One man’s basin is another man’s valley.
The Umpqua is formed by three mountain ranges: The Cascades, the Coastal Range and he Klamath, but often the area is often known as the 100 valleys of the Umpquas. The Umpqua River runs through the valley but is no way responsible for the formation of this appellation. The soils are a diverse mixture of igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks with alluvial and clays dominating the valley floor and clays. In fact, the contains at least 150 separate soil types. The climate of the region is also varied with the northern areas being cool and moist, the southern being warm and dry and the central area transitional.
Viticulture has been active since the 1880s when German settlers left California and headed north. In the modern era winemaking was established in the early 1960s and has grown to at least 60 vineyards and 12 wineries. The appellation also distinguishes itself by being the first place in the U.S. growing Grüner Veltliner. Other varietals being produced include:
- Albariño
- Baco Noir
- Barbera
- Cabernet Franc
- Cabernet Sauvignon
- Chardonnay
- Chenin Blanc
- Dolcetto
- Gewürztraminers
- Grenache
- Grüner Veltliner
- Kadarka
- Malbec
- Marechal Foch
- Merlot
- Muller Thurgau
- Muscat Canelli
- Petite Sirah
- Pinot gris
- Pinot noir
- Pinotage
- Riesling
- Roussane
- Sangiovese
- Semillon
- Sauvigon Blanc
- Syrah
- Tannat
- Tempranillo
- Valdiguie
- Vermentino
- Viognier
- Zinfandel

Umpqua Valley AVA by Gretchen Neuman for VinoVerve.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Gretchen Neuman
VinoVerve Editor