Oregon Flashcards
Name the AVAs of Willamette Valley
Willamette Valley (first in 1983), Chehalem Mountain, Dundee Hills, Eola-Amity Hills, Laurelwood District, Lower Long Tom, McMinnville, Mount Pisgah Polk County Oregon, Ribbon Ridge, Tualatin Hills, Van Duzer Corridor, Yamhill-Carlton District
Which is the largest winery in Oregon?
King Estates
The modern story of the Willamette Valley begins?
in the mid-1960s with a cast of two: David Lett and Charles Coury.
In 1965 Lett brought Pinot Noir to the Willamette Valley, establishing the original Eyrie Vineyard on a south-facing slope in the Dundee Hills in 1966
Which wine moved Robert Drouhin in Oregon?
A 1975 Eyrie “South Block” Pinot Noir that entered competitions in Paris in 1979 and Beaune in 1980, finishing in third and second place, respectively. The second tasting, in which Eyrie competed amidst a blind flight of Burgundy grands crus assembled by Robert Drouhin, brought the Beaune négociant closer to purchasing Oregon property.
Oregon’s latitude?
45th parallel aligning with Burgundy
Oregon’s soil types?
In the Willamette Valley, there are four major soil types derived from four different underlying geologies. Three of them—uplifted marine sediments, volcanic soils, and loess—are reasonably nutrient-poor and important for quality wine production. Notably, there is no limestone or marl in the Willamette Valley.
Missoula Flood Deposits
Define uplifted marine sediment soils and how do they affect wine style
Uplifted Marine Sediments: More common on the western side of the valley, these nutrient-poor soils are derived from sandstone and shale that once composed the ocean floor—the entirety of western Oregon was under the sea until the rise of the Coast Range and Cascades about 15 million years ago. Layered marine sediments thus form the oldest bedrock in the Willamette Valley. The Willakenzie series in the northern Willamette Valley and the Bellpine series in the south are examples of soils derived from uplifted marine sediment. They tend to be sandier and thinner than the volcanic soils. Pinot Noir wines produced on marine sedimentary soils are typically noted as darker in color and fruit profile.
Define volcanic soils and how do they affect wine style
Volcanic Soils: As the Cascades rose upward some 15-17 million years ago, lava flows poured westward from the chain’s highly active volcanoes, covering the still-submerged valley floor in basalt. Today’s reddish volcanic soils are depleted and weathered, formed atop this underlying basalt parent rock. The Jory series, named for Jory Hill in Salem, is the best-known volcanic soil type in the Willamette Valley (and the state’s “official” soil, thanks to Scott Burns). The Nekia series, a shallower volcanic soil, is also common in the area. The volcanic soils in the Willamette Valley tend to contain more clay and therefore have a higher water-holding capacity than other soil series in the region. Tasters often ascribe a lighter color and a red fruit profile to Pinot Noir wines produced on volcanic soils here.
Which Pinot Noir clones were first used in Oregon?
The valley’s oldest Pinot Noir vineyards were planted by UC Davis grads with the Wädenswil (UCD 1A and 2A) and Pommard (UCD 4 and UCD 5) clones of Pinot Noir
Dijon clones are used after the 80s
Which is the most densely planted AVA in Oregon?
Dundee Hills
Describe the style of Pinot Noir from Dundee Hills
Pinot Noir in the Dundee Hills has the potential to produce the Willamette Valley’s most delicate and perfumed wines
Name some top producers from Dundee Hills
Eyrie Vineyards (1965 D. Lett, South Block Vineyard)
Sokol Blosser
Domaine Drouhin (Arthur Chard, Laurene named after Véronique Boss-Drouhin’s elder daughter the flagship wine, Louise 3parcels, Roserock)
Archery Summit (Archer’s Edge® Vineyard
Pinot Noir, Renegade Ridge Vineyard
Pinot Noir)
Domaine Serene (venstad Reserve Pinot Noir – Blend of top parcels; flagship. Aspect Pinot Noir – South-facing vineyard blocks; darker, more concentrated. Coeur Blanc – A white Pinot Noir, rare and sought after.
