Visit Oregon's wine country

Oregon has 16 great wine areas for you to explore.  These 16 wine areas have over 300 wineries and 72 varietals that will keep you busy for some time.

The settlers that came to Oregon in the 1840’s planted the first grapes.  The first Oregon winery was the Valley View Vineyard.  This winery was built in Jacksonville in the 1850’s.

In the 1880’s the people in Southern Oregon planted Zinfandel, Riesling and Sauvignon grapes.  The wine industry in Oregon developed slowly.  Oregon wine production was shut down during Prohibition time.  The production of Oregon wine resumed in 1933.  Oregon’s wine industry remained very small for many years.  Fruit wine was the main wines produced in Oregon.

The Oregon wine industry did not start to grow until the 1960’s.  In 1961 the Hillcrest Vineyard was started in Roseburg.  Many wineries started planting Pinot Noir grapes in the Willamette valley.

In 1970 Oregon had 5 official wineries with 35 acres of grapes.  Oregon wine makers won several awards in the 1070’s.  They won more awards in the 1980’s.  Oregon had 70 bonded wineries and 320 growers by 1990.  They had around 6,000 acres planted to grapes.

By 2000 Oregon had 135 wineries and 500 growers.  There were 10,500 acres planted to grapes.  In 2005 Oregon had 314 wineries and 519 growers.

Many of Oregon’s over 300 wineries are small and family owned.  Over 200 of these wineries are in the Willamette Valley.  The Willamette Valley is near Portland and is a favorite place of wine lovers.  The Willamette valley has many great restaurants to go along with its great wine.

Oregon wineries are committed to producing great wines.  They are not into producing quantity.  Most Oregon wineries average around 5,000 cases of wine per year.

Oregon has beautiful vineyards.  There are also unique small wineries.  Wine making is a family endeavor in Oregon.  The wineries are small and family owned and because of this when you visit Oregon’s wine country you will feel special.

If you only have a short time to visit Oregon’s wine country you should check out the beautiful Willamette Valley.  There are many back roads you can travel and enjoy the beautiful scenery.  You will find great tasting rooms where you can enjoy a glass of Oregon’s famous Pinot wine.

You can check out Carlton which has over 20 wineries.  They all have great tasting rooms where you can enjoy Oregon’s exquisite wines.

Article sources:

http://www.explorer.oregonwine.org

Http://www.oregonwine.org