Red Mountain is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) that encompasses the local region surrounding Red Mountain in Benton County, Washington. The viticultural area was formally recognized on June 11, 2001 by the

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), commonly referred to as ATF, is a domestic law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice. Its responsibilities include the investigation and prevention ...

(ATF),

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 ...

after reviewing the petition submitted by Lorne Jacobson of Hedges Cellars to establish an area known as "Red Mountain." It lies entirely within the Yakima Valley and vast Columbia Valley appellations and is a small AVA in the state at only in area and lies between Benton City and the City of West Richland. The area has more than under cultivation of primarily red varietals including

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebano ...

Merlot Merlot ( ) is a dark-blue-colored wine grape variety that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of , the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the color ...

Sangiovese Sangiovese is a red Italian wine grape variety that derives its name from the Latin , "blood of Jove, Jupiter". Sangiovese Grosso, used for traditionally powerful and slow maturing red wines, is primarily grown in the central regions of Italy ...

Cabernet Franc Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux (wine), Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone, as in the Loire (wine), Loire's C ...

and

Syrah Syrah (), also known as Shiraz, is a dark-skinned grape variety grown throughout the world and used primarily to produce red wine. In 1999, Syrah was found to be the offspring of two obscure grapes from southeastern France, Dureza and Mondeuse ...

. The reputation of the area's wines has brought Red Mountain worldwide attention and acclaim for producing some of the most desired Washington State vintage wines.

Terroir

Topography

The Missoula floods, a series of massive floods that occurred at the end of the last

Ice Age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...

, profoundly affected the soils of Red Mountain. The fast traveling flood waters, estimated at tall, would sweep around the east and west edges of Red Mountain, creating powerfully back-eddies. As a result of the back-eddies, sediments were deposited in an irregular manner, creating a heterogeneous soil with a series of gravel lenses. In the 10,000 years since the Missoula floods, wind-blown

loess A loess (, ; from ) is a clastic rock, clastic, predominantly silt-sized sediment that is formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust. Ten percent of Earth's land area is covered by loesses or similar deposition (geology), deposits. A loess ...

was deposited, creating a thin mantle of

dunes A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...

that vary in thickness throughout the Red Mountain region. This has created a series of soils that differ from those of the immediately surrounding area. The topography to the northeast features part of the Columbia Basin lowlands where 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 ...

turns southward towards the Saddle Mountains. With elevations ranging from , the landscape dominates this area of the lower Yakima Valley. Red Mountain derives its name from the red-wine springtime bloom of the drooping brome or " cheatgrass" on its slopes. The soil in the area is very

gravel Gravel () is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally on Earth as a result of sedimentation, sedimentary and erosion, erosive geological processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gr ...

ly, with high

alkalinity Alkalinity (from ) is the capacity of water to resist Freshwater acidification, acidification. It should not be confused with base (chemistry), basicity, which is an absolute measurement on the pH scale. Alkalinity is the strength of a buffer s ...

(high pH) and

calcium carbonate Calcium carbonate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is a common substance found in Rock (geology), rocks as the minerals calcite and aragonite, most notably in chalk and limestone, eggshells, gastropod shells, shellfish skel ...

content.

Climate

The area has one of the most unusual

terroir (; ; from ''terre'', ) is a French language, 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, th ...

s in the state with the southwest facing slopes documenting warmer temperatures and more sunlight hours than any other part of the Columbia Valley. The nighttime temperatures drop considerably, helping to preserve the acid levels within the grape. At Benton City, the Yakima River flows past the area and provides a moderating effect on the temperature. Cool air from the northern elevations flowing to the lower river valley moves across the hillside vineyards and keeps the grapes from being overheated. This constant air movement prevents air settling and

frost Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor that deposits onto a freezing surface. Frost forms when the air contains more water vapor than it can normally hold at a specific temperature. The process is simila ...

damage to the grapes The area has a

desert A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the la ...

climate with average annual rainfall of . During the growing season, daytime temperatures average with nighttime temperatures dropping below . Vineyards rely on

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) 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 bee ...

to supply water to the vines allowing viniters to optimize the growth cycle of their grapevines.

