Bedrock Geology and Soils of Oregon s Tempranillo Producing Regions Compared to Spain s Benchmark Rioja and Ribera del Duero Regions

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1 Bedrock Geology and Soils of Oregon s Tempranillo Producing Regions Compared to Spain s Benchmark Rioja and Ribera del Duero Regions Dr. Scott Burns Portland State Univ.

2 Outline of the Talk 1) Terroir and Background 2) Rioja and Ribera del Duero Terroirs 3) Umpqua Valley 4) Rogue Valley North Side 5) Rogue Valley the North Rogue 6) Rogue Valley South Side 7) Applegate Valley 8) Conclusions

4 Seven Important Ingredients for Making a Fine Wine Grapes (12 clones in Will. V) Geology/Soils Climate Soil Hydrology Physiography Winemaker Vineyard Management

5 Terroir The total elements of the vineyard Taste of the place Bedrock geology Soils: texture, structure, depth of soil, drainage, color, age Orientation of slope Elevation

6 Rioja: Gaudium in Cenicero Vineyards of Marques de Caceres

7 Rioja: Galets in Cenicero Vineyards of Marques de Caceres

8 Rioja: Red Clay Soils: Cenicero Vineyards of Marques de Caceres

9 Geology and Soils of Rioja Mostly Sedimentary Rocks created when Iberia crashed into Europe 65 Ma and uplifted Tethys Sea sediments! Rocks: mostly limestone with a little sandstone and some shales (silt and clay) 1500 ft elevation plateau, /yr precip Alta higher elevation, cooler, lighter wine Alavera poor soil, full bodied, high acidity Baja drier, warmer, Mediterranean clim.

10 Soils of Rioja Most sought after: Limestone/sandstone, rocky soils low yields, high quality Near rivers silty, rocky alluvial soils (Ebro River 150 km long) Side slopes red (iron rich) and clay rich soils with chalk Sandy marls soils and chalky limestone (Best wines with limestone calcareous and clay soils slow ripening)

11 Geology and Soils of Ribera Banks of the River del Duero High Plateau ( ft) one of highest grape areas in Europe: hard winters and long, dry, hot summers Rocks sedimentary (20-30 Ma) uplifted marine sediments mainly limestone with lenses of silts/clays/sands Gradation from river up to the slopes of soil (not as much of pedogenic clay in Rioja)

12 Umpqua: History of the AVA Formally accepted as AVA in km long and 40 km wide 1961 Richard Sommer started Hillcrest Vineyards (first winery in post-prohibition Oregon) Today: 39 vineyards and 24 wineries

14 Basic Geography of the AVA Convergence of three mountain ranges: Coast Range, Klamath Mountains, and the Cascade Range Called the Hundred Valleys of the Umqua Antecedent Stream: Umpqua (starts in Cascades and flows to Oregon Coast

15 Climate of the AVA Cool Climate at the North and Intermediate and Warm at the South North: Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, German wines (Elkton and Red Hills Sub-AVA s) South: Tempranillo, Cabernet, Merlot, Syrah, Grenache, Malbec Precipitation: North 53 and South 26 GDD: 1700 (north) to 2800 (south)

16 Southern Oregon Mesoclimate Long growing season and cool autumn Allows ripeness without accumulation of excessive sugars so wines are complex and full-bodied Perfect for Tempranillo similar climate to Rioja and Ribera del Duero of Northern Spain (now have 52 vineyards in Oregon growing Tempranillo!)

