5 AVA MAP 26 IVER UNTAINS OREGON’S WILLAMETTE VALLEY VALLEY AVAS American Viticultural Areas, or AVAs, are legally designated regions that have been found to possess unique geographical and climate characteristics with direct implications for wine quality and typicity. In other words, they’re places that produce special wines. The Willamette Valley AVA is one such place—and at nearly 3.5 million acres, it’s one of the largest in the United States. Variations in the Willamette Valley from site to site, such as elevation changes or the presence of nearby forests or rivers, can contribute to differences in the glass that even novice wine lovers can perceive. General attributes that make the Willamette Valley suitable for cooler-climate grape growing include the protection afforded by the Cascade mountains to the east, the Coast Range mountains to the west, and a series of lower hill chains to the extreme north of the valley. Almost all grape growing is done on hillsides, avoiding deeply fertile alluvial soils where the Willamette Valley’s other important crops, like hazelnuts, thrive.
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