NORTHERNN WILLAMETTE VALLEY - THE BEST PLACE IN THE WORLD TO TASTE THE DIFFERENCE IN TERROIR

Terroir is the relationship between geology, soil, climate, hydrology and wine. The terroir of a vineyard is the “taste of the place”. The northern Willamette Valley has become world famous for the production of fine wines from the pinot noir grape. There are many soils from which to choose, but vineyard managers are favoring two soil series: Jory and Willakenzie. The Jory series was the first soil to be used to produce grapes in Oregon and is a Xeric Haplohumult that is found on deeply weathered outcrops of Columbia River basalt. The Willakenzie series is a Ultic Haploxeralf that forms mainly on marine sedimentary rocks of the northern Coast Range. Both are old, well-developed, and well-drained soils with low pH and low nutrients in the soil. These soils are especially common on the hillslopes of the northern Willamette Valley. The “Great Debate” in Oregon winemaking is which soil produces the best pinot noir grapes and henceforth the best wine. I am convinced that the best place in the world to taste the differences in terroir in pinot noir grapes is this area. Many wineries have wines from the same year and same winemaker produced from the two different soils. The volcanic soils tend to be redder in color and have red fruit tastes, whereas the marine sediment soils tend to have dark purple colors with flavors coming from the darker red fruits. At the end of the session we will get a chance to taste wines from the two soil types.