washington

Question 1

Which are the biggest wineries in Washington?

Answer 1

Ste. Michelle Wine Estates (Chateau Ste. Michelle, Columbia Crest, etc.) is the state’s largest producer, accounting for nearly 60% of Washington’s total output, and the world’s largest producer of Riesling. Other big players making wines under their own labels include Hogue Cellars, Hedges Family Estate, K Vintners, and Gallo.

Question 2

Soils of Washington were formed by?

Answer 2

Volcanic eruptions and MIssoula floods
Basalt bedrock with sedimentary sediments

Question 3

Who is the father of Washington Wine?

Answer 3

Dr. Walter Clore, formally recognized by the State Legislature as the “Father of Washington Wine,” spearheaded efforts in Washington to prove that vinifera grapevines could withstand the harsh Washington winters
His name is invariably linked, as mentor and consultant, to many of today’s old-time growers and most of the state’s oldest vinifera vineyards.

Question 4

When did André Tchelistcheff came to Washington and which wineries consulted?

Answer 4

in 1967, