…

Oregon’s Willamette Valley AVA, first established in 1983, just got a little bit bigger. Actually, it just got a teeny-tiny bit bigger, having been expanded by 29 square miles—from approximately 5,360 square miles to approximately 5,389 square miles (even the TTB calls this an approximation). This represents an increase of 0.5%. The TTB approved the rule expanding the AVA on March 3, 2016, and it will become official on April 4^th.

The expansion area is located at is southern end of the established AVA. The newly designated areas fill in some of the viticultural “no-man’s-land” located between the southern end of the Willamette Valley AVA and the north/northeast boundary of the Umpqua Valley AVA.

While 29 square miles out of a total 5,389 might not sound very significant, it is highly significant to two wineries that own vineyards in newest section of the AVA. These two wineries, King Estate and Iris Vineyards, can now bottle a good deal of their wine under the Willamette Valley AVA—an obvious benefit to the reputation (and likely price point) of the wine.

…

Interestingly enough, the application for the expansion of the AVA detailed the features of the expansion zone that are similar to the original AVA (whereas most AVA applications only try to differentiate themselves from the surrounding areas). Here is what the author of the petition, Steve Thomson (Executive Vice President of King Estate Winery) had to say about the area:

Topography:  The expansion area is, like the established AVA, composed of rolling hills between the Coast Range Mountains (to the west) and the Cascade Mountains (to the east) at elevations ranging from 500 feet to 1,200 feet. By contrast, the region outside the expanded AVA is much more rugged, mountainous, and at higher elevations.

Watershed: The expansion area is located within the watershed of the Willamette and Siuslaw Rivers, as is the established AVA. The region to the south of the expansion area is located in the watershed of the Umpqua River (as is the Umpqua Valley AVA).

Soils: The soils in the expansion area are mainly comprised of the same types of soils found in the established Willamette Valley AVA, including Willakenzie, Dupee, Jory, Bellpine, and Peavine. The area outside of the new boundaries of the AVA is mainly comprised of different soil types (although it does contain some Peavine soils).

…

Climate: The climate of the expansion area in terms of annual mean temperature, precipitation, and degree days—while slightly cooler than the average of the established Willamette Valley AVA—is much closer to the overall climate of the Willamette Valley AVA than it is to the climate data of the Umpqua Valley AVA or its surrounding  areas.

This is a minor adjustment to the boundaries of an existing AVA—even the TTB, in its calculated legalese admits that it is “not a significant regulatory action” and “will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.” However, we are guessing that Iris Vineyards and King Estate will be doing some serious celebrating, and it is always good to have a reason for cheer.

So…we’d like to say “Welcome to the brotherhood of AVAs” to the new 29 square-mile region of the Willamette Valley AVA!

Click here to access the original documents concerning the Expansion of the Willamette Valley AVA Ruling  via the Federal Register of March 3, 2016

post authored by Jane A. Nickles…your blog administrator

Are you interested in being a guest blogger or a guest SWEbinar presenter for SWE?  Click here for more information!

Hillsides of Contra Costa County at sunset

On Wednesday, February 24, 2016, the TTB approved the establishment of the Lamorinda AVA. The Lamorinda AVA is located in Contra Costa County, California, and includes part of the cities of Lafayette, Moraga, and Orinda. (California residents might recognize this area as part of the “East Bay.”) The new AVA is entirely contained within the San Francisco Bay Area AVA, which is itself entirely contained within the Central Coast AVA.

The new AVA covers a total area of nearly 30,000 acres,  much of it encompassed by suburbia,  but it is also home to 46 commercial vineyards with a total of 139 acres of vines. According to the original petition (filed on behalf of the Lamorinda Wine Growers Association in 2013), each individual vineyard is small – perhaps 5 acres or less – due to both the citified infrastructure and the hilly terrain.  In addition to the established vineyards, there are three larger commercial vineyards at various stages of being planned or established in the area; these might soon add another 130 acres of commercial vineyards to the region. There are currently six wineries operating in the area.

