Haakon Lenai Vineyard
DUNDEE HILLS
Located 28 miles southwest of Portland, the Dundee Hills AVA encompasses 6,490 acres with geology dating back 15 million years when lava flowed from northeast Oregon and pushed into the Willamette Valley, covering all but the highest hills with up to 1,000 feet of basalt.
The catastrophic Missoula floods 10-15,000 years ago deposited a blanket of sediment on land below 200 ft elevation, sparing the original red volcanic hills above the small town of Dundee. Today, the 200 ft contour line defines the Dundee Hills AVA.
Shea Vineyard
YAMHILL-CARLTON
North of McMinnville, Oregon, in the Northern Willamette Valley, the land slowly rises to the hamlets of Carlton and Yamhill. Low ridges surround the two communities in a horseshoe shape. The free-flowing North Yamhill River courses through the center of a lush patchwork quilt of nurseries, grain fields and orchards. The neatly combed benchlands and hillsides of the Yamhill-Carlton AVA, an AVA established in 2004, are home to some of the finest Pinot Noir vineyards in the world. Historically nourished by forestry and farming, this area is rapidly emerging as a global center of Pinot Noir production.
West Wind Vineyard
RIBBON RIDGE
Ribbon Ridge is a spur of ocean sediment uplift off the northwest end of the Chehalem Mountains, containing a relatively uniform 5 1/4 square miles (3,350 acres) of land. Approximately 500 acres are currently planted on the ridge, within 20 vineyards.
The AVA is distinguished by uniform, unique ocean sedimentary soils and a geography that is protected climatically by the larger landmasses surrounding it. Paucity of aquifers forces most vineyards to be dry farmed.
Ribbon Ridge is contained within the larger Chehalem Mountains AVA.
Freedom Hill Vineyard
MT. PISGAH AVA
Mount Pisgah in Polk County is situated with an excellent combination of grape-growing conditions that produce some of Oregon’s finest grapes. The mountain was formed 65 millions years ago as a sea floor volcano, and has since been covered by marine sediment and pushed up out of the ocean. This unique geology allows the grapes to develop a deep complexity in their shallow soils.
The pioneering work of the Freedom Hill Vineyard enabled 10 other vineyards to spring up in the past 40 years, taking advantage of the warmth near the Willamette, the mild influence of the Van Duzer winds, and the rain shadow of Laurel Mountain to the west. it is the Valleys second smallest AVA but on of its most densely planted.
