Southern Oregon

Climate

Warm, dry summers and cold nights, with far less marine influence than the Willamette Valley. The contrast inside the region is as large as the contrast with the north. The Umpqua gets between 750 and 1,500 mm of rain a year, rising from south to north, while most Rogue vineyards see only 300 to 600 mm. Almost all of it falls in winter, so vines need irrigation by late summer. Altitude sets the pace in the Rogue, where the frost-free season is shorter and spring frost is a real risk. Wildfire smoke has become the late-summer worry.

Terroir

Three mountain ranges meet here: the old Klamath and Siskiyou Mountains to the south-west, the Coast Range to the west and the Cascades to the east. The result is a patchwork of soils from metamorphic, marine sedimentary and volcanic rock, with river sediment and clay on the valley floors and mixed, stonier ground on the benches and hillsides. Most Umpqua vineyards sit at around 180 metres. Rogue vineyards average about 450 metres and climb to 800 metres and more above Ashland.

Typical Aromas