Drive 19 miles from Portland on Highway 99, and the Chehalem Mountains American Viticultural Area (AVA) will be the first Willamette Valley sub-AVA you encounter. This land is made up of a mélange of marine, volcanic and sedimentary soils. There’s a high content of quartz in the marine soil and iron in the volcanic, all blended with the fine, glacial, sedimentary soil called “loess” that was blown over the top by the winds. There can be wild deviations in soil types from vineyard to vineyard, thanks to the way the mountains shifted and poked their way upward over the past millennia. Also, the weather here is the most variable in the Valley because of the different elevations from hill to hill. All this is translated within the vine into excitingly complex wines. This is terroir in action. The birds head-shaped AVA, established in 2006, is twenty miles long, five miles wide and resides between 200-1633 feet on Bald Peak, the highest point in the Willamette Valley. Approximately 1600 acres are planted with grapes. This is home to some of the first roots in Oregon Pinot Noir, planted by Dick Erath in the late 1960s. Shortly after, the Ponzis and Adelsheims moved into the neighborhood, building the base of the Oregon wine industry, the cornerstone being the late David Lett of Eyrie. In the mid-‘90s, geologist-turned-winemaker Mike Hallock put his previous career to good use when he selected property for Carabella Vineyards on Parrett Mountain. Since then, his Pinot Noirs have grown up to be some of the most delicate and graceful in the world. Hallock is quick to point out that “it’s all about the vineyard site,” and Parrett Mountain is certainly a jewel in this crown, but he makes good wine that expresses the site. Chehalem Mountains wineries produce wines with a uniquely bright, intense, spicy cherry character—something along the lines of a maraschino—distinctive enough to expose them in a blind tasting. There even seems to be a different, brighter ruby color to wines from this area. The iron rich volcanic Jory soil in the earth blend adds acidity to the wines, balancing the tannins. While a “silky cherry” flavor component is a hallmark of Oregon Pinot Noir, Chehalem wines have a marked intensity compared to the others. These wines are great with food, but often stand out among their Willamette peers as cocktail wines, delicious to drink on their own. ~Rob Boss