American Viticultural Area (AVA)

An American Viticultural Area (AVA) is a designated wine grape-growing region in the United States distinguishable by geographic features. 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. American Viticultural Area designations do not limit the type of grapes grown, the method of vinification, or the crop yield.

The Willamette Valley AVA is the primary area of origin for Oregon Pinot noir wine. 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 contains six sub-AVAs: Chehalem Mountains, Dundee Hills, Eola-Amity Hills, McMinnville, Ribbon Ridge and Yamhill-Carlton. On this website, the Southern Willamette Valley is treated as a specific area. 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.

Oregon Pinot Noir Appellations

Below are the principle area of origin designations for Oregon Pinot noir. Only the Umpqua Valley and the Columbia Gorge are not in the Willamette Valley. Many vineyards are located in the Willamette Valley but outside the boundaries of a specific sub-AVA. These vineyards carry the appellation Willamette Valley but not the sub-AVA designations. The South Willamette Valley is not a separate AVA but it defines a large area with many vineyards from Salem south to Eugene.

Many wine labels will include both the broader designation "Willamette Valley" and the sub-AVA designation such as "Dundee Hills". This is especially true if the grapes for a wine are all grown in a single vineyard located within a sub-AVA. 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". Many wineries produce a wine with the name "Willamette Valley Pinot Noir". 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. 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.

AVA / sub-AVA Details

Willamette Valley Wineries
Winegrowers Association

Chehalem Mountains
Map
Photos
Winegrowers Association

Ribbon Ridge
Map
Winegrowers Association

Dundee Hills
Map
Photos
Winegrowers Association

Yamhill-Carlton
Map
Photos
Winegrowers Association

McMinnville
Map
Winegrowers Association

Eola-Amity Hills
Map
Winegrowers Association

South Willamette Valley
Map

Umpqua Valley
Map
Winegrowers Association

Columbia Gorge
Map
Winegrowers Association

It is often said that Pinot noir wine, perhaps more so than any other varietal, is "all about place". The French call it "terroir", loosely translated "sense of place". In the world of wine it specifically denotes the idea that the land where the grapes are grown imparts unique characteristics to the wine.

Terroir is the central concept for the French Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC). Appellation designations for wines around the world generally follow this model, although the specifics can vary widely from country to country. In the U.S., the rough equivalent to the AOC is the AVA or American Viticultural Area.

The components of terroir include climate, soil type and topography.

Soils of the Willamette Valley

Soil is an important component of terroir. The traditional definition of a superior Pinot noir is one that expresses the uniqueness of the soil where the grapes were grown.

Below is a table of soil types in the Willamette Valley associated with vineyards planted in Pinot noir. For detailed information on soil types and characteristics see Oregon Soil Survey Data.

Pinot Noir Clones

While "type of Pinot noir grape" or "clone" is not a component of terroir, it is integral to the manifestation of terroir in wine. Different Pinot noir clones impart unique qualities to wine. As such, clones are an important variable in the nuances of aroma and taste.

The story of Pinot noir clones starts in the 1950's in France. In response to serious vine disease problems, a French scientific team led by Dr. Raymond Bernard embarked on a several year quest to first identify healthy Pinot noir (and Chardonnay) vines, then graft healthy cuttings to new rootstock. After many years of monitoring these new vines as well as producing wine from the grapes, a series of disease-free, high performing "clones" was selected and became available to winegrowers. A similar, smaller program of clone development was carried out at the University of California at Davis. Today the number of Pinot noir clones available exceeds all other varietals.

In the 1960's and 1970's, the early years of Pinot noir vine planting in Oregon, clones formed the basis of vineyard development not only because of disease-free characteristics but also for genetic variations allowing selection for ripening time, berry size, cluster traits as well as factors such as character and taste in the resulting wine.

Before clones became available, Richard Sommer was working in the Umpqua Valley at HillCrest were he planted a "massale" selection he acquired from Louis Martini Sr. Stanley Ranch in Carneros, California in 1961. These were probably the first pinot noir vines of any origin to be planted in Oregon.

The first Pinot noir clones as we know them today to be planted in Oregon were: Pommard and Wadensvil.

In the mid-1960's to the early 1970's, Willamette Valley pioneer Pinot noir winegrowers like David Lett, Charles Coury, David Adelsheim, Dick Erath and Myron Redford planted Pommard and Wadensvil clones. They are the earliest planting of Pinot noir vines in the Willamette Valley. They are still planted today.

Newer clones, often labeled Dijon clones, include: 113, 114, 115, 667, 777, 828

These six clones became available to Oregon growers in 1989.

New clonal selections are still being tested. Their introduction provides winegrowers with new opportunities to develop, and, Pinot noir wine lovers more opportunities to explore, the seemingly infinite complexities of taste and character that are the hallmark of this unique varietal.

Because of the diversity of clones used in Oregon vineyards, Pinot noir wine lovers can do comparison tastings from single vineyard wines that are made exclusively from different clones. Of course other characteristics of vineyards such as soil, elevation, and micro-climate as well as winemaking styles will also influence the resulting wines, but the clonal selections may reveal distinctive differences in aroma and taste. To find wines that are produced from a single clone, go to the search page. Under Search Wines, choose a selection from "Single Clone" to find wines made exclusively from that clone.