The Willamette Valley is a vast and varied appellation that includes ten nested AVAs | Chehalem Mountains, Dundee Hills, Eola-Amity Hills, Laurelwood District, Lower Long Tom, McMinnville, Ribbon Ridge, Tualatin Hills, Van Duzer Corridor, and Yamhill-Carlton. We are going to highlight each AVA and provide some hopefully fun and useful history along the way. Laurelwood District AVA | An American Viticultural Area, or AVA, is a specific type of appellation of origin used on wine labels. An AVA is a delimited grape-growing region with specific geographic or climatic features that distinguish it from the surrounding regions and affect how grapes are grown. The Laurelwood District AVA is an American Viticultural Area, and is one of Oregon’s newest AVAs, founded in 2020 after principals from Ponzi Vineyards and Dion Vineyards championed its petition. The Laurelwood District AVA sits along the northern edge of the Chehalem Mountains AVA and it is here where well-draining Laurelwood soils, rich in iron and Missoula flood deposits, contribute to the distinct character. The Laurelwood District’s boundary contains this unique soil series recognized as Laurelwood, found on the north and east facing slope of the Chehalem Mountains. The Laurelwood District AVA stretches over 33,000 acres and includes the highest elevation in the Willamette Valley, at 1,633 feet. Laurelwood soil is composed of a 15 million year-old basalt base with the coveted loess (windblown freshwater silt) as its top layer which accumulated over the past 200,000 years and at depths of 4’ to 0” depending on the elevation. Just over an hour southwest of Portland and there you will be, in the youngster of AVA’s the, Laurelwood District, sipping on world class wines amongst more than 25 wineries and 70 vineyards. Salud!
Laurelwood District AVA |