Bergstrom (Biodynamic viticulture pioneer, Structured but lifted; expressive aromatics, finesse, balanced oak, often whole cluster, Sigrid Chardonnay and Vyd Pinot)
Arterberry Maresh (Quietly one of Oregon’s finest; low-intervention, heritage fruit sources, cult status among sommeliers. Pure, lifted, and site-transparent with minimal new oak and incredible finesse, Maresh Vineyard a combination of 1970 and 1974 planted vines)
Cameron Winery
Name some prime sites in Dundee Hills
Famed sites include Maresh Vineyard, Abbey Ridge Cameron (John Paul)—who makes some of Oregon’s most sought-after wines from this site and the Thomas Vineyard
Clos Electrique (Cameron Estate)
Planted by John Paul in 1984 with a mix of own-rooted and grafted vines.
Soils are red Jory, very shallow, dry-farmed.
Incredibly complex, structured, and ageworthy wines.
Not just a vineyard—essentially Oregon’s grand cru Burgundy analog
red and white (like Meursault)
Weber vineyard Pinot Noir Arterberry Maresh
Dundee Hills soils?
Volcanic, basalt and jory
Yamhill-Carlton District’s soils?
Yamhill-Carlton has some of the oldest soil and vine material in the Willamette Valley. It is comprised of coarse grained ancient marine sediments that drain quickly, making it ideal for viticulture
Name some top producers and sites
Elk Cove (Mount Richmond Pinot Noir – From a high-elevation site; lush and structured)
Ken Wright (13 single vineyard Pinot noir offerings Guadalupe, McCrone, Carter, Bonnie Jean, Tanager, Shea, Nysa, Freedom Hill, Meredith Mitchell, Bryce, Angela and Abbott Claim)
Penner-Ash (Jackson familly)
Bergstrom (Has made Shea Vineyard wines, among others.)
Nicolas Jay (Camuzet, Bishop Creek Pinot Noir – Structured, mineral, restrained)
Resonance
Gran Moraine
Soter Vineyards (Biodynamically farmed, high-elevation, minimalist winemaking.
Mineral Springs Ranch Pinot Noir is one of Oregon’s most elegant and ageworthy wines.
Style: Lifted, floral, pure red fruit, restrained oak.
White Label Sparkling – One of Oregon’s best.)
Shea Vineyard is the AVA’s most important site.
Shea is Oregon’s To Kalon — dozens of top producers source fruit here. It’s a stylistic benchmark for Yamhill-Carlton Pinot Noir
Define Yamhill Carlton’s style of wines
80% Pinot Noir
The region is bordered by the Coast Range to the west, Chehalem Mountains to the north, and the Dundee Hills to the east. These barriers provide protective cover from extreme weather resulting in warmer temperatures and the earliest harvest dates in the Willamette Valley. The warmer mesoclimate produces ripe, texturally driven wine with an abundance of spice and floral qualities layered onto dark fruit flavors
The highest point in the Willamette Valley is in?
Bald Peak, at 1,633 feet (498 m) above sea level in Chehalem Mountains AVA
The Ribbon Ridge and Laurelwood District AVAs are located within the?
Chehalem Mountains AVA
Which is the smallest AVA?
Ribbon Ridge and warmest early ripening
Chehalem Mountain’s soils?
the northern flanks and hillsides in the range are covered with wind-deposited Laurelwood soils, and experience the coolest average temperatures of any winegrowing hillsides on the western side of the valley. Soils on the southern and western slopes are more typically derived from volcanic or marine sedimentary layers, and grapes tend to ripen earlier.
Ribbon Ridge’s soils?
Soils on Ribbon Ridge are predominantly Willakenzie series of sedimentary soil. It is moderately deep and well-drained, making it ideal for growing high-quality wine grapes and results in Pinot noirs with rose petal, dark cherry, earthiness and spice complexity
Which is the westernmost AVA?
McMinnville
west of the city of McMinnville to the slopes of the Coast Range
Define McMinnville’s style of wines?
It sits squarely in the mouth of the Van Duzer Corridor where cool, constant Pacific winds blow from the west through a gap from the Coastal Hills producing denser, more tannic Pinot Noir wines, loaded with darker fruit flavors and pigment
