Why Oregon’s Dundee Hills AVA Is Just Right for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay

Pinot Noir and Chardonnay ripen tremendously over time at high-elevation vineyards in the Dundee Hills AVA, producing “soft and pretty” wines. [...] Read More... The post Why Oregon’s Dundee Hills AVA Is Just Right for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay appeared first on Wine Enthusiast.

Apr 21, 2025 - 16:08

The nearly 150-mile-long Willamette Valley AVA, marked by the northward flow of the Willamette River and a delicate network of drainage basins nestled between the Oregon Coast Range and the Cascades, sub-AVAs interlock like puzzle pieces. The valley is a Goldilocks wine region with a climate that’s just right, shielded from temperature fluctuations to the east and cooler, rainier conditions to the west.

Located in the north-central portion of the region, resembling a thumbprint extending from the eastern edge of the Yamhill-Carlton AVA, the Dundee Hills AVA is a small, circular, densely planted, hilly wine-growing area formed from eroded basalt lava flows dating back to the second ice age.

David Lett was the first to plant grapevines in the Willamette Valley after Prohibition, establishing the Eyrie Vineyards in what is now the Dundee Hills AVA in 1966. After studying viticulture at U.C. Davis in the early 1960s, he sought growing sites where Pinot Noir could express the same complexity as Burgundian examples.

He’d discerned, as his son, Jason Lett—current proprietor and winemaker at Eyrie—explains, that “all fruits and vegetables achieve peak flavors when the growing season is as long as possible, with the ripening window on the edge of when the weather will shut down for the winter.”

Marque Wright in the vineyard at Haakon Lenai / Image Courtesy of Haakon Lenai

Indeed, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay ripen tremendously over time at high-elevation vineyards in the Dundee Hills. Cody Wright, owner and winemaker of Purple Hands Winery and Haakon/Lenai Vineyards, describes it this way: “The wines become soft and pretty, with high-tone fruit and acidity. It becomes even more focused when sending those vines as deep as they can go without water.”

Jory and Nekia soils, with the former named for Jory Hill in Marion County, Oregon, also enhance acidity, minerality and vibrancy, featuring layers of red and brown silty clay and loam with a foundation of red clay. Rockier areas facilitate drainage after rain, while clay promotes water retention, making dry farming possible.

Robert Drouhin, president of Maison Joseph Drouhin in Beaune, expanded the family’s vineyards to the Dundee Hills in 1987, following in the footsteps of viticultural pioneers like Lett, Dick Erath, Charley Coury (the namesake of the Coury Pinot Noir clone) and viticulturist Allen Holstein, among many others. The local post-Prohibition wine industry was still nascent in the U.S. and grew as a communal force. “Nobody had any money, and they had high ideals,” says Jason Lett.

In 1987, Don and Wendy Lange joined early visionaries. Wendy Lange remembers baking a dozen baguettes and stocking 10 cases of wine for the first seasonal open house hosted by the wine community in the early 1990s—both were gone by 1 pm.

“People put on their gumboots, got in their trucks and drove to taste wine. The first time they streamed through the door, we just looked at each other—our private home had just changed dramatically,” she recalls.

“We fell for Burgundian varietals, and the goal was to construct that vision here to the best of our ability and make it our own. Make it Oregon,” says Don Lange.

In the 1990s, Alex Sokol Blosser, president of Sokol Blosser Winery—where Susan Sokol and Bill Blosser planted vines in 1971—co-authored an application for an AVA designation alongside Rollin Soles of Argyle Winery. They referenced the term “Dundee Hills,” which had been used by white settlers in Yamhill County since the late 1890s. Geographically, it was “easy to draw a 200-foot circle around the Dundee Hills, where the uplift starts from the surrounding valley floor,” explains Sokol Blosser.

For second-generation winemakers like Wright, connections to the AVA’s forerunners run deep. “There’s a pattern, a sense of connection to a place that gives us our wings to discover ourselves,” he explains.

Later arrivals continue to push the creative envelope. Mo Ayoub, a former chef and Silicon Valley engineer, has operated a boutique wine-production space here since 2011. Ayoub grows Cabernet Franc for a barrel-aged, single-varietal bottling and for Mojo, a blend of Cabernet Franc and Pinot Noir.

“The goal is to ensure neither one outshines the other—they complement each other perfectly,” he explains. Ayoub characterizes Dundee Hills Cabernet Franc as having a distinct structure and freshness. Mojo’s “Memories” series pays tribute to his family’s roots in Lebanon, featuring a blend of Pinot Noirs from five terroirs and vineyards.

Sokol Blosser Winery, Dundee Hills, Willamette Valley, Oregon / Image Courtesy of Sokol Blosser Winery

“Pinot absorbs its environment. No two are alike, even if they’re only a quarter mile apart, due to factors like soil, sun exposure, wind, soil depth and the amount of rock present. Yet they consistently possess a silky structure, gorgeous aromatics, great texture, charm, nuances and personality—everything a great Pinot should have.”

“You learn this place, and it shows you more things,” says David Millman, the president and CEO of Domaine Drouhin Oregon. Millman recalls when, once, Robert Drouhin was asked his thoughts about his investment in Oregon. “He said, ‘It’s been a very emotionally satisfying experience.’ I thought there was going to be a fact-of-the-matter business metric. But wow, sometimes in your working life, you get to see what time can give you.”

This article originally appeared in the May 2025 Film issue of Wine Enthusiast magazine. Click here to subscribe today!