Willamette Valley Vineyards history

It will take him a decade, but with the help of David Heatherbell, Professor of Enology at Oregon State University, Adelsheim is able to import Dijon clones from Burgundy beginning in 1984.

1985: At a tasting at the International Wine Center in New York, a group of oeno-experts cannot distinguish Oregon Pinot noirs from Burgundies costing more than twice as much.

1986: A winemaker named Ken Wright starts up a boutique winery in McMinnville that specializes in vineyard-designate bottlings.

1987: The first International Pinot Noir Celebration takes place in McMinnville, gathering Pinot noir producers and lovers from all over the world.

In late 1988, the sale of Willamette Valley Vineyard stock began.

JM: When you started Willamette Valley Vineyards (WVV) in 1989, the Willamette Valley wine industry was just getting started.

1990 - 70 bonded wineries, 5682 vineyard acres planted in the Willamette valley.

1991 - Abbey Wine Warehouse opens to provide storage and shipping services for the Willamette valley wine industry.

By 1993, Willamette Valley Vineyards had held four public offerings and had a capital base of more than $5.5 million.

A recent tasting of the 1994 Signature Reserve only confirms how truly ethereal Willamette Valley Pinot Noir can be.

1995: Earl and Hilda Jones plant the first Tempranillo vines in the Pacific Northwest at Abacela winery in Roseburg.

1996 - Salmon Safe, environmental certification and marketing program is established.

In 1997, its revenues increased substantially again to arrive at $5.7 million.

Rose, Michael, "Bernau Courts Bacchus After Beer Bashing," Portland Business Journal, May 22, 1998.

1999: Bill Holloran more or less launches the “garagiste” movement in Oregon when he converts his West Linn horse barn into a winery, blurring the lines between suburban and rural; he hires Jay Somers (formerly J. Christopher, today J.C. Somers Vintner) as winemaker.

In 2000, it saw a rise in out-of-state sales as well.

Since 2001, the Willamette Valley has been divided into seven sub-AVAs (American Viticulture Areas), which resulted from Explore Oregon Wine Regions petitions or formal requests from within the wine industry.

A decade later, in 2002, the vast property will achieve organic certification.

Revenues in 2003 reached $7.3 million.

2004: The Columbia Gorge and Southern Oregon AVAs are established.

McMillan, Dan, "A Venture Comes of Age," Portland Business Journal, May 16, 2005.

2007: The Snake River Valley AVA across the Oregon / Idaho border is established.Celebrity chefs are so yesterday.

2008: Bertony Faustin establishes Abbey Creek Vineyard in Portland’s west hills, Oregon’s first Black-owned and operated winery.

2009: Fourteen wineries–representing approximately 20 percent of Oregon wine production–join forces with the Oregon Environmental Council to kick off the Carbon Neutral Challenge, the first wine-industry carbon-reduction program in the United States.

2010 - 418 bonded wineries, 20,300 acres of vineyard planted in the Willamette valley.

2011: In Portland, a new group, PDX Urban Wineries, forms; it’s an indicator of the fast growth of the boutique urban winemaking trend.

2012 - Wine country license plates are offered by Oregon, the first in the nation celebrating the wine industry.

2013 - California’s Jackson Family Wines buys 1385 acres in the Willamette valley, starting a series of purchases including a production facility in McMinnville.

Not to be limited to one type of grape, however, the company signed a new long-term purchase agreement with one of its Willamette Valley grape growers to plant 40 acres of Pinot gris and 50 acres of Riesling, which it would buy at fixed prices through 2015.

2016 - Wine industry impact on Oregon economy is $3.3 billion.

By 2017 Salud! Has raised over $14 million.

2018 - Van Duzer Corridor AVA approved, now 7 sub AVA’s are included in the greater Willamette Valley AVA

In 2019, they accounted for 25% of our direct sales or approximately $2 million.