Last Updated on October 23, 2020 by JaimeSays
Cover Photo c/o Travel Medford.
Portland is in complete chaos. For 100+ days, protests rule the street. With the constant unrest, you may want to avoid its airport. Flying in to visit the Willamette Valley may not seem like a great idea. Then again, the wine region is 150 miles long, so maybe you’ll have no problem. For the more fearful, know that there are other Oregon wine regions to visit that have great wine. Each has a great experience to offer you.
Fast Facts About Oregon Wine
- Oregon has the 2nd largest number of wineries in the US behind California
- Oregon has the 4th largest vineyard acreage of the US (Half of Washington’s and a Quarter of New York’s)
- Of the 770+ wineries in Oregon, most have very small production numbers
- The Southern Oregon AVA covers the entire region of Southern Oregon, but has two important Sub-AVAs: Rogue Valley and Umpqua Valley
Other Oregon Wine Regions: The Rogue Valley AVA
Sitting at the very Southern end of Oregon, the Rogue Valley is a sleeper favorite of Oregon wine regions. Directly north of California, it is easily accessible with direct access from 10 different Western US cities.
Honors for the first Oregonian wine industry also goes to the Rogue Valley. This dates all the way back to the 1840s! Although the Oregon wine industry was around, that as we know today came to fruition in the 1960s. At that time, three UC Davis grads had a novel idea to plant Burgundian grape varieties in Willamette Valley. Fortunately, they created Erath, Eyrie Vineyards, and Charles Coury (now David Hill) wineries. We’ll stick on topic to the other Oregon wine regions; in this case, The Rogue Valley AVA.
- Varied soils such as metamorphic, volcanic, and limestone rich sedimentary soils
- Southernmost Oregon AVA
- Highest Altitude AVA in Oregon
- Four Wine Trails of the Rogue Valley
- Currently 88 Wineries
- Popular Grapes/Wines : Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Syrah
- Oregon single variety wines must include a minimum of 90% of that variety grape
- Nearby Places of Interest
- Ashland, Oregon with the yearly Oregon Shakespeare Festival
- Medford, Oregon
- Crater Lake National Park
Other Oregon Wine Regions: Umpqua Valley
- Umpqua Valley AVA was the first Southern Oregon wine region to be awarded AVA status
- While Southern Oregon is overall warmer than Willamette Valley, Umpqua tends to be cooler than the Rogue Valley
- Umpqua Valley AVA currently has 27 wineries
Heading to Southern Oregon? Consider a Night or Two Among the Vines
Interior Oregon Wine Regions
While Willamette Valley and Southern Oregon AVAs have strong maritime influences on the climate, interior Oregon is a different story. Not only is the climate distinctly continental, meaning dry and hot, but the AVAs aren’t Oregon’s alone. There are four AVAs in Interior Oregon, and each is shared with another state.
- AVAs Shared Between Washington and Oregon
- Columbia Gorge AVA (2/3rds of Vineyards are in Oregon)
- Columbia Valley AVA (1/4 of Vineyards are in Oregon)
- Walla Walla AVA (1/4 of Vineyards are in Oregon)
- AVAs Shared Between Idaho and Oregon
- Snake River Valley AVA (2/15 of Participating Counties are in Oregon, others like the Sunnyslope Wine Trail, are in Idaho)
Have you visited or had wine from one of these other Oregon wine regions? I have tasted wine from Awen Winecraft that was outstanding, but I still have many wines to try. I look forward to the opportunity to trying more!
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