Questions for Pac-NWers:

What are the highest elevation vineyards in WA and OR? And are there really any vineyards planted west of Umpqua in OR or is all of that land lumber-industry designated*? If not, why not? I would think that there would be more interest in cooler microclimates than the Willamette Valley provides. No?

*I’ve heard that there is a lot of herbicide usage in these timber areas

Thank you,
Bill

Does no one know? Any ideas where I could find this info out? TIA.

Bill

Well around here Walla Walla Vintners and Leonetti have the highest at around 1100 feet or so. Red mountain could also be in the hunt, but I honestly do not know their elevation. Many vineyards on the columbia are down from us so I doubt any of them would be of interest.
Cheers

Many years we struggle to ripen pinot noir before it rots as it is. Why would there be any interest in someplace cooler and wetter?

Bill, I think in the willamette valley we are one of the highest, btwn 1000-1100. I don’t know about down south.
We are also partially timber land, surrounded by a great deal of forest, all we do is let the trees grow, mother nature seems to do the rest
Cheers
Linda

Vineyard management without irrigation; lower alcohol, higher acid wines; the ability to better produce the more aromatic varieties; and perhaps the addition of new soil-types to express yet another facet of terroir -I know that Oregon has an incredible array of soil as is, but you can never have too many.

How significant is the summer rainfall once you get closer to the Puget Sound? Is Yamhill just as dry as everything east of the Cascades?

Thanks for the responses.

Cheers,
Bill

Thanks Linda. Our vineyards are also basically in a forest-clearing. Do you see much higher sensitivity to Oidium and Peronospora being that close to the woods?

Cheers,
Bill

Don’t know if they sits at the tippy top, but 2 that are high up there include:

In WA, Elephant Mtn sits at 1,320-1,460

In OR, Cloudrest vyd in the Chehalem Mts on Bald Peak is 1,000 ft +

Cheers, Ed

ITB - Angel Vine

As one moves north toward Puget Sound it gets slightly wetter and a lot cooler. By the time you reach Seattle summer high temperatures are about 10° F cooler than the Willamette Valley. Yamhill County is both cooler and wetter in the summer than east of the Cascades.

Steven and Kris at Analemma are still flying under the radar, but are doing some really cool stuff sourcing fruit one of the highest vineyards sites I’ve heard of in the Pacific NW. They’re building a new winery near Mosier, about an hour east of Portland.

http://www.analemmawines.com/vineyard/

Atavus Vineyard, with plantings going back to 1965: “Analemma wines showcase the Atavus Vineyard, located in the foothills of Mount Adams at 1700 feet. With a direct view of Mount Hood, the vineyard lies on a 12% south facing slope.”

For quite a few vintages, Dominio IV has been sourcing Viognier from two sites in the Rouge Valley AVA, Fort Miller and Crater View, that top out at 2000’-2200’.

Bill, Puget Sound is in Washington, to the north of us. That’s where Seattle is.

The Umpqua Valley is to the south, with the Umpqua River flowing into the Pacific Ocean. To the west of the Willamette Valley, the coast gets approximately 90 inches of rain a year and I don’t know if anyone measures rain in the mountains that stand between, whereas Yamhill would be closer to 35. East of the Cascades, the land of cabernet, syrah, zinfandel and merlot, they get maybe 7.

I know Bob, just a general question for the responders. Thanks for the rainfall info. The reason I’m asking about all of this is that the climate seems to be similar in a lot of ways to the Pfalz and to Alsace which is just south of us (reasonably warm, sunny weather but still within a relatively cool-climate; mountain ranges to the west and the rain-shadow that is a result of that. In fact, at around 35 inches/ year, Yamhill gets almost twice as much rain as we do, though I would think much less during the growing season and more in winter?) That being said, OR and WA aren’t particularly well-known for Riesling (WA perhaps a little more-so) and I’m trying to figure out why they are not. The other grapes that we grow here (Pinot Blanc, Gris, Gewürtztraminer and of course Pinot Noir) are well represented more or less. Why not Riesling? The NW examples I’ve tasted don’t seem to have the acidity that I like. A longer growing season, soil-types, more summer precipitation and vineyard management are some of the possibilities that are running through my head. It seems that Umpqua might have the best climate for Riesling in Oregon so far. Why not look a little further west and higher-up? Is zoning a problem? Land prices can’t be much unless the Timber industry has all of it locked-up.

Anyway, thanks for the responses everyone.

Cheers,
Bill

Wow. That looks like a remarkable situation. I might have to visit!

Cheers,
Bill

The short answer to your question about riesling is, “There’s no money in it.”

As for the land, much of the area you’re talking about is under the control of the BLM.

Bill also try Teutonic wine Co.
I know they strive for high elevation, high acid wines.

To answer your question about the Puget Sound.
A few years ago some friends wanted us to purchase land on Stretch Island, a small island down by Tacoma (45 minutes South of Seattle) on that island there was someone else bidding on that land so that he could plant another 2 acres of Pinot, that was 6+ years ago and I have not seen a commercial release from that vineyard yet.
I’t too cold and variable to get the ripeness in order to grow a grape that would actually sell in the market place. Not to mention that the land is also expensive, most of those areas that look like growing areas are generally owned by vacation land or ranchers or growers.
While the land is not in the area of Napa, but still expensive to clear, plant and spend a couple of leafs until money starts coming in.

Riesling is Washington’s most planted grape and Ste. Michelle is the largest producer of Riesling in the world. At one time it was thought Riesling was the only grape that was likely to ripen. In the early 80s Langguth invested very heavily in the state, but the winery didn’t last long. And, of course, more recently Dr. Loosen has been working with Ste. Michelle.

I’d be afraid to enter that URL into my browser on my work computer, it looks like the name of a porn movie!

Yes, I’ve read that CSM was the largest single producer of Riesling. But while WA is famous for Syrah, Cab and Merlot, and OR makes some of the worlds best Pinot Noir and (IMO) Chardonnay, neither is recognized for making particularly good Riesling (there may very well be exceptions). I don’t want to sound like a jerk, but if CSM Eroica is considered one of the top Rieslings in the US, there is a lot of room for improvement.

Cheers,
Bill

Thanks for that info. And Yup, I do need to try Teutonic. I’ve been hearing about them for a few years, but hard to find.

Cheers,
Bill