18 Geology of the Umpqua 1) Tyee Fm (Coast Range): 121 acres 2) Siletzia Terrane: 530 acres 3) Umpqua Turbidites: 213 acres 4) Klamath Terranes: 54 acres 5) Stream Terraces: 1272 acres Total Acres in AVA: 2190 acres

19 Klamath Terrane: Geology/Soils Two Wineries (Abacela is the biggest) Age: 225 Ma accreted terranes: partially metamophosed sandstones, shales, conglomerates, basalts, serpentine Main soil: Sutherlin Series (Ultic Haploxeralf) great soil old! 54 acres

20 Abacela Winery

21 Umpqua Basin Turbidites 10 wineries and vineyards Tertiary uplifted sea floor of turbidites: mainly sandstones with some shales and conglomerates of Eocene Age (35-45 Ma) Main soils: Mainly Ultic Haploxeralfs (Sutherlin, Rosehaven & Oakland Series) with some Typic Haploxerults (Josephine) and Dystric Xerochrepts (Speaker) 213 acres

22 Giardet Winery

24 Spangler Winery: Syrah Vineyard

25 Reustle Prayer Rock Winery

26 Umpqua Stream Terraces 9 Wineries and Vineyards Geology: Quaternary Terraces of the Umpqua River; Gravelly with thick silts on top Main Soils: Roseburg & Coburg Series (Pachic Ultic Argixeroll), and Malabon (Pachic Argixeroll) & Evans Series (Cumulic Haploxeroll) thick A s over Bt 1272 Acres: lots of Pinot Noir being sold to the Willamette Valley

27 Pyrenees Winery

28 Melrose Winery

29 Henry Estate Winery

30 Duck Pond Winery

31 Problem: Blue Heron Vineyards 700 acres of Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris for the Willamette Valley 500 acres are fine: Roseburg and Coburg Malabon and Evans Series 250 acres are clay rich and loaded with smectites: Vertisols and vertic subgroups

32 Tyee Fm Coast Range 10 Wineries and Vineyards Geology: Tyee Fm (sandstones and shales) uplifted sea floor of the southern Oregon Coast Range (Miocene mainly: Ma) Soils: Mainly Bateman Series (Xeric Haplohumults) and Windy Gap Series (Ultic Palexeralfs) all old! 121 acres

33 Bradley Winery

34 Anindor Winery

35 Brandborg Winery

36 Siletzia Accreted Terrane One Winery Sub-AVA (Red Hills AVA) Sienna Ridge Estate Winery Geology uplifted ocean bottom of basalt of Eocene Age (40-45 Ma) Soil: Jory Series (Oregon s State Soil) Xeric Palehumult 530 acres

39 Conclusions 39 vineyards and 24 wineries: 2190 acres Five Major Terroir Regions: 1) Elkton, Cool Climate, Coast Range Seds 2) Red Hill, Cool Climate, Basalts, Jory Soil 3) Umpqua Turbidites, Warm Climate 4) Umpqua Terraces, Warm Climate 5) Klamath Terrane, Warm Climate

40 Rogue Valley: North Side

41 Rogue Valley North Side Summary 12 Wineries and 247 acres of grapes Geology: Mostly Tn (Tertiary weathered volcanics so lots of clay) and some fans Grapes: Mostly warm weather grapes with 10% Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris Challenging soils irrigation is an art! SW facing slopes get afternoon sun lots of heat units Hail damage in the summer

42 Rogue Valley North Side Soils 10% Brader Typic Xerochrept (below rock faces of the sandstone 90% Clay soils: Darrow: Vertic Argixeroll Cove: Vertic Argixeroll Carney: Typic Chromoxerert Padigan: Typic Pelioxerert Coker: Chromic Pelioxerert

43 Rocky Knoll Vineyard

44 Irvine Vineyard

48 2 Hawk Vineyard

50 Jaxon Vineyards: South-Facing

51 North Rogue Valley Del Rio Vineyards

52 North Rogue Valley Summary Five wineries and 560 acres of grapes Geology: Mainly fans but some Tn (old volcanics of Cascades) Agate Ridge and some of Folin Vineyards Grapes: almost all were warm climate varieties until Del Rio planted 200 acres of Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris this year Grapes some say perfect Rhone Varietal sites and really good Tempranillo

