A group of Oregon winemakers is working to create a seventh American Viticultural Area (AVA) for the Willamette Valley.

The view from Johan Vineyards towards the Eola Amity Hills

“We’re currently working on creating our own AVA,” confirmed Norwegian-born Dag Johan Sundby, who set up Johan Vineyards in 2002 in a hilly outcrop which looks towards the Eola-Amity Hills. At present, his wines fall under the larger scale Willamette Valley AVA.

For the moment, he admitted, “we’re not sure what we’re going to call it,” but a 12-strong group of wineries is busy gathering weather data and ...