USA: Washington

Question 1

AVAs that cross WA/OR border

Answer 1

• Columbia Valley
• Walla Walla Valley
• Columbia Gorge

Question 2

boundaries of the Columbia Valley AVA are based on?

Answer 2

The Columbia Basin - 11 million acres, 1/3rd of the whole state

Question 3

Washington AVAs that are NOT in the Columbia Valley AVA

Answer 3

Puget Sound
Columbia Gorge

Question 4

Cold Creek Vineyard
- area
- producer
- significance

Answer 4

Columbia Valley AVA (one of the few sites without a nested AVA)
* Chateau Ste Michelle flagship site
* Washington’s oldest Cab Sauv vines.. 1973

Question 5

AVAs of Yakima Valley (6)

Answer 5

1. Yakima Valley
2. Snipes Mountain
3. Red Mountain
4. Rattlesnake Hills
5. Candy Mountain
6. Goose Gap

3 mountains, 1 hill, 1 valley, 1 gap

Question 6

Red Willow Vineyard

Answer 6

Yakima Valley
- WA’s 1st Syrah (1986)
- furthest western vyd in Yakima
- 1300ft

Owen Roe, Delille, Gramercy Cellars, Savage Grace

Question 7

Yakima Valley elevation for plantings, why

Answer 7

1000 - 1400ft.. lower is more frost prone, cold air settles

Question 8

Washington’s hottest AVA? Why?

Answer 8

Red Mountain AVA (within Yakima Valley)
( also the state’s most densely planted AVA)
* Cascade’s rain shadow, slightly lower elevation (500 - 1500ft), south facing slopes

Question 9

Red Mountain AVA
- origin of name
- climate/moderating features
- avg rainfall
- terrain/elevation

Answer 9

Yakima Valley
Red bc of reddish cheatgrass
- CLIMATE: contiental; hottest AVA in WA. Arid, windy, significant diurnal. Moderated by Yakima River
- RAIN ~7in yr, Cascade Mountain rain shadow.
- TERRAIN: SW facing gentle mountain slopes formed by ice age flooding
* 540 - 1400ft

Question 10

Red Mountain AVA
- location
- 1st vineyards
- major vineyards/producers?

Answer 10

YAKIMA VALLEY AVA
1st in1975: Ciel du Cheval, Kiona

Important Producers:
* Upchurch Vineyards, Col Solare, Force Majeure, Hedges

Important Vineyards:
* Klipsun, Ciel du Cheval, Kiona, Col Solare

Question 11

Most planted Red Mountain AVA grape?

Answer 11

Cab Sauv

Question 12

Col Solare

Answer 12

Antinori x Chateau Ste Michelle
Red Mountain AVA

Question 13

Snipes Mountain AVA

Answer 13

2009; Yakima Valley anticline
* 750M S, 820M N for the lower limit - up to nearly 1310ft

Question 14

Washington’s oldest vines

Answer 14

1917 plot of Muscat of Alexandria vines, Uplands Vineyard, in the Snipes Mountain AVA
* Uplands Vineyard remains the AVA’s only “in AVA” producer

Question 15

Rattlesnake Hills AVA
- elevation
- 3 most important vineyards

Answer 15

Yakima Valley
* 850 - 3085ft for plantings
* very dry.. 6in/yr rain sometimes. Cascade Mountains rain shadow, Yakima Range’s protection from the north
* Kennedy Shah, Savage Grace, Hyatt Vineyards

Question 16

Yakima Valley’s rain shadow?

Answer 16

Cascade Mountains
(rainfall as little as 6in/yr)
* Yakima Range protects from the north

Question 17

Rattlesnake Hills AVA key producers/vineyards

Answer 17

KEY: Kennedy Shah, Savage Grace, Hyatt Vineyards
In the AVA but not labelling: Cote Bonneville’s Dubrul, Andrew Wills’ Two Blondes

Question 18

Candy Mountain AVA

Answer 18

Yakima Valley
Washington’s smallest; est 2020

Question 19

Goose Gap AVA

Answer 19

Yakima Valley
Washington’s newest - 2021
* north-facing vineyards, mostly

Question 20

Walla Walla Valley rivers

Answer 20

“many waters” = namesake
Columbia River
Walla Walla River
Snake River

Question 21

Walla Walla Valley rain shadow

Answer 21

Blue Mountains

Question 22

Missoula Floods “bottleneck”

Answer 22

Wallula Gap, located in Walla Walla Valley

Question 23

Walla Wall Valley elevation

Answer 23

400 - 2000ft, but viti starts at 850ft bc frost

Question 24

Walla Walla Valley’s rainshadow

Answer 24

Blue Mountains

Question 25

Walla Walla Valley main soil type? Why does it work here?

