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Appellation · United States

Umpqua Valley

Southern Oregon’s oldest wine area, warmer than the Willamette, and the state’s centre for Spanish and Rhône varieties.

Umpqua Valley AVAmaritimemoderate
What to expect in the glass

Medium-bodied reds with red fruit and firm acidity — Tempranillo here is fresher and lighter than in Spain.

About Umpqua Valley

The Umpqua Valley lies south of the Willamette in a series of small valleys with markedly varied microclimates, and it is warmer overall.

Oregon’s first post-Prohibition winery, HillCrest, was founded here in 1961 — four years before the Willamette plantings.

It has become the state’s centre for Tempranillo, which was an unlikely choice and has worked well.

What the name means

Legal name
Umpqua Valley AVA
Type
American Viticultural Area (AVA)
Set by
Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB)
Recognised
1984
Regulates
Origin only. It sets no rules about varieties, yields, ageing or winemaking.

Only where the grapes were grown, plus the percentage that must come from the named area. An AVA sets no varietal, yield, ageing or winemaking rules whatsoever — the single most commonly misunderstood fact about US wine labels.

Grapes

Wines from here

red

Medium-bodied dry red

The middle of the red-wine spectrum: enough structure for food, not so much that it dominates. The most versatile red category.

What to eat, and how to serve it

Derived from this region’s signature styles. Each is listed separately, because a region does not have one serving temperature.

Medium-bodied dry red

Serve at 15–17°C (cellar cool).

Try with fillet steak, grilled chicken or turkey.

Where to go next

Places worth trying if you like this one — neighbours, rivals, and the obvious step across.

  • Rogue Valley — Oregon’s warmest and southernmost AVA, close to the California border, growing Bordeaux and Rhône varieties.
  • Willamette Valley — Oregon’s Pinot Noir region, cooler and more restrained than California and closer in style to Burgundy.
  • Oregon — A cool, wet, marginal state that bet on Pinot Noir in the 1960s when the conventional wisdom said it could not be done.

Sources

Sources consulted