answer 6

Domaine Serene
Ponzi
Domaine Drouhin
Eerye