}
The Yakima Valley AVA was the first
American Viticultural Area established within
Washington state
Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...
, gaining the recognition in 1983. Part of the larger
Columbia Valley AVA, Yakima Valley AVA is home to more than of vineyards, giving the area the largest concentration of wineries and vineyards in the state. The most widely planted varietals in the area are
Chardonnay,
Riesling
Riesling (, ; ) is a white grape variety that originated in the Rhine region. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet, and sparkling wh ...
,
Merlot,
Cabernet Sauvignon,
Pinot gris
Pinot Gris, Pinot Grigio (, ) or Grauburgunder is a white wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. Thought to be a mutant clone of the Pinot Noir variety, it normally has a grayish-blue fruit, accounting for its name, but the gra ...
, and
Syrah.
Nearly 40% of Washington state yearly wine production is made from Yakima Valley grapes.
In addition to grapes, the Yakima Valley is also home to several fruit orchards growing
apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...
s,
cherries,
nectarine
The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-f ...
s,
peach
The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-f ...
es,
pear
Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in the Northern Hemisphere in late summer into October. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the family Rosaceae, bearing the po ...
s and
plums. Around the town of
Zillah, there is the
Zillah Fruit Loop driving tour through the area's orchards and vineyards. The area is also home to nearly 80% of the US
hop production.
Geography and climate
The Yakima Valley's borders include the sub-AVA of the
Rattlesnake Hills
The Rattlesnake Hills, also known as Rattlesnake Ridge, is a 16-mile (26 km) long anticline mountain ridge in Yakima County and Benton County in the U.S. state of Washington. It should not be confused with the much smaller Rattlesnake Ridge ...
to the north, the
Horse Heaven Hills
The Horse Heaven Hills are a long range of high, rolling hills in Klickitat, Yakima, and Benton counties in Washington. The hills are an anticline ridge in the Yakima Fold Belt formed by north–south compression of lava flows in the Columbi ...
to the south and
Red Mountain forming parts of its eastern boundaries. The
Snipes Mountain
Snipes Mountain AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in the Yakima Valley of Washington State. It was approved by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on January 21, 2009 making it Washington's 10th federally designat ...
AVA also lies within its boundaries. To the west, the
Cascade Range forms a natural border and creates a
rain shadow over the area which requires the use of
irrigation
Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been devel ...
in
viticulture
Viticulture (from the Latin word for '' vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of '' Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ...
.
The appellation covers of land that is mostly contained within
Yakima County, Washington
Yakima County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 256,728. The county seat and largest city is Yakima. The county was formed out of Ferguson County in January 1865 and is named for the Yakama ...
with the eastern edge extending into
Benton County. The cities of
Yakima
Yakima ( or ) is a city in and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, and the state's 11th-largest city by population. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 96,968 and a metropolitan population of 256,728. The uni ...
and
Prosser are the main commercial centers with many wineries located in or around them. To the west,
Mount Adams dominates the landscape along with the
Yakima River
The Yakima River is a tributary of the Columbia River in south central and eastern Washington state, named for the indigenous Yakama people. Lewis and Clark mention in their journals that the Chin-nâm pam (or the Lower Snake River Chamnapam ...
on its eastward flow to the
Columbia River.
Overall, the temperature of the Yakima Valley is more temperate than the rest of the greater Columbia Valley AVA,
with average temperatures being 5 °F (3 °C) to 10 °F (6 °C) cooler.
History
A
French winemaker
A winemaker or vintner is a person engaged in winemaking. They are generally employed by wineries or wine companies, where their work includes:
*Cooperating with viticulturists
*Monitoring the maturity of grapes to ensure their quality and to dete ...
from
Alsace-Lorraine named
Charles Schanno is credited with planting the first vines in the area in 1869.
Schanno purchased the cuttings from a vineyard in
The Dalles, Oregon
The Dalles is the largest city of Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The population was 16,010 at the 2020 census, and it is the largest city on the Oregon side of the Columbia River between the Portland Metropolitan Area, and Hermisto ...
and the
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business di ...
outpost at
Fort Vancouver
Fort Vancouver was a 19th century fur trading post that was the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia Department, located in the Pacific Northwest. Named for Captain George Vancouver, the fort was located on the northern bank of th ...
.
In the early 20th century, an attorney from
Tacoma named
William B. Bridgeman pioneered the modern wine industry in the Yakima Valley. Bridgeman helped draft some of the state's earliest irrigation laws for wine growing and planted his first vineyard in 1914. Many of the vineyards established in the Yakima Valley during this period came from Bridgeman's
cuttings.
