Three Wineries, One AVA, and a 20-Year Achievement

Twenty years ago, the Dundee Hills American Viticultural Area (AVA) was officially recognized as a designated winegrowing region in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. That same year, three wineries—Alexana Estate, Fox Farm Vineyards, and Native Flora—were founded on this storied red soil.

Each winery offers a distinct expression of the Dundee Hills in its vintages and guest experiences. Alexana Estate is known for its meticulously farmed vineyards and architectural tasting room, offering panoramic views and a refined hospitality experience. With its welcoming atmosphere and approachable style, Fox Farm Vineyards focuses on small-lot wines crafted from estate and partner vineyards. Native Flora remains deliberately off the beaten path, by appointment only and always with a personal touch, producing elegant, age-worthy wines in a serene mountaintop setting they sustain through regenerative farming practices. 

Alexana Estate

For Dr. Madaiah Revana, founder of Alexana Estate, the decision to plant roots in the Dundee Hills was guided by instinct and research. “I had developed an affinity for this unique volcanic hill and the wines it produces,” he recalls. “Elegance, silky textures, perfumed aromas—really unlike anywhere in the world.” With the help of Lynn Penner-Ash, he discovered what is now one of the region’s most geologically diverse vineyard sites, containing 18 distinct soil types within a single estate.

The Dundee Hills was also the obvious choice for Scott Flora of Native Flora when searching for a vineyard site. “The hills, the climate, everything about the area is well proven for producing great Pinot noir.” In short, the region was tailor-made for serious winemaking.

David Fish of Fox Farm Vineyards put it simply: “The Dundee Hills is to Pinot, as Maine is to lobster.” Everything about the region pointed toward the perfect gamble for a family-owned winery. “Best of the best of the best,” he says.

Native Flora

All three vintners remember a quieter Dundee Hills when they planted their first vines two decades ago. “Worden Hill Road was a gravel road back then,” says Dr. Revana. Flora remembers those ruts making it “almost impossible to drive in the winter,” a physical metaphor for the wild frontier Dundee once was. Flora notes that Native Flora planted vines and bottled wines before most people even realized they existed.

Fish recalls the excitement of those early days. Meeting the late pioneer, Dick Erath, years earlier lit the spark that eventually led to a plot of Jory soil and a southeast slope that would become the Fox Farm home. “We started with a tiny tasting room in Newberg, moved up in scale, and then found a site in the heart of Dundee,” he says. They’re now one of the first tasting rooms to greet visitors entering Dundee.

Fox Farm Vineyard

The last twenty years have brought dramatic changes for each of these wineries as the Dundee Hills’ reputation has grown worldwide. For Alexana, what began as a few hundred cases produced annually and limited tastings is now 97 acres of organically farmed vineyards and a world-renowned hospitality program.

Fox Farm has grown steadily while remaining intentionally small and personable. Their newest vineyard, the Desiree Estate, planted during the pandemic on the eastern foothills of Dundee, signals a deepened commitment to estate wines and long-term growth.

At Native Flora, evolution has always melded with experimentation. “We started a very deliberate varietal diversification program about five years ago,” says Flora. “Soon we’ll bring on estate Malbec, Chenin Blanc, Riesling, and Nebbiolo. That should be fun.”