Oregon's Southern Reds

             

 

Pinot Noir is Oregon's most famous wine. That's not gob smacking news for people who closely follow the West Coast wine scene. But it may come as a surprise to hear that there are other red wines made in the Beaver State. 

International attention is mostly focused on the Willamette Valley, site of Oregon's top Pinot Noirs. South of the Willamette, close to the border with California, are the lesser known Rogue Valley AVA and Umpqua Valley AVA. 

The two appellations fall under the larger Southern Oregon AVA, established in 2005. The area is just over 2 million acres, in four sub appellations, that make up 40% of Oregon's wine: Applegate Valley AVA, Red Hill Douglas County AVA, Rogue Valley AVA and Umpgua Valley AVA. 

Climate and geography are the controlling factors for wine production along the U.S. west coast. Conditions are marginal for growing premium wine grapes in western Washington, where most of the vineyards are east of the Cascade Mountains. 

Mendocino County marks the northern most commercial vineyards in California. And, in terms of climate, southern Oregon, is closer to California than it is to the Willamette Valley.  

The most popular grapes in Oregon's south are the Bordeaux varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec. Petit Verdot is of lesser interest and is, in fact, of minimum interest now in Bordeaux. Other red varieties grown in Rogue River are Syrah and Tempranillo.  

What to look for: Southern Oregon Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux blends are not as fruit forward as those from California. The wines have a subtle fruitiness with more subdued tannin. Syrah offers dark fruits, with mineral accents and Tempranillo is more red fruits. 

Rogue Valley AVA

The Rogue Valley, between Medford and Grants Pass, is bisected by the Rogue River. The appellation is the warmest in Oregon, ideally suited to growing Bordeaux and Rhone varieties. 

Bear Creek and the Applegate and Illinois rivers are tributaries of the Rogue River, flowing between the Cascade, Siskiyou and Coastal mountain ranges, moderating the climate. 

Currently, there are 20 wineries in the Rogue Valley appellation, compared to 300 in the Willamette Valley AVA. Vineyard acreage in the Rogue Valley is the most of the four southern appellations. 

And that number doesn't include the 15 wineries in the Applegate Valley AVA, a small east-west oriented appellation within the Rogue Valley. Granitic soils impart a minerality to the area's Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. 

Umpqua Valley AVA

North of the Rogue Valley, roughly between Roseburg and the southern end of the Willamette Valley, the historic Umpqua Valley is the site of Oregon's first vineyard.  In 1961, Pinot Noir and Riesling were planted at Hillcrest Vineyard.

Today, the region has 15 wineries spread across the appellation. Diversity is the rule, with  vineyards in the western section benefiting from a cool marine influence.  More inland, growing conditions present ideal conditions for Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. 

Spanish varieties, such as Tempranillo, thrive in the volcanic soils at the southern end of the appellation, around the city of Roseburg. The choice of Tempranillo, by wineries like Abacela, point out the diversity of the region. 

In the past, Oregon wine was known as a one trick pony when it comes to red wine: only Pinot Noir. Southern Oregon offers the red wine alternative in Bordeaux and Spanish varieties.

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