Chehalem Mountains AVA wineries and tasting rooms
Dick Erath bought 49 acres on Dopp Road in 1968 and planted vines the following spring, on a stretch of hills that would eventually become the largest sub-AVA in the Willamette Valley, bigger than the Dundee Hills and Eola-Amity Hills combined. The range tops out at Bald Peak, 1,633 feet, the highest point anywhere in the Willamette Valley, and that elevation swing does real work: annual rainfall runs from 37 inches down on the valley floor to nearly 60 inches at the summit, almost double what falls a few miles north in Hillsboro.
The push to formalize it in 2002 was authored by three of the valley's founding names: David Adelsheim, Richard Ponzi, and Paul Hart. The federal government made it official in 2006, the nation's 184th AVA. What they mapped was really three soils under one boundary: volcanic Jory clay on the southeast-facing slopes, marine sedimentary Willakenzie soil throughout (especially in the Ribbon Ridge pocket at the range's western edge), and a third type found almost nowhere else in the valley: windblown loess over basalt bedrock on the northern flank, distinct enough that growers eventually split it into its own AVA, Laurelwood District, in 2020.
The mountains carry a name older than any of that. "Chehalem" comes from "Chahelim," used by the Atfalati bands who lived along the creek here before Joseph B. Rogers platted a town on it in 1848, the settlement that grew into Newberg, still the gateway to the AVA today. What was roughly 80 vineyards and a dozen wineries at the time of the petition has become one of the valley's biggest working landscapes: close to 180 vineyards and more than 40 wineries, spread across three distinct soils on one range of hills.
That's a lot of range to cover for one AVA in the Willamette Valley, held together mostly by the fact that Erath, Adelsheim, and Ponzi all bet on the same hills before anyone else had. Work through the wineries below by which slope they're farming (Jory, Willakenzie, or loess), and the differences start to make sense fast.
- Wineries
- 79
- Top varieties
- Pinot Noir, Rosé, Chardonnay, Sparkling, Pinot Gris, Other, Syrah, Red Blend
- Walk-ins welcome
- 62%
- Dog-friendly
- 63%
Acorn to Oak Wine Experience
McMinnville · Willamette Valley · Wine experience
Adelsheim Vineyard
Newberg · Willamette Valley
Anam Cara Cellars
Newberg · Willamette Valley
Anne Amie Vineyards
Carlton · Willamette Valley
Appassionata Estate
Newberg · Willamette Valley
Arborbrook by Cooper Mountain Vineyards
Newberg · Willamette Valley
Archer Vineyard
Newberg · Willamette Valley
Ardiri Winery & Vineyards
Cornelius · Willamette Valley
Artisanal Wine Cellars
Newberg · Willamette Valley
Artist Block
Dundee · Willamette Valley
August Cellars, A Wine Studio
Newberg · Willamette Valley · Shared facility
Bacus Vineyards
Newberg · Willamette Valley
Barking Dog Wine
Carlton · Willamette Valley
Beckham Estate Vineyard
Sherwood · Willamette Valley
Bellingar Estates
Newberg · Willamette Valley
Bells Up Winery
Newberg · Willamette Valley
Bergström Wines
Dundee · Willamette Valley
Blakeslee Vineyard Estate
Sherwood · Willamette Valley
Boedecker Cellars Winery, Bottle Shop & Tasting Room
Portland · Portland Metro
Caelestis Cellars
Portland Metro
Carabella Vineyard
Wilsonville · Willamette Valley
Chehalem Tasting Room
Sherwood · Willamette Valley · Tasting room
CHO Wines
Hillsboro · Willamette Valley
Colene Clemens Vineyards
Newberg · Willamette Valley
Compris Vineyard
Newberg · Willamette Valley
Constant Crush Wine
Willamette Valley
Craft Wine Co.
Carlton · Willamette Valley
Dauntless Wine Company – Forest Grove Tasting Room
Forest Grove · Willamette Valley · Tasting room
Dauntless Wine Company – Old 47 Estate Tasting Room
Gaston · Willamette Valley
Day Wines at Day Camp
Dundee · Willamette Valley
de Lancellotti Family Vineyards
Newberg · Willamette Valley
Dion Vineyard
Cornelius · Willamette Valley
Domaine Lumineux
Newberg · Willamette Valley
Elk Cove Vineyards
Gaston · Willamette Valley
Et Fille Wines Tasting Room
Newberg · Willamette Valley · Tasting room
Failla Wines
Gaston · Willamette Valley
Flâneur
Carlton · Willamette Valley
Flâneur Wines at La Belle Promenade Vineyard
Newberg · Willamette Valley · Tasting room
Freja Cellars
Hillsboro · Willamette Valley
Fullerton Wine Bar and Tasting Room
Portland · Portland Metro · Wine bar
Gemini Vineyards
Sherwood · Willamette Valley
Hamacher Wines
Beaverton · Willamette Valley
Hawks View Winery
Sherwood · Willamette Valley
Hazelfern
Newberg · Willamette Valley
Holocene Wines
Hillsboro · Willamette Valley
Idealist Wines at August Cellars
Newberg · Willamette Valley
J. Christopher Wines
Newberg · Willamette Valley
J. Rallison Cellars
Sherwood · Willamette Valley
J.K. Carriere
Newberg · Willamette Valley
Jachter Family Wines
Newberg · Willamette Valley
K & M Wines
Yamhill · Willamette Valley
Ken Wright Cellars Tasting Room
Carlton · Willamette Valley
King’s North
Newberg · Willamette Valley
Lachini Estate Vineyard & Tasting Room
Newberg · Willamette Valley
Le Cadeau & Aubichon Cellars Tasting Room
Dundee · Willamette Valley
McKinlay/Jacob Martin
Newberg · Willamette Valley
Natalie’s Estate Winery
Newberg · Willamette Valley
Oliver Springs Vineyard
Newberg · Willamette Valley
Pike Road Wines
McMinnville · Willamette Valley
Ponzi Vineyards
Sherwood · Willamette Valley
Portland Wine Company Home of Love & Squalor Wine
Portland · Portland Metro
Purple Hands Urban Winery and Tasting Room
Dundee · Willamette Valley
Rain Dance Vineyards
Newberg · Willamette Valley
Raptor Ridge Winery
Newberg · Willamette Valley
Remy Wines Tasting Room
Dayton · Willamette Valley · Tasting room
REX HILL
Newberg · Willamette Valley
ROCO Winery
Newberg · Willamette Valley
Résolu Cellars – Craft Wine Bar + Production
Hillsboro · Willamette Valley
Sidereus Vineyard & Winery
Cornelius · Willamette Valley
Six Peaks Winery [Formerly J. Albin Winery]
Buckheaven · Willamette Valley
Stoller Wine Bar | Newberg
Newberg · Willamette Valley · Wine bar
Tendril Wine Cellars
Carlton · Willamette Valley
Terra Vina Vineyard Tasting Room
Wilsonville · Willamette Valley · Tasting room
The Potter’s Vineyard & Clay Art Gallery
Newberg · Willamette Valley
Three Feathers Estate & Vineyard
Hillsboro · Willamette Valley
Trathen Hall Wines
Gaston · Willamette Valley
Trout Lily Ranch
Newberg · Willamette Valley
Varnum Vintners
Amity · Willamette Valley
Élevée Winegrowers
Dundee · Willamette Valley