Raymond Bernard embarked on a several year quest to first identify healthy Pinot noir (and Chardonnay) vines, then graft healthy cuttings to new rootstock. In response to serious vine disease problems, a French scientific team led by Dr. The story of Pinot noir clones starts in the 1950's in France. As such, clones are an important variable in the nuances of aroma and taste. Different Pinot noir clones impart unique qualities to wine. While 'type of Pinot noir grape' or 'clone' is not a component of terroir, it is integral to the manifestation of terroir in wine. For detailed information on soil types and characteristics see Oregon Soil Survey Data. The traditional definition of a superior Pinot noir is one that expresses the uniqueness of the soil where the grapes were grown.īelow is a table of soil types in the Willamette Valley associated with vineyards planted in Pinot noir. Soil is an important component of terroir. The components of terroir include climate, soil type and topography. In the U.S., the rough equivalent to the AOC is the AVA or American Viticultural Area. Appellation designations for wines around the world generally follow this model, although the specifics can vary widely from country to country. Terroir is the central concept for the French Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC). In the world of wine it specifically denotes the idea that the land where the grapes are grown imparts unique characteristics to the wine. The French call it 'terroir', loosely translated 'sense of place'. It is often said that Pinot noir wine, perhaps more so than any other varietal, is 'all about place'. Reading the fine print on the back label or the winemaker tasting notes, may be the only way to fully understand the origin of the grapes used to make the wine. In most cases the grapes for these wines come from multiple vineyards, some of which may be located within a sub-AVA and some not, but all grapes for these labeled wines are grown in the Willamette Valley. Many wineries produce a wine with the name 'Willamette Valley Pinot Noir'. However, labels of single-vineyard wines within a sub-AVA may omit, at least on the front label, the sub-AVA and simply indicate the broader appellation 'Willamette Valley'. This is especially true if the grapes for a wine are all grown in a single vineyard located within a sub-AVA.

Many wine labels will include both the broader designation 'Willamette Valley' and the sub-AVA designation such as 'Dundee Hills'. The South Willamette Valley is not a separate AVA but it defines a large area with many vineyards from Salem south to Eugene.

These vineyards carry the appellation Willamette Valley but not the sub-AVA designations. Many vineyards are located in the Willamette Valley but outside the boundaries of a specific sub-AVA. Only the Umpqua Valley and the Columbia Gorge are not in the Willamette Valley. Pinot noir vineyards are also found in the Umpqua Valley AVA which is south of Eugene in the Roseburg area and in the Columbia Gorge AVA near the town of Hood River.īelow are the principle area of origin designations for Oregon Pinot noir. On this website, the Southern Willamette Valley is treated as a specific area. The Willamette Valley contains six sub-AVAs: Chehalem Mountains, Dundee Hills, Eola-Amity Hills, McMinnville, Ribbon Ridge and Yamhill-Carlton. The vast majority of vineyards planted with Pinot noir grapes are found in this valley that stretches roughly from the city of Portland in the north to Eugene in the south. The Willamette Valley AVA is the primary area of origin for Oregon Pinot noir wine. American Viticultural Area designations do not limit the type of grapes grown, the method of vinification, or the crop yield. Unlike most European wine appellations of origin, an AVA specifies only a geographical location from which at least 85% of the grapes used to make a wine must have been grown.

An American Viticultural Area (AVA) is a designated wine grape-growing region in the United States distinguishable by geographic features.

Oregon wine maps