ABOUT
The McMinnville AVA of nearly 40,500 acres sits due west of Yamhill County’s seat, the city of McMinnville. It extends approximately 20 miles south-southwest toward the mouth of the Van Duzer Corridor, Oregon’s lowest Coast Range pass to the Pacific Ocean.
Encompassing the land above 200 feet and below 1,000 feet in elevation on the east and southeast slopes of these foothills of the Coast Range mountains, the soils of the McMinnville AVA are primarily uplifted marine sedimentary loams and silts, with alluvial overlays and a base of uplifting basalt.
The soils are uniquely shallow for winegrowing. The planted slopes sit in the protecting weather shadow of the Coast Range mountains, and rainfall is lower than on sites to the east. The primarily east- and south-facing sites take advantage of the drying winds from the Van Duzer Corridor. Approximately 600 acres are currently planted here.
