![]() But it is the rich, structured Cabernet Sauvignon wines that have made a name for the Columbia Valley: a Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon made from fruit from the Red Mountain and Horse Heaven Hills AVAs was awarded a 100-point Robert Parker rating in both the 20 vintages.For some, this may be your first foray into AVAs, viticulture, and/or the wine industry. Many fruit-driven wine styles are produced across this large region, including wines made from Chardonnay, Riesling, Syrah and Merlot. His experiments formed the basis of the Washington wine industry, which has expanded exponentially since the 1980s.Ĭolumbia Valley was approved as an AVA in 1987. Walter Clore planted a range of Vitis vinifera varieties to assess their performance in Washington's harsh terroir. In the 1930s, a viticultural research station was set up in the Yakima Valley, where Dr. Grapes have been grown in the Columbia Valley since the 1860s. Purists claim this provides more original flavors in the grapes. The cold does have one major benefit, however: because it staves off the deadly phylloxera louse, nearly all of the vines in Columbia Valley are planted on their own rootstocks. Even so, many grape growers use wind turbines to get air circulating and prevent their vines from the effects of frost. The Columbia River and its tributaries not only provide water but also help to moderate both summer and winter temperatures. On the plus side, where controlled irrigation is possible, this can make a big difference to yields and the quality of the grapes. Hot days here are followed by cool nights, helping to ensure a long and even growing season in which the grapes obtain full ripeness while retaining vital acidity.Īs Columbia Valley is a dry region, irrigation is often required and this restricts the location of its vineyards. The valley lies in a rain shadow caused by the Cascades, which contributes to its dry continental climate. Volcanic, alluvial and windblown material can be found throughout the valley, and soil textures range from silt to gravel to sand.Ĭolumbia Valley is situated between latitudes 46°N and 47°N, the same as the famed French wine regions of Bordeaux and Burgundy. The diversity of soils in the Columbia Valley is a result of these floods and of the consequent weathering of the landscape. During the last Ice Age, the once-sizeable Lake Missoula in Montana broke through its glacial dams, sending huge volumes of water across eastern Washington and into Oregon's Willamette Valley a number of times, depositing soils and shaping the landscape significantly. ![]() The Columbia River flows through the rolling, desert-like landscape of the valley, which was carved out thousands of years ago by glacial floods. The Cascade Mountains run along the region's western border, and the barren Channeled Scablands (which are not suitable for viticulture) lie to the east. The Columbia Valley runs for over 300 miles (500km) from around Fort Spokane on the Columbia River, through its most northern sub-AVA, Lake Chelan, before winding roughly south, through the Ancient Lakes of Columbia Valley and the Wahluke Slope and west along both northern Oregon and southern Washington before ending at the Columbia Gorge AVA, also shared between both Oregon and Washington. The vast AVA also contains most of Washington's smaller regions, including Red Mountain, the Walla Walla Valley and Horse Heaven Hills. The Columbia Valley AVA is centered around the Columbia River and its tributaries: the Walla Walla, Yakima and Snake rivers. The area covers just over 11 million acres (4.5 million hectares), of which 40,000 acres (16,000ha) are under vine. Columbia Valley, in the southeastern corner of Washington State, is one of the United States' largest official wine regions (see AVA).
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