Self-Guided Wine Tour of the Umpqua Valley, Oregon

Oregon’s wine story didn’t begin in the famous Willamette Valley. It began here, in the “Hundred Valleys of the Umpqua,” where a single 1961 planting lit the fuse.

KWWritten & edited by Ken Wytsma, Wine History Tours
Oregon wine-tour hosts

The Umpqua Valley, around Roseburg in southern Oregon, sits between the cool Willamette Valley to the north and the warm Rogue Valley to the south — and it holds a special place in history as the birthplace of modern Oregon wine. Its jumble of hills and microclimates, nicknamed the “Hundred Valleys of the Umpqua,” makes it a fascinating, uncrowded region to explore under your own steam.

Where Oregon wine began

In 1961, Richard Sommer planted HillCrest Vineyard on an old turkey farm west of Roseburg — the first post-Prohibition vinifera in Oregon and the state’s oldest estate winery, four years before David Lett planted Pinot Noir in the Willamette. Decades later, the Umpqua pioneered again when Abacela became the first Oregon winery to grow Spanish Tempranillo, proving the valley’s warm sites could ripen grapes the rest of the state couldn’t.

Oregon’s modern wine story started in the Umpqua — four years before the first Willamette Valley Pinot.

How the region is laid out & what to taste

The Umpqua’s tangled terrain gives it Oregon’s widest climate range in one AVA: cool northern sites grow Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, and Riesling, while warm southern pockets ripen Tempranillo, Syrah, Albariño, and Grüner Veltliner. Roseburg is the natural hub, with wineries scattered across the surrounding hills.

Before the Willamette had a single vine, the Umpqua had HillCrest — this is where it all started.

Self-guided tips

The Umpqua is rural and spread out, so map your route in advance and don’t expect wineries clustered together. Many are small, family-run, and open by appointment or weekends only — call ahead. Bring a designated driver, and pair the wine with the region’s rivers and covered bridges.

Umpqua Valley at a glance
Where	Around Roseburg, southern Oregon (between the Willamette & Rogue)
Claim to fame	Birthplace of modern Oregon wine — HillCrest, 1961
Signature wines	Pinot Noir & Riesling (cool sites); Tempranillo, Syrah, Albariño (warm)
Getting around	Rural and spread out — plan ahead, call for appointments, bring a driver

The short versionThe Umpqua Valley near Roseburg is where modern Oregon wine began — Richard Sommer’s HillCrest Vineyard, planted in 1961. Its wide range of microclimates grows everything from cool-climate Pinot and Riesling to Tempranillo and Albariño. It’s rural and uncrowded, so plan your route and book small wineries ahead.

For the fuller story, read how Oregon Pinot Noir got started and trace it on the Wine History Timeline.

A gentle note from your hosts. We run guided wine tours ourselves, up north in Oregon’s Willamette Valley — so take this with a grain of salt. But if the planning and driving ever start crowding out the joy of the day, that’s the quiet advantage of going guided: someone else carries the logistics, and you just taste. However you explore the Umpqua Valley, we hope it’s a memorable one.

Frequently asked questions

Why is the Umpqua Valley important to Oregon wine?
It is the birthplace of modern Oregon wine: Richard Sommer planted HillCrest Vineyard near Roseburg in 1961, the first post-Prohibition vinifera in the state and Oregon’s oldest estate winery — four years before the first Willamette Valley Pinot Noir.

What wine is the Umpqua Valley known for?
A remarkable range: cool-climate Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, and Riesling in the north, and warm-climate Tempranillo, Syrah, Albariño, and Grüner Veltliner in the south.

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