Discover the Wines of Umpqua Valley

Umpqua Valley Abacela Vineyard photo credit Cori Solomon

When thinking about Oregon wine, one immediately thinks of the Willamette Valley with its emphasis on chardonnay and pinot noir. But Oregon has 23 AVAs, representing a diverse area with unique soils and microclimates. One AVA, the Umpqua Valley, represents one of the older wine regions in Oregon. Established in 2004, the Umpqua Valley is a sub-appellation within the Southern Oregon AVA. It is a gem of a wine region and an area where several grape varieties were first planted in the United States, namely grüner veltliner, pinot noir, and tempranillo.

Umpqua Valley

Old pinot noir Vines at HillCrest Winery photo credit Cori Solomon

The Umpqua Valley is known as the "Hundred Valleys of the Umpqua." This name reflects the terrain, consisting of interconnecting small mountain ranges and valleys. The AVA lies between the Cascade Mountains and the Oregon Coast in Douglas County. It has over 150 different soil types and boasts over 30 wineries growing 50+ grape varieties. 

The climate varies depending on location. In the north, near the town of Elkton, the area sees a cool, marine-influenced climate. Cool-climate varieties thrive. The central region, northwest of Roseburg, features a more intermediate climate where cool and warm varieties flourish. The section south of Roseburg is warmer and more arid. Warm-climate varieties grow well here. 

Pinot Noir

Dyson DeMara, Owner of HillCrest Winery photo credit Cori Solomon

Richard Sommer established Oregon's oldest estate winery, HillCrest Winery in 1961 in Roseburg, Oregon. He is also credited with planting the first pinot noir in the United States and being the father of the modern Oregon wine industry. This pioneer's first commercial bottling of Oregon pinot noir occurred in 1967. Thus began Oregon's fascination with pinot noir.

Since its founding, Oregon has established itself as a premier region for producing pinot noir. Richard Sommer's vision brought pinot noir and Riesling into the spotlight in Oregon and the United States.

HillCrest Winery Tanks photo credit Cori Solomon

HillCrest Vineyard is the state's oldest continuously running vinifera winery. Dyson and Susan DeMara purchased this legendary winery in 2003. Dyson's background is befitting. DeMara's career took him to Napa, where he worked at Pine Ridge Winery and Robert Mondavi. He fondly speaks of his mentor, Robert Mondavi.

The DeMara's carry on Richard Sommer's dream on their 50-acre vineyard, where 13 acres of old vines remain, and by maintaining the charm of the original winery building with the motto, "Good wine tastes like the grape, great wine tastes like the place." DeMara creates his wines with the most natural techniques, furthering his premise of tasting the place, not the grape.

Looking back today, DeMara has two outstanding mentors: Richard Sommer in the Umpqua Valley and Robert Mondavi in the Napa Valley. The wines produced today at HillCrest Winery represent the influence and inspiration of both men.

Grüner Veltliner

Stephen Reustle, Owner of Reustle Prayer Rock photo credit Cori Solomon

Stephen Reustle had always dreamed of owning a vineyard and winery. He had a thriving marketing company in Philadelphia. After selling that company, Stephen and his wife moved to the West Coast to find a property to start a vineyard. A newspaper ad offering potential vineyard land in the Umpqua Valley caught their eye. When Reustle purchased the property in 2000, the remains of a failed Christmas tree farm and poison oak surrounded the property.

At the top of the property lies a large boulder known as Prayer Rock, where Reustle and his son would go to pray on the rock. The winery's name, Reustle Prayer Rock, resulted from visiting that special rock.

Reustle Prayer Rock Grüner Veltliner photo credit Cori Solomon

Reustle was intrigued by the Austrian grape grüner veltliner and planted the variety in 2003. In 2005, Reustle was the first to bottle grüner veltliner in the United States commercially.

Reustle became known for his grüner veltliner and the other varieties he produced. His grüner has won many awards. After sampling some of the grüner at Reustle Prayer Rock, I found that the wine offers a bright demeanor with creamy qualities.

A visit to Reustle includes a visit to his elaborate wine cave, the first built in Southern Oregon.

Tempranillo

Abacela Barrel Select Tempranillo photo credit Cori Solomon

Earl Jones's love for Spanish wines developed while he was a resident at UCSF. Little did he know that about 30 years later, he would plant tempranillo and be the first to produce the wine in Oregon and the United States.

As scientists, Earl and his wife Hilda took a gamble when they planted tempranillo after moving to the Umpqua Valley. They had yet to learn their venture into this Spanish variety would take off, bringing notoriety to this grape throughout the United States.

Naming the winery Abacela has many meanings for the Jones—abacelar means to plant a grapevine. The name also represents their dedication and research in growing grapes and producing wine, especially Tempranillo. Extensive investigations, known to Jones as "The Project," went into determining how to grow tempranillo best. With the help of their son Greg, they determined the factor that most impacted the quality of tempranillo was climate. Finding the locations in the Umpqua Valley was a matter of variety-site matching and homoclime.

This technique was used to plant other varieties, such as albariño (one of the first planted in America), cabernet franc, malbec, Port-style Douro grape-based wine, tannat, tinta amarela (America's first planted), touriga nacional, and graciano.

In addition, Abacela grew, produced, and bottled among the first single varietal syrah, grenache, viognier, dolcetto, petit verdot, touriga naçional, sangiovese and nebbiolo in the state of Oregon.

Today, Greg Jones is the CEO of this family-run winery. He uses his background in atmospheric science to perfect his vineyard practices.

Two other interesting facts make Abacela a very unique winery and vineyard. A fault line runs east-west across a portion of the property, and the soils just north of the fault line are very different from those below.

Abacela Old Vines photo credit Cori Solomon

The property has some very old orchards planted between 1849 and 1871. Many of these trees are heritage apple and pear trees. Within the orchard was a blackberry thicket. Entangled in these thickets, the Jones found ½ acre vineyard. They found "a tangled mess of five types of grapes, some with trunks the size of small trees and scared from wildfires. Twisted python-like cordons grew horizontally within the blackberry thickets, and one 60 ft long cordon had taken roots wherever it touched the ground." One of the vines was sent to UC Davis, and DNA analysis revealed it was listan prieto, a type of Mission Grape brought to America in the 1500s. Conjecture has it that it may have arrived in Oregon from the missions in California.

Umpqua Valley From Pioneering To Current Day

Pioneers in Umpqua set the standards for pinot noir, grüner veltliner, and tempranillo in the United States. They also enabled Oregon to become a world-class wine producer in Southern Oregon.