Applegate Valley
Applegate Valley is one of Oregon's newest
appellations. The valley runs for fifty miles from the California border
to the Rouge River. The Valley was at one time part of the Rouge
Valley AVA and lies entirely within the Rouge Valley. Both of which
are inside the Southern Oregon AVA.
The vineyards are planted to
such as Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah,
Chardonnay and Zinfandel.
Applegate Valley's wine history began in 1852 when an early area
settler named Peter Britt planted wine grapes. In 1873, he opened Valley View
Winery, Oregon's first official winery. Valley View closed in 1907, then prohibition
hit the State in 1916. It wasn't until the 1970s, after modern pioneers began
discovering the neighboring areas' quality wine growing conditions, that Applegate
Valley experienced a resurgence of winemaking. It began with a few family run
wineries who planted their roots and opened their doors. Today, this area
is an important wine growing region turning out a diversity of high-quality
wines. The appellation became official in 2001.
Climate: Applegate Valley has a moderate climate that
generally enjoys a warm, dry (just 25.2 inches of annual rain) growing
season with hot days and cool nights perfect for warm-climate varieties.
Soils: Applegate Valley's soil types are typically granite in
origin, and most of the area's vineyards are planted on stream terraces
or alluvial fans, providing deep, well-drained soils that are ideal for
high-quality wine grapes.
Topography: Applegate Valley is
surrounded by the Siskiyou Mountains, which were created by upthrusts
of the ocean floor as a plate forced its way under the continental shelf.
The Siskiyou National Forest borders the Applegate Valley to the west,
and the Rogue River National Forest to the east. Vineyards are typically
grown at higher elevations up to 2,000 feet.
Wineries of Applegate Valley