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Site Characteristics of Vineyards in the Rogue and Applegate Valley American Viticultural Areas

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Site Characteristics of Vineyards in the Rogue and Applegate Valley American Viticultural Areas Site Characteristics of Vineyards in the Rogue and Applegate Valley American Viticultural Areas Rogue Valley and Applegate Valley American Viticultural Areas N W E S Major Highways County B orders AV A Boundaries Elevation (feet) 0 - 1000 1000 - 2 000 2000 - 3 000 3000 - 4 000 4000 - 5 000 5000 - 6 000 6000 - 7 000 7000 - 8 000 8000 - 9 000 9000 - 1 0000 Sou rce s: Ca rt ogra phe rs : 5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 Miles Jackso n C ou nty GIS Services Gre go ry V . Jo ne s Josep hine C ou nty G IS S ervices Lea Lig ht Ore go n G eosp atia l Da ta C le aringh ou se (OG DC ) Sou the rn Oreg on U niversity BATF Ap prove d V iticultu ra l Area (D igitize d) Ro gue Va lle y C ha pte r of the OW A 1/1 8/0 1 Gregory V. Jones, Ph.D. Geography Department Southern Oregon University Lea Light Geography Department 2 Southern Oregon University Site Characteristics of Vineyards in the Rogue Valley American Viticultural Area Gregory V. Jones, Ph.D. Geography Department Southern Oregon University Lea Light Geography Department Southern Oregon University September 2001 Funding for this project was provided from a matching grant from the Rogue Valley Chapter of the Oregon WineGrape Growers Association and the Oregon Wine Advisory Board 3 Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................................................................. 2 TABLE OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................................................... 4 TABLE OF TABLES ..................................................................................................................................................... 4 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................................................................ 6 SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................................................. 7 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................................................... 9 History ................................................................................................................................................................. 9 Climate ................................................................................................................................................................. 3 Topography and Soils ......................................................................................................................................... 2 DATA AND METHODS ................................................................................................................................................ 4 RESULTS .................................................................................................................................................................... 6 GPS Survey .......................................................................................................................................................... 6 Vineyard Survey .................................................................................................................................................. 6 CONCLUSIONS ......................................................................................................................................................... 15 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................................................ 20 APPENDIX ................................................................................................................................................................ 22 Table of Figures Figure 1 – Map depicting the Rogue Valley and Applegate Valley AVAs and vineyard locations and acreage from the GPS survey. ............................................................................................................. 2 Figure 2 – Annual Precipitation for the Rogue Valley and Applegate Valley AVAs (PRISM Mapping Project, OSU 2000). ............................................................................................................................. 2 Figure 3 – The frost-free period for the Rogue Valley and Applegate Valley AVAs as defined by the length of time between the median dates of the last and first frosts in a given year (PRISM Mapping Project, OSU 2000). ............................................................................................................................. 3 Figure 4 – Growing degree-days for the Rogue Valley and Applegate Valley AVAs summed from April to October using a 50F base temperature (PRISM Mapping Project, OSU 2000). ................................ 4 Figure 5 – Example of vineyard locations surveyed using GPS in the upper Bear Creek Valley. ................ 2 Figure 6 – Survey acreage percent by variety for the Rogue Valley AVA. ................................................... 2 Table of Tables Table 1 – Climate characteristics for each of the available public recording stations in the Rogue Valley AVA. ..................................................................................................................................................... 3 Table 2 – Median frost dates and frost-free season for each of the available public recording stations in the Rogue Valley AVA. ......................................................................................................................... 2 Table 3 – Size distribution for all vineyards in the Rogue Valley AVA. ......................................................... 7 Table 4 – Vineyard statistics for individual sub-regions in the Rogue Valley AVA. ...................................... 7 Table 5 – Descriptive statistics for topographical variables of elevation, slope, and aspect derived from a digital elevation model for all vineyards in the Rogue Valley AVA and sub-regions. ........................... 2 Table 6 – Summary of cardinal directions for all vineyard aspects in the Rogue Valley AVA. ..................... 3 Table 7 – The most common soil series or units, the acres encompassed, and the number of vineyards with that soil type for the entire Rogue Valley AVA (NRCS, 2001; Soil Conservation Service, 1983 and 1993). ............................................................................................................................................ 3 Table 8 - The most common soil series or units, the acres encompassed, and the number of vineyards with that soil type for the sub-regions of the Rogue Valley AVA; a) the Applegate Valley, b) the Bear Creek Valley, c) the Illinois Valley, and d) the Valley of the Rogue (NRCS, 2001; Soil Conservation Service, 1983 and 1993). ..................................................................................................................... 5 Table 9 – The number of vineyards established by decade in the Rogue Valley AVA. ............................... 6 Table 10 – Surveyed acreage of all varietals grown, summarized for the Rogue Valley AVA and each sub- area. ..................................................................................................................................................... 2 Table 11 - Survey results summarized over all varietals grown in the Rogue Valley AVA for the types of rootstocks, trellis styles, and pruning styles used. ............................................................................... 4 4 Table 12 – Survey results summarized for the eleven main varietals grown in the Rogue Valley AVA. ...... 5 Table 13 – Topographical characteristics of the major varieties planted in the Rogue Valley AVA. ............ 7 Table 14 - Survey results summarized for the phenological timing average over all varieties, red varieties, and white varieties grown in the Rogue Valley AVA. ........................................................................... 8 Table 15 - Survey results summarized for the phenological timing for each of the eleven main varietals grown in the Rogue Valley AVA. ........................................................................................................ 10 Table 16 - Survey responses summarized for the question, “Was a Soil Survey conducted and if so by whom?” ............................................................................................................................................... 11 Table 17 - Survey responses summarized for the question, “Is the site irrigated and if so what type of irrigation is used?” .............................................................................................................................. 12 Table 18 - Survey responses summarized for the question, “Does the site have any sort of frost protection and if so what type is used?” .............................................................................................................. 12 5 Acknowledgments The author would like to thank the Oregon Wine Advisory Board and the Rogue Chapter of the Oregon Winegrowers’ Association for the funding necessary to complete this project. The author also owes gratitude to numerous individuals that provided various levels of information, data, or background to the project and include Laura Lotspiech, Don and Traute Moore,
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