Yamhill-Carlton District
Yamhill-Carlton District islocated within the Willamette Valley AVA. It's located 35 miles
southwest of Portland and 40 miles east of the Pacific Ocean and includes the hamlets of Carlton and
Yamhill.The free-flowing North Yamhill River courses through the center of a lush patchwork quilt of nurseries,
grain fields and orchards. The neatly combed benchlands and hillsides of the Yamhill-Carlton District, an
AVA established in 2004, are home to some of the finest Pinot Noir vineyards in the world.
The Numbers: 60 vineyards, 30 wineries, 1,500 acres of grapes
Wine History: Once primarily known for tree-fruit orchards, nurseries and
livestock, wheat and logging, the area now known as the Yamhill-Carlton District
has a relatively recent wine history. In 1974, pioneers Pat and Joe Campbell started Elk Cove Vineyards,
which produced the first commercial wine in the Yamhill-Carlton area at a
time when other areas of the North Willamette Valley were just starting to be planted. Other pioneers
quickly followed suit and today it is known as one of the country's finest producers of cool-climate
varietals. Yamhill-Carlton District was officially established in 2004.
Climate: The Yamhill-Carlton District is protected by high elevation
areas to the west (Coast Range), north (Chehalem Mountains) and east (Dundee Hills), which results in less
rain than surrounding areas and moderate growing conditions perfectly suited for cool-climate grapes,
including the area's signature variety: Pinot noir.
Soils: Yamhill-Carlton is comprised of coarse-grained, ancient marine
sedimentary soils, over sandstone and siltstone, that drain quickly, making them ideal
for viticulture. Grapes grown in such soil often result in wines lower in acid than those made from grapes
grown in basaltic or wind-blown soils.
Yamhill-Carlton Wineries are listed under Willamette Valley
The wineries of Oregon's Willamette Valley