What's an AVA?

Wine grape production occurs in predominantly five regions of Oregon: the north Willamette Valley, south Willamette Valley, Umpqua Valley, Rogue and Applegate valleys, Columbia Gorge, and Columbia Valley. Within those regions, Oregon now has 15 AVA's. Big whoop you say! It's a good thing actually. A.V.A. stands for American Viticultural Area. Some of the requirements necessary to petition for an AVA are evidence that growing conditions such as climate, soil, elevation, and physical features are distinctive. Obviously you have to have very distinct boundries outline on a map. Petitioners are required to provide such information when applying for a new AVA.
Once an AVA is established, at least 85% of the grapes used to make a wine must be grown in the specified area if an AVA is referenced on its label.
State or county boundaries — such as for Oregon or Napa County — are not AVAs, even though they are used to identify the source of a wine. One twist that will daze and confuse you I'm sure is that A vineyard may be in more than one AVA.
For example, there are many hills and valleys here in the Northern Willamette Valley that have very different soil or climatic zones than the areas around them. The Red Hills of Dundee for example has red clay-loam soils that were deposited here by ancient floods. Jory soils are typically 4-6 feet in depth and consist of a brick colored silty, clay loam. Also, the Dundee Hills benefits from being drier and warmer than many pockets that surround it. The Red Hills is also in the Willamette Valley AVA.
The Chehalem Ridge is Oregon's newest AVA (just approved on Dec. 27, 2006). It's home to over 31 wineries and has over 1600 acres planted on it. The Chehalem Ridge stretches for almost 20 miles from as far South and East as Wilsonville and as far West and North as Forest Grove.
As of February 2006, Oregon viticulture comprises more than 14,000 planted acres, 314 wineries, and 15 American Viticultural Areas (AVA’s). The first vineyards in Oregon were planted in the southern part of the state in the late 1800’s in Jackson, Josephine, and Douglas counties. Not until David Lett planted Pinot Noir on the Red Hills outside of Dundee in 1966 had anyone thought about planting any grape vines this far north however. Boy if I could go back in time and buy land in that area then... Of course I don't think the sale would have been legal since I didn't even know how to spell my name at that time.
All in all, AVA's are good. They designate a wine to a specific growing area. Once you know your growing areas, you start to taste a difference. You start to see areas that are best for growing certain types of fruit. You can't grow a good cabernet here in the Northern Willamette Valley but the Umpqua region can grow very good Cabernet. Honestly though, I prefer the Cabernet from the Walla Walla AVA. That's what AVA's are all about. Giving you more information to help you choose wines you like more than others. We have all gone into a wine store and looked at all of those labels and just wondered which one to pick. This is just one more piece of information to help you out. Now all you have to do is memorize and become familiar with all 235+ AVA's in the United States and you are well on your way to becoming one of the foremost experts in American Wine. Good Luck!

Cheers!

Ron