About Oregon Wine Country
Oregon wine country is one of the great cool-climate success stories in world viticulture. When David Lett planted Pinot Noir in the Willamette Valley in 1965, the experts said the climate was too cold and too wet. Sixty years later, Oregon Pinot Noir routinely competes with the best of Burgundy in blind tastings, and the Dundee Hills' Jory soils have been recognized as one of the most important terroirs in the New World.
The Willamette Valley dominates Oregon wine, 11 sub-AVAs stretching from Portland south to Eugene, with the Dundee Hills, Eola-Amity Hills, Chehalem Mountains, and Yamhill-Carlton each offering a distinct expression of Pinot Noir.
Southern Oregon around Ashland, Jacksonville, and the Umpqua and Rogue Valleys produces warmer-climate varieties, Tempranillo, Syrah, and Viognier, in a setting shaped more by California's influence than the maritime Willamette.
Premier Regions
Oregon's most celebrated wine regions, the essential destinations for any wine country visit.
More Oregon Wine Regions
The Willamette Valley's sub-AVAs and Southern Oregon's warmer-climate frontier.
