The Red Hill Douglas County, Oregon AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in Douglas County,

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

, near the town of Yoncalla. It is entirely contained within the

Umpqua Valley AVA The Umpqua Valley AVA is one of the first American Viticultural Area (AVA) in Oregon and located entirely within Douglas County, Oregon. It became a sub-appellation within the larger Southern Oregon AVA when it was established in 2004. Its bound ...

, which is itself included within the larger

Southern Oregon AVA The Southern Oregon AVA is an American Viticultural Area which lies in Southern Oregon, United States. The Southern Oregon AVA was established in 2005 and was created to include the land of two smaller AVAs: the Rogue Valley AVA and the Umpqua ...

History

Originally petitioned in 2002 as the "Red Hill AVA", the proposed

appellation An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical boun ...

name brought protest from

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 ...

vintners, where a region known as Red Hill is also located. Another AVA in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

that gained official status in 2004, the Red Hills Lake County AVA also carries a similar name. As a result, the name "Red Hill Douglas County, Oregon" was instead chosen to avoid consumer confusion and the AVA designation was granted in 2005.

Red Hill Vineyard

The AVA is the home to a single vineyard, the Red Hill Vineyard, founded by the late Wayne Hitchings in 1991. Hitchings died on September 5, 2016. Fruit from Red Hill Vineyard continues to be sold to a few winemakers throughout Oregon.

Notable wines

The 2011 Art Brut Outsider Cuvée, a sparkling wine by Roots Wine Company that contains Red Hill pinot noir and chardonnay, was a featured selection by Oregon wine club Cellar 503 in February 2016.

References

American Viticultural Areas Oregon wine Geography of Douglas County, Oregon 2005 establishments in Oregon {{wine-region-stub