Answer 25

Loess * arable and fertile, but free-draining. The soils can hold water but are still free-draining. The climate is arid and dry, the soils are never wet and heavy

Question 26

Walla Walla Valley's "fouding fathers"

Answer 26

1. Gary Figgins, planted 1st vinifera in 1974, founded Leonetti Cellar in 1977 2. also in 1977.. Rick Small planted the plot of Chardonnay that would become Woodward Canyon 3. Baker Ferguson, L'Ecole 4. Eric Rindal, Waterbrook

Question 27

Anticlines and synclines

Answer 27

An anticline is essentially an upward fold in layered rocks, like a giant wrinkle in the Earth's crust. Imagine a rug that's been pushed together at both ends, creating a ridge in the center. In geological terms, this ridge is the anticline A syncline is the opposite of that... basically a "valley" in the fold.

Question 28

Champoux Vineyard

Answer 28

Horse Heaven Hills AVA

Question 29

Horse Heaven Hills AVA - top vineyard site

Answer 29

Champoux Vineyard Slightly lower elevation = more frost prone. 200ft to 1800ft, sits at edge of Columbia River

Question 30

Wahluke Slope AVA

Answer 30

"watering hole" Driest Washington AVA, barely 6in/yr * rises 425 - 1480ft from the Columbia River * south-facing; deep windblown well-drained sands

Question 31

Most planted grape in Ancient Lakes of Columbia Valley AVA?

Answer 31

riesling * Milbrandt Vineyards is the largest operation

Question 32

Only Columbia Valley nested AVA OUTSIDE of Missoula Flood zone?

Answer 32

Lake Chelan AVA

Question 33

Washington's coolest AVA?

Answer 33

Columbia Gorge AVA

Question 34

Columbia Gorge AVA climate

Answer 34

Transitional marine --> continental climate * 36in of rain in the west, 10ish in the east * WIND is the main defining feature - funnel through the Columbia River gorge. Major influence.

Question 35

Columbia Gorge AVA vineyards

Answer 35

Atavus Vineyard Celilo Vineyard

Question 36

Is OR's growing area.. east or west of the Cascades

Answer 36

WEST

Question 37

Washington's viticultural hero

Answer 37

Walter Clore

Question 38

Washington climate

Answer 38

East of the Cascades... * arid continental with hot summer, cold winters * avg 28º diurnal shift * 6 - 12in rain/yr * Cascade Mountains = rain shadow & continental climate. No maritime air has access.

Question 39

Orientation of Columbia Valley ridges

Answer 39

East-west (Yakima Fold Belt)

Question 40

Why so much frost on Columbia Valley AVA valley floors?

Answer 40

Anticlines restrict air flow, creating a temperature inversion layer * cold air bottlenecks within the synclines, unable to escape ** more frost, more diurnal, colder winters at lower elevations

Question 41

Elevation in Columbia Valley AVA

Answer 41

700-800ft generally, but the vineyards are really more "safe" starting at 1000M and up

Question 42

Washington's methods to survive the winter

Answer 42

1. Dual trunk vine training: 2 trunks on the same vine in parallel, an inch or two apart, ground up. * statistically, you can get winter damage to one but not the other, even though they are growing in the same spot 2. Burying canes 3. Irrigation after harvest 4. move to higher elevation

Question 43

What disease are vines particularly susceptible to after a hard winter freeze?

Answer 43

Crown gall affliction

Question 44

Max elevation that the Missoula Floods reached

Answer 44

1200ft - the soils from here up were not underwater and feature more basalt

Question 45

Columbia Valley AVA soils

Answer 45

basalt bedrock, flood-deposited sedimentary layers + windblown loess that form the region’s silt loam soil

Question 46

% rules for Washington wine labelling

Answer 46

95% must come from state 85% if listed by AVA 95% for single vineyard

Question 47

Washington labelling % rules

Answer 47

* 85% for county, AVA * 95% of grapes must be from WA * 95% for single vineyard labelling * 100% of grapes must be from estate or controlled land to be "estate bottled"; must be from the same AVA 95% from said vintage for AVA wines (85% for state, county)