According to the petition, the unique features of the Lamorinda AVA include its soil, topography, and climate:

• Topography: The terrain consists mainly of moderate-to-steep hills with narrow valleys. In contrast, areas further inland are much more rugged, and areas to the west are both flatter and at lower overall elevations.
• Soils: The soils of Lamorinda tend to be thin, with high levels of clay and sand. In contrast, soils in the surrounding areas tend have more sedimentary and volcanic elements.
• Climate: The Lamorinda area is, overall, warmer than the areas to the north, south, and west due to the presence of hills that block the cooling influence of the Pacific Ocean.  It is, however, cooler than the region located further inland, to its east.

Note: The name Lamorinda is a portmanteau from the names of the three cities that make up the region: Lafayette, Moraga, and Orinda.

Welcome to the world, Lamorinda AVA!

For more information:

• The website of the Lamorinda Wine Growers Association
• Link to the original documents on the TTB website

Post authored by Jane A. Nickles…your blog administrator

One of the windmills of Solvang, California

Today, the TTB established the approximately 22,820-acre Los Olivos District viticultural area in Santa Barbara County, California. The new AVA, which becomes “official” on February 22, 2016, is wholly located within the Santa Ynez Valley AVA, and is positioned in the area between the Ballard Canyon AVA (to the west) and the Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara AVA (to the east). The towns of Solvang, Los Olivos, Ballard, and Santa Ynez are within the boundaries of the new AVA.

There are currently 47 commercial vineyards and a total of 1,120 acres of vines within the new AVA.  The area is mostly planted to Bordeaux and Rhône varieties, as well as Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. There are 12 bonded wineries in the area, including  the Brander Vineyard,  Beckmen Vineyards, and Roblar Winery.

Fred Brander of Brander Vineyards spearheaded the effort to get the AVA approved, submitting a revised, 26-page petition in March of 2013. According to the petition, the “distinguishing features” of Los Olivos as compared to the surrounding areas include its topography, soils, and climate:

• Topography: The Los Olivos AVA is mostly flat terrain, with a gentle sloping southward towards the Santa Ynez River. The surrounding area has higher elevations and steeper hills.
• Climate: The flatter topography of Los Olivos allows the area to have higher amounts of sunshine (due to less fog) and rain (due to the lack of the rain shadow effect that the surrounding areas experience). The region, being 30 miles inland from the ocean, is quite warm duriless influenced by the morning fogs and cooling influence of the coast, allowing Los Olivos to become warm during the day and cool at night.
• 

  Vineyards in the new Los Olivos District AVA

  Soils: The majority of the soils in the Los Olivos AVA are well-drained alluvial soils, mostly fine sandy loam and clay. The soils of the surrounding areas are less fertile, drain faster, and are of a different soil class.

The petition contains a good deal of information in the “name evidence” section, including a connection with the historic Rancho Los Olivos. Additional name evidence cited includes the historic Hotel Los Olivos (now known as Mattei’s Tavern) , the Los Olivos Grand Hotel (Fess Parker’s Wine Country Inn), the Los Olivos Café and, of course, the connection with the 2004 Academy Award winning movie Sideways.

Click here to access the new AVA’s Docket on the TTB Website.

Post authored by Jane A. Nickles, CWE, CSE, MBA…your blog administrator

Approximate location of the Eagle Foothills AVA

Welcome to the world, Eagle Foothills AVA!

The Eagle Foothills AVA, which was announced via a notice by the TTB on November 25, 2015, is officially the first AVA to be located entirely within the State of Idaho, effective today—December 28^th, 2015.

While serious students of wine will note that Idaho already has an AVA within its boundaries—the large  Snake River Valley AVA—a portion of that AVA is shared with the state of Oregon. The Eagle Foothills AVA is the first AVA Idaho can claim solely for itself.

The new AVA, located entirely within the Snake River Valley AVA, is spread across approximately 50,000 acres of land. Tucked up against the eastern edge of the Snake River Valley AVA, the southern border is located approximately 25 miles north/northwest of Boise, Idaho’s capital city. The new AVA encompasses the area between the towns of Eagle (to the south) and Emmett (to the north) in Gem and Ada counties.