Following the repeal of
Prohibition
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcohol ...
, Bridgeman opened Upland Winery and hired
Erich Steenborg as winemaker. Together they were influential in promoting the use of
varietal
A varietal wine is a wine made primarily from a single named grape variety, and which typically displays the name of that variety on the wine label.The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, 2000.winepros.com.au. ...
labelling
Labelling or using a label is describing someone or something in a word or short phrase. For example, the label "criminal" may be used to describe someone who has broken a law. Labelling theory is a theory in sociology which ascribes labelling ...
for wines made in the Yakima Valley, including the state's first
dry Riesling.
In 1917, the
Washington State Legislature passed an act setting aside of
sagebrush
Sagebrush is the common name of several woody and herbaceous species of plants in the genus '' Artemisia''. The best known sagebrush is the shrub '' Artemisia tridentata''. Sagebrushes are native to the North American west.
Following is an al ...
desert near
Prosser to become an agriculture research center known as the Irrigation Branch Experiment Station (today known as the
Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center, and operated jointly by
Washington State University
Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant uni ...
and the
USDA
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...
). The first crop was of apples used in an irrigation study . In 1937, the research center hired
Walter Clore as an assistant
horticulturist
Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...
. Under Clore's guidance, the center expanded into grape growing with ''
Vitis labrusca
''Vitis labrusca'', the fox grape, is a species of grapevines belonging to the ''Vitis'' genus in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The vines are native to eastern North America and are the source of many grape cultivars, including Catawba, C ...
'', ''
Vitis vinifera
''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, is a species of flowering plant, native to the Mediterranean region, Central Europe, and southwestern Asia, from Morocco and Portugal north to southern Germany and east to northern Iran. There are curr ...
'' and
American hybrid
Hybrid grapes are grape varieties that are the product of a crossing of two or more ''Vitis'' species. This is in contrast to crossings between grape varieties of the same species, typically ''Vitis vinifera'', the European grapevine. Hybrid grap ...
grape plantings. Research from the center would become vital to the growing Washington wine industry.
In the 1980s, along with the rest of the
Washington wine
Washington wine is a wine produced from grape varieties grown in the U.S. state of Washington. Washington ranks second in the United States (behind California) in the production of wine. By 2017, the state had over of vineyards, a harvest of ...
industry, the Yakima Valley saw a boom in the plantings of new vineyards and the openings of new wineries such as
Hogue Cellars and
Covey Run both opening in 1982,
followed by
Chinook Wines in 1983.
Vineyards
The Yakima Valley AVA is home to some of the state's oldest vineyards with nearly every major Washington wine maker securing at least some of their grapes from this appellation.
Red Willow Vineyard near
Wapato stands at the highest point in the Yakima Valley AVA at
above sea level. The vineyard is known as the primary grape supplier to
Columbia Winery. It was from this vineyard that winemaker
David Lake produced the first Syrah in Washington state.
Chardonnay is a popular planting in this cool climate appellation with most wine growers preferring a single clonal variety.
Nearly any grape can ripen at some location within this diverse AVA. The most sought after sites are located on the eastern edge of the AVA near
Red Mountain, Prosser and
Benton City.
The AVA also includes
Boushey Vineyard, ranked by as one of the top vineyards in Washington State.
Sub-appellations
As the Washington wine industry began to focus more on ''
terroir
(, ; from ''terre'', "land") is a French term used to describe the environmental factors that affect a crop's phenotype, including unique environment contexts, farming practices and a crop's specific growth habitat. Collectively, these contex ...
'', three sub-appellations have been created for areas within the Yakima Valley AVA that demonstrate unique
microclimate
A microclimate (or micro-climate) is a local set of atmospheric conditions that differ from those in the surrounding areas, often with a slight difference but sometimes with a substantial one. The term may refer to areas as small as a few squ ...
s and
soil conditions which crafted different wines from their neighboring areas. The
Red Mountain AVA was created in 2001, the
Rattlesnake Hills AVA was created in 2006 and the
Snipes Mountain AVA
Snipes Mountain AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in the Yakima Valley of Washington State. It was approved by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on January 21, 2009 making it Washington's 10th federally designat ...
created in 2009.
References
External links
Yakima Valley Wine Region
{{portal bar, Drink
American Viticultural Areas
Geography of Benton County, Washington
Washington (state) wine
Geography of Yakima County, Washington
1983 establishments in Washington (state)