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A View From the Hilltop

A View From the Hilltop

Written by: Willamette Valley Wine and Brewery Tours
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 Long-form audio essays exploring the land, people, and forgotten history of Oregon and the Pacific Northwest. From wine and agriculture to settlement, geology, and social history, each episode follows a single story—told slowly, carefully, and in depth.Willamette Valley Wine and Brewery Tours Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Terroir

    Terroir
    Jan 19 2026

    Terroir is often treated as a marketing word, a kind of poetic shorthand for “place.” But in the Willamette Valley, it has a much more precise meaning.

    In this episode, I look closely at the forces that shaped Oregon’s most important wine region: geology, climate, elevation, soils, and human decisions layered over time. From ancient floods and volcanic ash to farming practices and land-use law, this is a story about why this landscape produces the wines it does — and why it could not have happened just anywhere.

    Terroir is not mysticism. It is history, geography, and restraint, working together.
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    25 mins
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