Willamette Valley Wine Country

The Willamette Valley is the reason people take Oregon wine seriously. A broad valley stretching 150 miles from Portland south to Eugene, it's Oregon's most important agricultural region and the home of some of the world's most compelling Pinot Noir outside Burgundy.

The valley's cool maritime climate — with wet winters, warm dry summers, and dramatic harvest-season rain that demands careful timing — mirrors Burgundy closely enough that several of France's most prestigious domaines have established outposts here. Domaine Drouhin Oregon, in the Dundee Hills, was the first in 1988, followed by Maison Louis Jadot's Resonance and others.

Eleven distinct AVAs within the Willamette Valley capture meaningfully different terroirs. The Dundee Hills, with their volcanic Jory soil and ideal northeast-facing slopes, produce the most structured and age-worthy Pinot Noir. The Yamhill-Carlton AVA brings marine sedimentary soils and a warmer microclimate. The McMinnville AVA, with basalt-based soils and the highest elevations in the valley, produces wines of unusual depth and complexity.