Page 16 - Grapevine March-April 2020

In The Winery

varied is as complex as the grapes that grow from with grapes that have a round tannin structure and
it. mixed berry aromas with undertones of exotic spic-
es and briar patches.
Flooding during the end of the last ice age formed
the Willamette Valley and left behind a com-plex A Vast Portfolio of Vineyards
series of soils with unique characteristics. A repeat-
edly melting glacial dam led to Missoula flood This year, Fullerton is working with a dozen vine-
deposits that were brought down the Columbia yards nestled among the AVAs that spawn the
Gorge and eventually became the Valley’s floor soil. entire Willamette Valley wine region. These AVAs
and their corresponding vineyards include:
The flooding from the Pacific Ocean brought
marine sediments, creating the soil that produces • Willamette Valley (Apolloni Vineyard, Bennett
voluptuous blue and black fruit with rich aromatics, Vineyard, Croft Vineyards)
denser tannins and earth tones. • Chehalem Mountain (ArborBrook Vineyard,
Nemarniki Vineyard)
Basalts originated due to lava flows from east- • Dundee Hills (Bella Vida Vineyard)
ern Oregon, which gave rise to the volcanic hills • Eola-Amity Hills (Bjornson Vineyard)
in the Valley. Here, one finds grapes that produce • McMinnville (Momtazi Vineyard)
red-fruited wines with soft tannins, a noteworthy • Ribbon Ridge (Lichtenwalter Vineyard)
acidity and spicy aromatics. • Van Duzer Corridor (Wetzel Vineyard)
• Yamhill-Carlton (Fir Crest Vineyard)
Silt blown up from the Valley onto the northeast
side of the Willamette Valley produced wind-blown This vast portfolio of vineyards are selected based
loess. This soil tends to produce a darker flavor on the Fullerton family connections. The net-work

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