53 North Rogue II and Soils Winter kill in 2013 in Sam s Valley inversion layer and big losses Soils on the fans pretty good: Ruch, Tikilma, Agate, Provig and Langollain Soils on Tn: clay-rich: Challenging! Carney: Typic Chromoxerert Coker: Chromic Pelloxerert

54 Cliff Creek Vineyards

55 Rogue Valley: South Side Trium Vineyard

56 Rogue Valley South Side Summary Geology: Mainly fans and stream terraces Some fans are fine-grained and some are coarse-grained (Pebblestone Cellars and Stone River Winery 20 Vineyards and 420 acres (11 are Quail Run Vineyards) NE Facing so cooler in afternoon and sometimes shade so can have cool climate varieties (over 160 acres in Pinot)

57 Rogue Valley South Side Part II This part of the Rogue Valley is similar to the Rhone Valley of southern France little interaction with the maritime Dancin Vineyards: terroir tasting of Pinot Noir won four 94 s (Wine Enthusiast) comparing Willamette Valley Pinot Noir to Rogue Valley South Side (2 were Pinot Noir and 2 were Chardonnay)

58 Soils of the Rogue Valley South Side Young: Brader (Typic Xerochrept); Debenger (Typic Haploxerept); Coleman (Typic Palexeroll) Older: Selmac, Medford, Evans, Ruch, Manita, Vannoy (all Alfisols) Challenging: Darrow (Vertic Argixeroll); Carney (Typic Chromoxerert), Gregory (Smectitic Typic Argiaquoll) poorly drained

60 Dancin Vineyards

61 Applegate AVA Serra

62 Applegate Valley Summary 27 Vineyards and Wineries and 455 acres in grapes Geology: All on Fans and stream terraces Most irrigate, but a few do not! Some are self-rooted Most grapes are warm climate varieties, but a few places (Long Sword) are cool climate varieties Frosts on Qt and not Qf

63 Soils of the Applegate Valley Ruch Mollic Haploxeralf Selmac Ultic Haploxeralf Kerby Typic Xerochrept Shefflin Mollic Haploxeralf Takilma Entic Ultic Haploxeroll Copsey Vertic Haplaquoll Cove Vertic Haplaquoll

64 alley View Winery oldest in Applegate AVA

65 Illinois Valley: Foris Vineyards

66 Illinois Valley: Summary Geology: Mainly fans and stream terraces Five wineries and 450 acres of grapes Grapes: Mostly cool climate varieties Frosts: Big Deal (wind machines, overhead sprinklers, etc) All soils have some serpentine so Mg in soil is a big problem - add potassium Rows must go N-S otherwise north side never dries out

67 Soils of the Illinois Valley Pollard Typic Haploxerult Evans Cumulic Haploxeroll Kerby Typic Xerochrept Cornutt Ultic Haploxeralf Brockman Typic Xerochrept Abegg Typic Haploxerult A few vertic soils, but not many

69 Conclusions Geology is mostly fans and stream terraces which are fairly well drained North side of Rogue clay rich soils which are a challenge Grapes are mostly warm weather types, but some sites can grow good cool weather types still lots of Pinot Noir being grown Potential Signature grapes: Tempranillo, Viognier, and Rhone Varietals

70 Conclusions II Each region has its problems that need to be addressed: clay-rich soils, Mg rich soils, frosts, hail, Need tasting rooms to have geology and soil displays Compare your Pinot Noirs with each other and the Willamette Valley

71 Conclusions No limestone here! Compare to Rioja! Use the Rioja Approach check out the terroirs of the different soil types in the warm climate areas: Umpqua: terraces, turbidites, terranes Rogue (North): Tn and fans Rogue (South): fans Applegate: fans

Soils, Geology and Terroir of the Umpqua Valley AVA, Southern Oregon Dr. Scott Burns Portland State University

Soils, Geology and Terroir of the Umpqua Valley AVA, Southern Oregon Dr. Scott Burns Portland State University 1 Oregon Winery Facts 2015 550 wineries in Oregon (71 in 1990) 980+ vineyards (2015) 41 varieties