General info

Question 1

What are the top 7 grapes by acreage planted?

Answer 1

Cabernet Sauvignon (10,293)
Merlot (8,235)
Chardonnay (7,654)
Riesling (6,320)
Syrah (3,103)
Pinot Gris (1,576)
Sauvignon Blanc (1,173)

Question 2

How much of the US production comes from Washington?

Answer 2

5%

Question 3

How much of the vineyards are located east of the Cascades?

Answer 3

95%

Question 4

What is the average rainfall is Eastern Washington?

Answer 4

10-12 inches

Question 5

What kind of climate is Eastern Washington?

Answer 5

True continental, with hot summers and cold winters.

Question 6

What are serious concerns for growers?

Answer 6

Frost and winter freezes

Question 7

What is the bedrock in Washington?

Answer 7

Basalt

Question 8

What is on top of the bedrock

Answer 8

Deposits left from the Missoula Floods

Question 9

How big is Columbia Valley AVA?

Answer 9

11 million acres

Question 10

The Columbia Valley follows what outline?

Answer 10

The Columbia River Basin

Question 11

What was Washington’s first AVA? When?

Answer 11

Yakima Valley, 1983

Question 12

What was Washington’s first AVA? When?

Answer 12

Yakima Valley, 1983

Question 13

As of 2013, how many wineries were in Washington?

Answer 13

850

Question 14

Ste Michelle wine estates accounts for how much of Washington’s output?

Answer 14

60%

Question 15

What 3 wineries are large players aside from Ste Michelle?

Answer 15

Hogue, Hedges, and Gallo

Question 16

What parallel is below most of the wineries?

Answer 16

46th

Question 17

What is the average diurnal variation in Columbia Valley?

Answer 17

28 degrees

Question 18

What does Washington’s natural climate naturally suppress

Answer 18

mildew

Question 19

The ridgelines of the Columbia Basin face which directions? What are they called?

Answer 19

East-west

Yakima Ford Belt

Question 20

Which vines are more likely to not be as affected by frost and freezing?

Answer 20

Higher altitude vines

Question 21

How far down in the Earth does the basalt layer reach?

Answer 21

12,000 feet

Question 22

When did commercial wine growing surface in Walla Walla?

Answer 22

1860s

Question 23

When did commercial wine growing surface in Walla Walla?

Answer 23

1860s

Question 24

When did commercial vinifera reappear in Washington after prohibition?

Answer 24

1960s

Question 25

Who and when were the original distributors of Washington wine, post-prohibition? What wineries were allowed to go to private distribution a year later?

Answer 25

The Washington State Liquor Control Board, in 1934. Washington wineries

Question 26

When did the Washington Wine "monopoly" end?

Answer 26

1969

Question 27

Who is known as the "Father of Washington Wine"? What did he do?

Answer 27

Dr Walter Clore He proved that with appropriate sites, vinifera could withstand cold snaps.

Question 28

What was the first well known vineyard and when was it planted?

Answer 28

Harrison Hill Vineyard, on Snipes Mountain. 1963.

Question 29

Who catapulted Merlot as a strength of Washington winemaking in the 1990s?

Answer 29

Leonetti Cellars

Question 30

When did Columbia Valley get AVA status?

Answer 30

1984

Question 31

What 850-acre vineyard does Chateau Ste Michelle own?

Answer 31

Cold Creek Vineyard

Question 32

What marks the northern entrance to Yakima Valley?

Answer 32

Union Gap

Question 33

What 3 AVAs are in Yakima Valley?

Answer 33

Rattlesnake Hills Red Mountain Snipes Mountain

Question 34

What other produce is in Yakima Valley?

Answer 34

apple/stone fruit orchards Concord grape vineyards hops fields

Question 35

When did Syrah first get planted in Washington?

Answer 35

1986

Question 36

What are top vineyards in Yakima Valley?

Answer 36

Red Willow Vineyard Boushey Otis

Question 37

What is Washington's most densely cultivated AVA?

Answer 37

Red Mountain

Question 38

What two vineyards were established almost simultaneously in Red Mountain?

Answer 38

Kiona | Ciel du Cheval

Question 39

What is the climate of Red Mountain?

Answer 39

Sunny, windy and arid

Question 40

When did Snipes Mountain become an AVA?

Answer 40

2009

Question 41

When did Snipes Mountain become an AVA?

Answer 41

2009

Question 42

When and what are the oldest vines of Snipes Mountain?

Answer 42

1917 Muscat of Alexandria

Question 43

When did Rattlesnake Hills become an AVA?

Answer 43

2006

Question 44

What is a historically important variety of Rattlesnake Hills?

Answer 44

Riesling

Question 45

How much of Walla Walla Valley AVA is in Washington?

Answer 45

2/3

Question 46

What is the main soil of Walla Walla Valley? How deep is it usually?

Answer 46

Loess 25-30 ft

Question 47

Who and when was the first vinifera planted in Walla Walla Valley?

Answer 47

1974, Gary Figgins

Question 48

What are the general borders of Horse Heaven Hills?

Answer 48

The Southern ridgeline of Yakima Valley and the banks of the Columbia River

Question 49

What was the first famous vineyard of Horse Heaven Hills? Who planted it?

Answer 49

Champoux vineyard, Don Mercer/Walter Clore, 1972

Question 50

What keeps fungal pressures low in Horse Heaven Hills?

Answer 50

Wind and low rainfall

Question 51

How is the temperature of Wahluke Slope compared to most Washington AVAs?

Answer 51

warmer

Question 52

What is the average yearly rainfall of Wahluke slope?

Answer 52

6 inches per year

Question 53

Which AVA formed in 2012?

Answer 53

Ancient Lakes of Columbia Valley

Question 54

What is the northernmost AVA of Columbia Valley?

Answer 54

Lake Chelan

Question 55

How many acres are planted in Naches Heights?

Answer 55

About 50 acres

Question 56

When is budbreak in Columbia Gorge?

Answer 56

Late April

Question 57

What Walter Clore experimental planting happened in Columbia Gorge?

Answer 57

Pinot Noir, 1968.

Question 58

Who and when planted Puget Sound's first notable vineyard?

Answer 58

Lambert Evans, 1872

Question 59

What type of grapes tend to thrive in Puget Sound?

Answer 59

Early-ripening varieties