The thread on Kevin’s new vineyard spot got me thinking a bit, especially with regard Kevin’s statement that the best american (pinot) terroirs may not yet be discovered. I’ve been in agreement with that for a while but without a bully pulpit/blog/twitter account (by design, the last thing I need is an unedited outlet). There are places in California, for instance Napa, that seem to be pretty well worked over and the best areas close to delineated and codified. In many other places, I see plenty of vineyards planted in less than optimal conditions, and plenty of great places without even a whiff of vineyard. As I pore over maps and dream away the winter, I was wondering: What undiscovered, underplanted or unappreciated places or areas do y’all think could grow the next great west coast vineyards?
Bakersfield.
Van Duzer Corridor in the Willamette Valley. One of the coldest areas you can grow Pinot!
Bill – One word: Muscat. Hottest thing with RS these days.
Dan – interesting. Is it possible to grow in the corridor proper or are you talking about the vineyards at the terminus as it enters the Willamette Valley. What are the soils like in the area? I’m very interested in the prospects of growing grapes in the foothills of Oregon’s coastal mountains but haven’t spent the time to look at climate/topography to see if this is possible. Do you know of any vineyards outside the ‘valley’ of the willamette valley?
Ian
Ian, if by “‘valley’ of the Willamette Valley” you mean the valley floor, most of them. The vineyards are almost exclusively on slopes. What few vineyards exist on the floor are of low quality because the soil is too rich and there’s too much vigor along with frost risk.
As far as the Coast Range foothills are concerned, most of the McMinnville AVA is comprised of them as is much of the Yamhill-Carlton AVA. Hyland, Momtazi, Brittan, Meredith Mitchell, Luminous Hills, CalPERS’ big project Grand Moraine, most of Elk Cove’s vineyards, Lazy River, Elvenglade and a bunch of others are located in the foothills. In addition, there are some vineyards (including Dan’s Johan) located right in the middle of the corridor, albeit at the eastern end and outside any AVA save Willamette Valley. You can see by these maps.
http://www.themapstore.com/files/oregon/McMinnville.pdf
http://www.themapstore.com/files/oregon/Yamhill.pdf
There is a Malibu Canyon AVA. Here’s the California list:
Actually, suburban Bakersfield: Fresno
I like 'em from around Petaluma, but if it was undiscovered I wouldn’t know about it. So I’m confused. (Easy to do).
There are a lot of small micro climates to work with in Northern Mendocino and Southern Humboldt counties. Although my experience is limited and focused on one area, it seems to me that the real “undiscovered” areas are not in AVA’s. Establishing an AVA is big paperwork burden. It seems that there needs to a be a critical mass of grape growers and vintners in an area before it can get done. At least that is how it seems here.
Borden ranch in Lodi. It has the most intersesting soils I have seen in California. Just add head-trained, dry- farmed Grenache, and Carignane
Bob -
Petaluma is certainly doing some interesting things, and would have qualified a decade ago. I think we’ll be surprised by how much of the Central Valley gets planted/replanted in the next five years, but I don’t know if I’ll spend much time writing a dissertation of Central Valley terroir.
Other Bob -
I wouldn’t say McMinnville or Yamhill-Carlton represent an unappreciated region. They are high quality regions, but where is the work being done that is going to drive the future of Oregon winemaking? What places around you have you driven past and thought, ‘That be an incredible place for a vineyard’ even though there aren’t any planted in the immediate region? The proposition of the Van Duzer area is great. I’d like to spend some time checking it out.
A somm friend was telling me the other day that he thought the Cargasacchi-Jalama vineyard was a really interesting site and might eventually eclipse Peter’s original planting in terms of quality. I keep staring at the limestone on top of Fremont Peak north-east of town and wonder how I can get a bit of that. The closest vineyards are to the south and east, where it’s much warmer (other than Randall Grahm’s new planting). There’s significant limestone deposits in both mountain ranges on the sides of the Salinas Valley, but very little in established AVAs. Much has been made recently of some of the Sierra Foothills vineyards on shale and red earth. There’s got to some really interesting areas up there. What little hollows strike one’s fancy?
Tegan - Do elaborate. Which part of Lodi is this in?
Andrew - Perfect. That’s exactly what I want to hear about. I’m working on a Gabilan Mountains AVA right now, with the hope of inspiring more interest in what I think is a really compelling area, but it is dull, dull work and it doesn’t really make the vineyards any better…
This actually touches on something that is more likely to happen. Replanting most areas to varietals that would shine best.
All too often you come across acres upon acres of Cab or Chard, and you’re standing in the middle of the vineyard and you get the epiphany for “Grenache”.
Hints of petrol
We already have Temecula!
Borden ranch is North Eastern lodi.
Oil Country Tex. You’d fit right in. Maybe get a little spread out in Taft and commute?
I’ve always been intrigued with the area around Roseburg as a place to grow cool-climate Syrah. Abecela has had some success there with Merlot, Tempranillo, and Syrah, but it’s a big area with few vineyards. There a few interesting spots in the Coast Range closer to the ocean that are probably too marginal to work commercially. I would imagine that they would have been a wash-out this year.
I think the entire coast between Anderson Valley and the Rogue Valley looks to have very high potential for Burgundian varietals. There are many shallow rocky soils and the climate is cool (though unforested land is limited). My guess is that the region is relatively underexploited due to market conditions (ie no marketable AVAs) and the logistical difficulties of farming in a region with little viticulture. It’s important to remember that during CA and Oregon’s relatively short experience with Pinot (30-60 years), the emphasis was primarily on climate. I think today’s wines show that climate is important but not sufficient to produce great wine. Soil is a much more important factor for the highest possible quality, so my guess is that the next phase of CA discovery will be more soil oriented.
Meanwhile, there are completely unexplored soil types even in older AVAs like the Sc Mtns, Monterey County, the true Sonoma Coast or Mendocino, so there is still plenty opportunity for discovery in less remote areas.
Ian, the question was about “non-valley valley” and the Coast Range foothills as I recall, not whether McMinnville/Y-C are under-appreciated.
That said, there’s an entire slope north of Highway 26 stretching from just west of Portland all the way out to the Coast Range that faces essentially south. The eastern portion is highly developed but the western part is not and I drool every time I look at it.