History

In the 1970s, John Williams o
Kiona Vineyards
and Jim Holmes, originally of Kiona then Ciel du Cheval vineyards, pioneered grape growing in the area. In the 1980s, wines made from grapes in the Red Mountain area began receiving recognition for their distinct flavor profiles though federal laws permitted wine labels only to carry the designation as being from the Columbia Valley AVA or Yakima Valley AVA. In the late 1990s, Lorne Jacobson from Hedges Family Estates started a drive to achieve federal recognition of the area as its own AVA, which was granted in April, 2001. Hedges Family Estates' appellation petition was joined by Kiona Vineyards, Blackwood Canyon Vintners, Sandhill Winery, Seth Ryan Winery and Terra Blanca Winery. In 2007, Chateau Ste Michelle and Marchesi Antinori invested 6.5 million dollars in the appellation to purchase vineyards and establish a winery to produce their joint venture wine, ''Col Solare''. In 2013, Aquilini Vineyards purchased 670 acres on Red Mountain. Ciel du Cheval Red Mountain rose

Wines

The area is known for producing powerful, tannic red wines. The wines are known for their balance in flavors, with an intense concentration of berry flavors. Compared to the Cabernet Sauvignon produced in other areas of the state, the Cabernets here are more structured than fruit-driven. Grapes from this area are in high demand and vineyards with notable reputations can receive as much as 30% above market price for their crops. The primary Cabernet Sauvignon clone planted is clone #8, which in Red Mountain produces a Cabernet wine similar in profile to a

California wine California wine production has a rich viticulture history since 1680 when Spanish Jesuit missionaries planted ''Vitis vinifera'' vines native to the Mediterranean region in their established missions to produce wine for religious services. ...

, while the same clone planted in nearby Horse Heaven Hills AVA produces a wine similar in profile to

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

100 Point Wines

Many of Washington's cult wines are produced from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes grown in this AVA including the 2002, 2003 and 2005 Quilceda Creek Vintners Cabernet Sauvignon, which scored the rare 100 point wine rating from Robert Parker's '' The Wine Advocate''. At the time, only 15 other wines in the US had 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 from three Red Mountain vineyards, Ciel du Cheval, Klipsun, and Tapteil, and one vineyard in adjoining Horse Heaven Hills viticultural area. Tapteil Red Mountain red blend

Future growth

In the early 21st century, the reputation of Red Mountain AVA has bolstered an era of growth for the appellation. Like most wine growing regions in

Eastern Washington Eastern Washington is the region of the U.S. state of Washington located east of the Cascade Range. It contains the city of Spokane (the second largest city in the state), the Tri-Cities, the Columbia River and the Grand Coulee Dam, the H ...

, Red Mountain is in the

rain shadow A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side. Evaporated moisture from body of water, bodies of water (such as oceans and larg ...

of the

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington (state), Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as m ...

making irrigation essential with water rights controlled by the state's Department of Ecology. In the past, this limited commercial growth and the opening of new wineries in the area though restrictions may be reduced in the future. In anticipation of future growth, a committee of local grape growers was formed to promote the development of the area's roads and infrastructure. Red Mountains right Rattlesnake Left

Vineyards

* Aquilini Vineyards * Ciel du Cheval *Cooper Estate Vineyard *Klipsun *Kiona Vineyards *Obelisco Estate *Ranch at the End of the Road *Heart of the Hill *Avennia Estate Vineyard * Force Majeure Vineyards (Formerly "Grand Rêve") *Tinte Estate Vineyard *Terra Blanca Estate Vineyard *Scooteney Flats Vineyard *Red Heaven Vineyard *Artz Vineyard *Red Mountain Railroad Vineyard *Grand Ciel Vineyard, DeLille Cellars

Wineries

* Avennia * Col Solare Winery * Cooper Wine Company * Elk Haven Winery * Fidelitas * Frichette Winery * Hamilton Cellars * Hedges Family Estate * Hightower Cellars * Kiona Vineyards and Winery * Monte Scarlatto Estate Winery * Red Mountain Trails Winery * Terra Blanca

References

External links

List of Wineries in Red MountainRed Mountain AVA Alliance

TTB AVA Map
{{DEFAULTSORT:Red Mountain Ava American Viticultural Areas of Washington (state) Geography of Benton County, Washington 2001 establishments in Washington (state)