In Oregon, the majority of the wine-growing regions are in that Pacific coastal range, so it’s a famously wet area. As I said, Washington State is mostly in an irrigated semi-fertile desert. So you have the three regions, the three valleys, and you have these outlying areas. But that AVA is shared with southwestern Idaho. On the eastern border of Oregon, there is a wine region called the Snake River. And then the Columbia Gorge AVA is sitting right there on the border. The Columbia Valley dips into northern Oregon. As I said, that’s Oregon.īut the thing is, what’s really wild about Oregon is that there are descending AVAs basically coming down from Washington State. Within those valleys are subregions or what the United States is starting to call “nested regions.” So you have a larger AVA called the Willamette Valley, and then you have nested regions within the Willamette Valley. And then just south of that is another valley called the Rogue Valley. South of the Willamette Valley is another valley called the Umpqua Valley. In the north from Portland, which is right on the border of Washington state, all the way to Eugene, Ore., about 150 miles or so is what’s called the Willamette Valley. They can help us understand almost the entire wine-growing region of the state. There are these valleys that exist on the western side of the coastal range and they of course shoot up into the foothills of the Cascades. Because as the Cascade Mountain range goes down through Oregon, it’s called a coastal range at this point. That AVA, with all of its Pacific Ocean influence, is the most similar to what happens in Oregon. And it has that one AVA, Washington State, on the other side of what is called the Puget Sound AVA. The majority of Washington State’s wine is made on the east side of the Cascade Mountain range in a semi-fertile desert. So let’s get a sense of Oregon, what’s going on, and get a good general understanding so we can get on the ground floor as this stuff develops. But it is still developing before our eyes. And we’re kind of, just like in Washington, in this place where Oregon may have a more of an established national image than Washington State. But similar to Washington State is the development, in that it was only recently in the early 2000s that a lot of their AVAs were awarded. We talk about Oregon, which is very cool because the wine region of Oregon is just night-and-day different from the wine region in some of the wine regions of Washington State - except for Puget Sound, which I’ll get into. Kind of like how recent everything is in the United States and how we’re still exploring. Anyway, I think what my big deal with Washington State was, how recent everything is in the development of the wine industry of that state. I just love that the Pacific Ring of Fire sounds pretty cool and epic. I don’t know what my obsession is with that. Yes, we are still in the Pacific Ring of Fire. But what I’m trying to say is we are still in the Cascade Mountain range. Because if you’re from Oregon, you’re an Oregonian, and I don’t know… Anyway, I’ll get there. And I believe I’m saying the state correctly, Oregon. We are going to be just south of Washington, just north of California, in the state of Oregon. Here we are in the Pacific Northwest, still. ![]() What is happening with you today? OK, guys, we’re going south of Washington to a place called Oregon. What’s going on, wine lovers? Welcome to VinePair’s “Wine 101” podcast. Keith Beavers: My name is Keith Beavers, and I’ve been thinking about this for almost my entire life, and I have to actually verbalize this finally: The close-door button on elevators is a placebo. Listen on Spotify OR CHECK OUT THE CONVERSATION HERE Plus, what does the future of wine look like for Oregon? Tune in to learn more. The region’s history is rich with innovation and challenges, but that didn’t stop early winemakers from growing stubborn varieties like Pinot Noir. On this episode of “Wine 101,” VinePair’s tastings director Keith Beavers dives into the wine industry of another Pacific Northwest state: Oregon. Give Columbia wine a swirl at their tasting room located 43 minutes north of Seattle, where this very podcast is produced. ![]() ![]() Did you know grapes grow in the desert and make rich, amazing wine? No really, it’s like Columbia Winery has captured the state of Washington in a glass. (What, you thought only apples grew there?) Columbia Winery crafts critically acclaimed wines from some of the most impossible wine-growing terrains in the state. This episode of Wine 101 is sponsored by Columbia Winery in the fine state of Washington.
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