Why was the Yamhill-Carlton District AVA created?
At more than 3 million acres, the breadth of the Willamette Valley AVA encompasses many diverse soil types, parent material, and climatic influences. As a result the wines had diverse profiles as well. New AVAs were established after identifying growing regions within the Willamette Valley that had distinct, consistent, identifiable traits. Historically the villages of Yamhill and Carlton, just 3 miles apart, were closely connected through the timber trade, and somewhat self-contained. There is also a unique nexus of sedimentary soils and a rain shadow afforded by Oregons coast range mountains contributing to wines distinct from neighboring AVAs in a number of important ways.
