What many people might not know is that most of Washington’s wine-growing regions reside east of the Cascade Mountains. Eastern Washington is home to arid and semi-arid desert climates. As a whole, the state is the country’s second-largest wine producer and has 14 wine-growing regions that are federally approved, each with its own unique topography, soil, and climate. It’s truly amazing how diverse the state of Washington is and lucky for us, it makes for amazing wine grapes.
The growing season in the Columbia Valley is known for a lack of rainfall and warm temperatures which means irrigation is a main feature for most vineyards in this appellation.
In this blog series, I’ll walk you through some of the key wine-growing regions or appellations we utilize in our wines. First up, is Columbia Valley where 99% of Washington’s wine grapes are grown.
This extensive appellation offers hot, dry summers and cold winters. The region experiences what’s called a “rain shadow” as the whole region only gets 6-8 inches a year which is a crazy contrast to the 39 inches of rain Seattle receives every year. Columbia Valley encompasses more than a quarter of the state of Washington so, it’s not hard to believe that over 80 wine grape varieties are grown there.
You can distinguish a Columbia Valley wine by its ripe, pure, and plush flavors. The area is really more of a basin where there are stark differences in day and night time temperatures. Chilly nights preserve the acidity so, Columbia Valley wines have flavors of ripe fruit.
Most of the state’s other AVA’s are inside of the Columbia Valley appellation. Because of that, if you have a blend where the wines are from different appellations, but they are both inside of the Columbia Valley appellation, then you can use Columbia Valley on the wine label. Such is the case for our Mike’s Reserve Red blend (Wahluke and Ancient Lakes) and A Toast to Best Friends Blend (Ancient Lakes and Yakima Valley). That being said, all of our wines reside in the appellation Columbia Valley, but most come from sub-appellations.
Try a Columbia Valley wine!
Cheers,
Natalie