A main feature of the Eagle Foohthills AVA is its proximity to Prospect Peak, a mountain in the Snake River Range that reaches over 4,800 feet in elevation. The hills that form the best vineyard areas in the AVA are south-facing slopes that enjoy afternoon sunshine coupled with evening shade.

The Snake River near the Idaho/Oregon border

The climate is cool overall, thanks in part to the elevation, along with the down-sloping winds coming off the mountains and foothills. These combine to make the climate in the Eagle Peak AVA significantly cooler than the surrounding area. The degree days at 3 Horse Ranch Vineyard (currently the only winery operating in the new AVA) average  2,418—making this a Region I area according to the Winkler Scale.

There are currently just over 70 acres planted to vine, with a total of 16 vineyards in the area. There are plans for more than 450 additional planted acres in the near future. Grapes planted in the area include Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Viognier, Roussanne, and Sauvignon Blanc.

The establishment of the Eagle Foothills AVA is a credit to Martha Cunningham, co-owner (along with her husband, Gary) of 3 Horse Ranch Vineyard. The Cunninghams bought their ranch and began planting grapes nearly two decades ago. A few years ago, Martha happened to read a suitability analysis written by Dr. Greg Jones of Southern Oregon University for the Idaho Wine Commission. She realized the area in the Eagle Foothills had a unique terroir, and with the help of Dr. Jones and Dr. Clyde Northup (of Boise State University) filed the original AVA Petition in February of 2013.

The Eagle Foothills AVA is the fourth new AVA to be established in 2015. Do you know the other three?

Post authored by Jane A. Nickles, CWE, CSE – your blog administrator

References:

• The Original Petition for the Eagle Peak AVA (and supporting documents)
• Great Northwest Wine
• Idaho Wine Commission
• 3 Horse Ranch Vineyards

The 2015 harvest at Sierra Peaks Winery – one of 3 wineries in the new Squaw Valley-Miramonte AVA  http://www.sierrapeakswinery.com/

There’s a new AVA in town!!

Officially established on September 8, 2015, the Squaw Valley-Miramonte AVA is located in California’s San Joaquin Valley and snuggled safely into the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

But before we move on, let me clarify a few things that this AVA is NOT:

• Despite the name Squaw Valley, this is NOT the famous ski resort, host of the 1960 Winter Olympics (The ski resort of the same name is actually located about 300 miles away, near Lake Tahoe).
• Despite the fact that the AVA is indeed located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range, this new AVA is NOT part of the Sierra Foothills AVA.  The southern end of the Sierra Foothills AVA is actually about 50 miles – and at least two counties – away. (Keep in mind that the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range is over 400 miles long.)

So now we can turn to a few things that are indeed true concerning this new AVA:

• The new viticultural area covers approximately 44,690 acres in Fresno County, California. The area is mostly rural and located in the foothills about 40 miles to the east of the city of Fresno.
• 

  Approximate location of the new Squaw Valley-Miramonte AVA

  The AVA is located along the highway to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National parks. (Sequoia Sequoia National Forest is the home of the giant Sequoias, considered to be among the largest trees, and the largest living organisms, on earth).

• The area currently has 2 wineries and 3 commercial vineyards totaling about 7.5 acres, including Sierra Peaks Winery , Riffelhoff Winery, Buttercup Vineyards,  and Purgatory Vineyards. The region grows mostly warm weather varieties.
• The topography of the AVA varies from the gentle rolling hills of the lower elevations to steep and rugged hillsides covered with boulders and oak woodlands as on travels east.
• Elevations range from 1,600 to 3,500 feet with slope angles measuring from 15 to 40 percent, which generally requires all vineyard work – including harvesting – to be done by hand.
• Other distinguishing features of the AVA include cooler daytime temperatures and warmer nighttime temperatures than the surrounding San Joaquin Valley, and significantly more rainfall than the surrounding valley (but less than the forest to the north).

You can catch the full details – straight from the TTB – just click to read the document concerning the:  Establishment of the Squaw Valley-Miramonte Viticultural Area

Welcome to the world, Squaw Valley-Miramonte AVA!

Post authored by Jane A. Nickles, your blog administrator.