Williamette Valley - Chehalem Mtns - unofficial

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Shea Vineyard

About Chehalem Mtns.

It’s not yet an official American Viticultural Area, but when that day comes, Chehalem Mountains will be the largest of the Willamette Valley AVAs.

And its geology makes it the most complex of the bunch.

Among its 62,100 acres are all three major soil types — volcanic, sedimentary ocean, and wind-blown glacial loess — that winemakers in this part of the state deal with as they travel up and down the Willamette Valley. In the Chehalem Mountains in particular, the difference in soil types in the vineyard can change from one row to the next.

Terroir research over the years regarding Chehalem Mountains wines, a considerable amount of it performed by Chehalem winemaker Harry Peterson-Nedry of Chehalem, shows variances from velvety red notes to rich, dense black fruits. Pinot Noir’s delicate structure often allows for closer inspection than big Bordeaux varieties.

“Great wine is grown, not made, and the soil is where it begins,” Peterson-Nedry maintains.

He can point to 41 different soil types within this proposed appellation, which may or may not help make a case for the AVA application. And Bergström Winery vintner Josh Bergström points to estate vineyard de Lancelotti as another example of variation.

“The soil color and type as you go across the slope is really amazing,” Bergström said. “It’s a little bit of clay, a little bit of loam, but when it rains and there’s runoff, it looks just like a beach. If you dig down 10 feet, it’s 10 feet of sand on top of sandstone. That’s what it is. It’s an ancient beach.”

Sand isn’t a golfer’s friend, and it presents issues for inemakers, too.

“It creates for really stressful farming conditions,” Bergström said. “If you don’t do a lot of good soil work, the ground can be as hard as concrete during the summer time and pretty swampy in the winter time.”

However, the geography and climate of the Chehalem Mountains help him to achieve balance during the hot summer. And as if the annual arm-wrestling with Pinot Noir isn’t tough enough, in Oregon there’s the recently added pressure to deploy less chemical warfare in the vineyard.

“All our vineyards are farmed certified BD (biodynamic),” Bergström said. “We use hand tillers and hand motorized backpack sprayers. Everything is by hand.

“It’s very low cost,” he added with a chuckle. “It’s only going to cost the customer $2.50 a bottle for all that. And where other vineyards spray every seven to 10 days, we’ll have to spray twice as often.”

Fruit off that site produces “a bouquet that is amazingly spicy, and I get a lot of herbal nuances,” Bergström said. “Star anise. Great spice and deep black fruit.”

He’s not just in tune with estate fruit. Bergström sources from 40 vineyards throughout the Willamette Valley.

“The Jory/volcanic soils, Eola/Dundee fruit is more floral and red vs. out in this area, where I definitely get black fruit and spice,” he said. “There are generalities, but they do show themselves very clearly.”

Expect to find more consistency over time, Bergström predicted. “A lot of these vineyards are very young,” said Bergström, who has been making the wines for his parents since 1999. “Old for Oregon is 30, 40 years old, and that’s not old for the rest of the world, obviously. But young vineyards have to come into their own first before you can truly define the terroir difference and the appellation difference.

“In 10-15-20-25 years, will the differences be enhanced? I think so, and we’re all excited for that,” he continued. “Sadly, it will be our kids who get the most benefit from it. These younger generations — these young turks — will be getting to work with great appellations and 6 0 - plus- year-old vines. How fantastic is that?

“Yes, we’re at the cutting edge and we’re creating it, so that is pretty cool.”

Meanwhile, Peterson-Nedry and David Adelsheim — Bergström’s famous neighbor — continue to devote time, energy and resources in educating people on the soil types and the uniqueness of the Chehalem Mountains.

It’s up to the government to decide if and when their AVA will officially receive uniqueness.

GETTING THERE
From Portland, get on Interstate 5 going south.
Take Exit 289 in Tualatin and get on Tualatin-Sherwood Road heading west.
Turn left on Highway 99W, which takes you through Sherwood
and cuts through the southeast portion of the Chehalem Mountains on the way to Newberg.
Before leaving Newberg, turn right on Highway 219 and head north.
Turn left on NE North Valley Road and head due west.

 

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Chehalem Mtns.