Horse Heaven Hills is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) in southeastern

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

lying in portions of Klickitat,

Yakima Yakima ( or ) is a city in and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, United States, and the state's 11th most populous city. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 96,968 and a metropolitan population of 256,728. The ...

, and Benton counties, north and west of the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...

and south of the Yakima Valley and lies within the vast

Columbia Valley The Columbia Valley is the name used for a region in the Rocky Mountain Trench near the headwaters of the Columbia River between the town of Golden and Canal Flats. The main hub of the valley is the town of Invermere. Other towns include Rad ...

appellation. Horse Heaven Hills was established by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau {TTB),

Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry; in a business context, corporate treasury. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be ...

on June 30, 2005 after reviewing the petition filed by Paul D. Lucas on behalf of regional wine grape growers. Horse Heaven Hills viticultural area is about long and wide located east from

Vancouver, Washington Vancouver ( ) is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, located in Clark County, Washington, Clark County. Founded in 1825 and incorporated in 1857, Vancouver had a population of 190, ...

. The appellation encompasses with about under vine. Horse Heaven Hills borders the

Yakima Valley AVA Yakima Valley is the first American Viticultural Area (AVA) established in Washington state on April 3, 1983 by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), Treasury after reviewing the petition submitted by the Yakima Valley Appellation ...

to the north and the

to the south. Its elevations vary from

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

at its southern boundary to at the northern boundary. Grapes planted in its south-facing slopes benefit from strong westerly winds via the

Columbia Gorge The Columbia River Gorge is a canyon of the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Up to deep, the canyon stretches for over as the river winds westward through the Cascade Range, forming the boundary between the state ...

, reducing

botrytis Botrytis may refer to: * ''Botrytis'' (fungus), the anamorphs of fungi of the genus '' Botryotinia'' **''Botrytis cinerea'', a mold important in wine making *Botrytis, the cauliflower cultivar group of ''Brassica oleracea ''Brassica oleracea'', a ...

mildew Mildew is a form of fungus. It is distinguished from its closely related counterpart, mold, largely by its colour: molds appear in shades of black, blue, red, and green, whereas mildew is white. It appears as a thin, superficial growth consisti ...

issues and thickens grape skins producing fruit with a higher skin-to-juice ratio.

History

Growers have raised grapes in the Horse Heaven Hills region since 1972, when Don Mercer planted a parcel of Cabernet Sauvignon at Phinny Hill Vineyards. Between 1978 and 1981, Stimson Lane planted in Paterson, including Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Gewurztraminer, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, and Grenache grapes. By the mid 1980s, commercial wine production included the Mercer Ranch Vineyards’ Cabernet Sauvignon, and St. Michelle’s Gewurztraminer, Grenache Rose, and Cabernet Sauvignon. Plantings continued from the mid-1980s through the early 1990s in the Horse Heaven Hills region, and greatly accelerated after the vineyards in the Horse Heaven Hills survived the hard freeze of 1996, which destroyed much of Washington State’s grape crop. As of 2002, there are at least 20 vineyards, with over under vine, plus four commercial wineries within the region.

Wineries

Horse Heaven Hills AVA is home to the single largest wine making facility in Washington, the Columbia Crest Winery owned by Chateau Ste. Michelle in Paterson. Alexandria Nicole Cellars has a at Destiny Ridge Vineyards. The AVA is also home to Zephyr Ridge Vineyard, which produces grapes for many wineries in Washington, including Hogue Cellars and

Swiftwater Cellars Don Watts (born 1956) is an American farmer, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He is the former CEO of Watts Brothers Farms and Frozen Foods in Kennewick, Washington which was later acquired by Conagra Foods, the owner of Zephyr Ridge Vineyard, a ...

Wines

Some of

's cult wines are produced from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes grown in this AVA including the 2002 and 2003 Quilceda Creek Vintners Cabernet Sauvignon, which scored the rare 100 point rating from Robert Parker's ''

The Wine Advocate ''The Wine Advocate'', fully known as ''Robert Parker's Wine Advocate'' and informally abbreviated ''TWA'' or ''WA ''or more recently as ''RP'', is a bimonthly wine publication based in the United States featuring the consumer advice of wine cri ...

''. Only 15 other wines in the US have received this designation, all made from California grapes. Only five other previous vintages have received consecutive perfect scores in ''The Wine Advocates publishing history. The Quilceda Creek wines were blends with grapes from three

Red Mountain AVA Red Mountain is an American Viticultural Area, American Viticultural Area (AVA) that encompasses the local region surrounding Red Mountain (Benton County, Washington), Red Mountain in Benton County, Washington, Benton County, Washington state, W ...

vineyards and one Horse Heaven Hills AVA vineyard.

References

External links

TTB AVA Map
{{coord, 45.9623524, -119.6067541, format=dms, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-WA_dim:27000 American Viticultural Areas of Washington (state) Geography of Benton County, Washington Geography of Klickitat County, Washington Horse Heaven Hills Geography of Yakima County, Washington 2005 establishments in Washington (state)

History

Wineries

Wines

See also

References

External links