The Columbia Valley region wine history dates back to the early 1900s, when settlers planted the area’s first vineyard on a steep, southward-sloping hill near the small town of The Dalles. These Zinfandel vines, which are now more than 100 years old, still produce wine grapes.
Around the same time, as the Washington side of the Columbia Valley appellation began to flourish with large-scale wineries, reputable winemakers started noting the small Oregon side as an excellent location for high-quality wine grapes.
Columbia Gorge AVA
Established on 9 May 2004, the Columbia Gorge AVA is located about an hour due east of Vancouver, WA. The Columbia Gorge AVA’s western boundary is approximately 24 miles east of the crest of the Cascades. The Columbia Gorge AVA consists of four counties; Hood River and Wasco counties in Oregon, and Skamania and Klickitat counties in Washington. The region stretches from Hood River, Oregon and Underwood, Washington in the west, to Rowena, Oregon and Lyle, Washington in the east. It includes the river valleys of the Hood River and Deschutes River in Oregon, and the Klickitat River and White Salmon River in Washington.
The Columbia Gorge AVA is named after a 40-mile area where the Columbia River cuts through basalt bedrock, creating a gorge with a series of ridges and cliffs. It is one Washington’s only growing regions that lies outside of the Columbia Valley appellation, which it abuts.
As this region lies to the east of the summits of nearby Mount Hood and Mount Adams, it is in rain shadow of these Cascade volcanoes. This region’s proximity to the Cascade crest, which lies to the west, results in radically different microclimates. Driving west to east, annual rainfall decreases approximately one inch per mile. The western section of the appellation receives an average of 36 inches of rainfall annually, the eastern section a mere 10 inches.
It is perhaps the most diverse appellation in the state, with dramatic differences east-to- west in precipitation, heat accumulation, and soil composition. Dams along the Columbia River have tempered the mighty River’s seasonal flow fluctuations and have created a massive thermal mass. This thermal mass and the prevailing wind from the west protect vines from winter’s excessive cold and moderates summer’s heat.
The Columbia Gorge AVA is notable for its diversity, with hot, dry regions to the east as well as cooler areas to the west that receive so much rain vineyards are able to be dry farmed – an extreme rarity in eastern Washington. Encompassing land on both the Oregon and Washington sides of the Columbia River, the AVA’s climate varies in a three-dimensional way. Proximity to the Columbia River has an effect on the climate. How high a vineyard is located will have a major impact on the grapes.
Elevation of vineyard sites range from sea level to 2,000 feet, greatly impacting the temperature of vineyard sites. Most of the vineyards planted on the Washington side of the appellation are located on southward facing slopes along the river where they can receive some protection from the winds.
The range of elevations and precipitation lead to varied soil types. Some plantings in the area are on an extinct volcano. Predominant soils include volcanic, lahar, loess, silt, and sand.
The total size of the Columbia Gorge AVA is over 191,000 acres. The total area planted to vines is approximately 1,300 acres. Washington acreage at roughly 381 and Oregon acreage at about 950.
Although only 40-miles long, the region supports growing conditions for over 45 different grape varieties, a truly impressive diversity. Vineyards in the western Gorge are ideal for cool-climate loving grapes like Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer and Riesling, while the warmer eastern vineyards produce varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Sangiovese, and Zinfandel.
Columbia Valley AVA
Established on 12 November 1984, the large Columbia Valley AVA, covers almost one-fourth of Washington state and crosses over the border into Oregon. The Columbia Valley AVA is a large growing region at 11.5+ million acres. The boundaries of the AVA extend south from the Okanagan wilderness and include most of the Columbia River Basin extending east along the Snake River to the Idaho border.
Many of the Columbia Valley AVA's vineyards are planted along a broad, semi-arid plateau at altitudes of 1,000-2,000 feet. The Columbia Valley AVA lies in the rain shadow of the Cascade Mountain range. The low desert region has an arid and semi-arid, continental climate with limited rainfall. Irrigation is therefore required to grow vinifera grapes. However, the Columbia River is one of the largest rivers in the country. This river and its tributaries, along with aquifers, provide ample water for grape growing.
The climate of the Columbia is continental, like most of Eastern Washington, though a wide range of microclimates exist. Most of these microclimates falling into classifications of Regions I and II on the Winkler scale of heat summation. On average, the Columbia Valley AVA sees over 300 cloudless days per year and experiences no more than 15 inches of rainfall. In fact, the average annual precipitation is recorded at 6-8 inches.
The use of irrigation, along with consistently warm, dry temperatures during the growing season, provides growers with a high amount of control over grape development compared to many other regions of the world. This leads to a smaller range of vintage variation and consistently high-quality wines.
