Tualatin Hills is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located due west of Portland and just east from the

Oregon Coast Range The Oregon Coast Range, often called simply the Coast Range and sometimes the Pacific Coast Range, is a mountain range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region, in the U.S. state of Oregon along the Pacific Ocean. This north-south runni ...

in the upland hills of the

Tualatin River The Tualatin River is a tributary of the Willamette River in Oregon in the United States. The river is about long, and it drains a fertile farming region called the Tualatin Valley southwest and west of Portland at the northwest corner of the W ...

watershed and encompasses elevations between . It was established on May 13, 2020 by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). It lies entirely within the northern most location of the

Willamette Valley AVA The Willamette Valley AVA ( ) is an American Viticultural Area which lies in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. The AVA is the wine growing region which encompasses the drainage basin of the Willamette River. It stretches from the Columbia Rive ...

in and around towns like

Gaston Gaston is a masculine given name of French origin and a surname. The name "Gaston" may refer to: People First name *Gaston I, Count of Foix (1287–1315) *Gaston II, Count of Foix (1308–1343) *Gaston III, Count of Foix (1331–1391) *Gaston ...

, Forest Grove,

Sherwood Sherwood may refer to: Places Australia *Sherwood, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane *Sherwood, South Australia, a locality *Shire of Sherwood, a former local government area of Queensland *Electoral district of Sherwood, an electoral district from ...

and Cornelius. To the south and southeast are the Chehalem Mountains with elevations of over and considered to be a separate, distinct landform from the uplands within Tualatin Hills. The region stretches over approximately and contains 21 wineries with 33 commercially-producing vineyards that covers approximately . The distinguishing features of Tualatin Hills are its soils, elevation, and climate.

Terroir

The Willamette Valley is full of microclimates, varying aspects and more that have a profound impact on the wines grown there. Tualatin Hills is partially adjacent at its southern end to Laurelwood District AVA which was established with Tualatin Hills. The two AVAs are both noted for the Laurelwood soils consisting of exceptionally fine loess deposited over ancient

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

. The silt-sized sediment was formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust produced by the grinding down of basaltic and other volcanic rocks by

glaciers A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...

during the last

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gree ...

. However, Tualatin Hills also contains Kinton and Cornelius soils mixed with the Laurelwood soil while its adjacent AVA is primarily a concentration of its namesake soil.

Wine Industry

The area lies in the heart of Oregon's Pinot Noir producing zone. It is home to some of the oldest vineyards in Oregon, including David Hill, Ponzi and Cooper Mountain. The AVA petition filed at the TTB in 2015 was led by Alfredo Apolloni of Apolloni Vineyards, Rudy Marchesi of Montinore Estate and Mike Kuenz of David Hill Vineyard and Winery.

References

External links

Tualatin Hills
Washington County Visitors Association
TTB AVA Map

American Viticultural Areas Oregon wine Geography of Multnomah County, Oregon Geography of Washington County, Oregon 2020 establishments in Oregon {{wine-region-stub