Yamhill-Carlton | AVA
The Willamette Valley is a vast and varied appellation that includes ten nested AVA’s | 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. Yamhill-Carlton | 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 Yamhill-Carlton AVA was established in 2005. Located in both Washington County and Yamhill County, Oregon, this AVA is entirely contained within the Willamette Valley AVA and surrounds the towns of Carlton and Yamhill. Low ridges surround the two communities in a horseshoe shape, with the North Yamhill River running through.
The Coast Range to the west soars to nearly 3,500 feet establishing a rain shadow over the entire district. Additional protection is afforded by the Chehalem Mountains to the north and the Dundee Hills to the east. The soil here is marine sedimentary silt-loam soil and its course sediment is native to the area and is some of the oldest soil in the valley. These soils drain quickly, establishing a natural deficit-irrigation effect which helps with ripening and tannin development at lower levels of acidity.
There are currently roughly 130 wineries and vineyards in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA and over 38 tasting rooms and counting. The most common grape varieties grown here are – Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Gris. This AVA offers diverse tasting opportunities and is a bounty of beauty to experience, only 45 minutes from SW Portland. Cheers to the Yamhill-Carlton AVA!
Yamhill-Carlton | AVA
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