Climate

Compared to other winegrape growing regions in the world, Southern Oregon's Umpqua Valley is intermediate in terms of climate. In general, the region is cooler than Napa, Bordeaux, and the Barossa Valley of Australia but warmer than the Loire Valley, Burgundy, and the Rhine Valley. A near perfect match can be found in the north-central and north-western portions of the Iberian Peninsula in Rioja and Ribera Del Duero Spain. The graph shows the favorable comparison of Roseburg to these Spanish areas. The monthly heat units shown in the graph illustrate the cool spring, hot summer and cool autumn shared by the Spanish reference sites and Roseburg. It is important to note the warmer spring and autumn temperatures found in Napa. This excessive warmth, especially in the fall during the ripening process is detrimental to the quality of Tempranillo grapes.

In comparison to the other grape growing regions in Oregon, the Umpqua Valley has the most beneficial climate structure for growing grapes in the state. The region has the longest growing season, the lowest risk of both spring and fall frosts, and low-ripening period rainfall and temperature extremes. The region is warmer than the Willamette Valley to the north, but cooler than the Rogue Valley to the south. Heat accumulation varies north to south in the region with growing degree days averaging 2200-2400 in the north and 2400-2700 in the south with a growing season that averages 200 days across the region. Precipitation is also quite variable from north to south, averaging 30-60 inches annually.

Abacela is located in the warmer southern part of the Umpqua Valley with the site's climate providing over 2700 growing degree-days on average. The Abacela site climate is almost identical to vineyard site climates in the western portion of the Ribera Del Duero, near Valladolid Spain. The average last frost in the spring occurs quite early while the average first frost in the fall is late which results in minimal frost risk and a growing season that averages well over 200 days. The coldest month of the year, January, has a 34°F average minimum temperature with little risk of hard freezes. Annual rainfall at Abacela averages 28 inches, however only 20% falls during the growing season of April through October and only 5% falls during the critical ripening period of mid-September to mid-October.

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