The Columbia Valley AVA’s soils are defined by the Missoula Floods, a series of cataclysmic events that occurred over 15,000 years ago. Most vineyards lie below the floodwaters, with soils of loess— windblown deposits of sand and silt—overlying gravel and slackwater sediment, with basalt forming the bedrock. The variations across the basin provide a diversity of soil types that are well-drained and ideal for viticulture.
Total planted vineyard acreage for the Columbia Valley AVA is about 60,079 acres. Roughly 59,234 acres are found within Washington, and around 850 acres are within Oregon.
The most popular grape varieties found planted in the Columbia Valley AVA are Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Riesling, and Syrah.
The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater AVA
Established on 8 February 2015, The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater AVA (The Rocks District) is an AVA of the Walla Walla Valley AVA, which itself is an AVA of the Columbia Valley AVA. The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater AVA lies in the southern portion of Walla Walla Valley AVA and is located immediately northwest of the town of Milton-Freewater, which falls six miles south of the state line.
The officially delimited area covers 3,700 acres and is one of the smallest AVAs in Oregon, with just 340 acres under vine.
The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater AVA in general is warm and dry, albeit slightly less so than the larger expanse of the Columbia Valley AVA to the west. Cooler climatic influences come from the Blue Mountains to the east, making for a long, cool growing season.
The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater AVA consists of a unique alluvial fan resulting in rocky soils with "baseball sized" basalt cobbles covering the earth, and is notable as being "the only AVA in the United States whose boundaries are defined by the soil type".
The terroir here is dominated by the stony soil, which has been compared to the galets of Chateauneuf-du-Pape. These fist-sized stones are found across the region and, in the spirit of the AVA, are quite distinctive from the surrounding areas.
Further to this, the stones act as insulators for the vines, absorbing warmth in the daytime and aiding ripening throughout the growing season. The stones also help to reduce the risk of frost, and the lack of water in the topsoil means there is little danger of mildew. The deep layer of cobbles and rocks makes for free-drained soil with low fertility, which is beneficial for wine growing.
Unique wine flavors are said to result from the mineral composition, hydrology, and temperatures of the volcanic rocks.
Consequently, the wines are rich and complex with some mineral characteristics. Syrah is the key grape variety grown here, making savory, intense red wines. Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache can also be found planted here.
Walla Walla Valley AVA
Established on 5 February 1984, the Walla Walla Valley AVA is located within Washington state and extends partly into the northeastern corner of Oregon. The wine region is entirely included within the larger Columbia Valley AVA. The area is named after the Walla Walla river valley.
Two-thirds of the Walla Walla Valley AVA is in Washington and one-third is in Oregon. The southern part of Walla Walla Valley AVA is the portion that extends into Oregon. The Walla Walla Valley AVA has roughly 322,794 acres, with nearly 2,933 acres planted to vines, of which 1,672 acres are located within Washington and 1,261 acres within Oregon.
Elevations across the Walla Walla Valley AVA soar between 400 feet and 2,000 feet above sea level. Similarly, annual rainfall figures triple from a sparse seven inches at the western end of the valley to a lush 22 inches along the foothills of the Blue Mountains to the east.
The region is generally wetter than the rest of the Columbia Valley AVA, receiving more than 20 inches of rain on average each year. The area between the town of Walla Walla east to the Blue Mountains is the wettest with each mile from the city eastward to the mountains seeing an addition inch of average rainfall.
The Walla Walla Valley AVA is positioned at latitude 46° N. In France, latitude 46°N lies midway between Bordeaux and Burgundy the two of the premier wine producing regions.
The 200-day-long growing season is characterized by hot days and cool nights. The valley is prone to sudden shifts in temperature as cold air comes down from the Blue Mountains and is trapped in the Snake and Columbia river valleys. While generally cooler than the surrounding Columbia Valley AVA, temperatures in the winter time can drop to −20 °F. Most of the region is in hardiness zone 7a.
The Walla Walla AVA contains at least four distinct soil profiles scattered across the valley – slackwater terrace, loess, river gravel and flood plain silt. The majority of Walla Walla's vineyards are located on a combination of slackwater terrace and loess, which provides good drainage for vines. The silt and volcanic ash that make up the region's loess soils contain remnants from the eruption of Mount Mazama (which also formed the Crater Lake nearly 400 miles away in Oregon).
Below 1200 ft, on the valley floor, the bedrock (basalt) is overlain by ancient gravels, Missoula flood sediments (silt, sand, and gravel), and wind-deposited silt (loess). Above 1200 ft, in the foothills the bedrock (basalt) is overlain by loess of varying thickness.
The valley’s diversity in climate and soils creates very different presentations in the wines from the southern part of the valley to the foothills of the Blue Mountains to the Mill Creek drainage to the areas to the north. Grape production is dominated by red varieties.
Cabernet Sauvignon is the most well known and widely planted grape in the area, followed by Merlot, Syrah, Sangiovese, and Cabernet Franc.
“I cook with wine, sometimes I even add it to the food.”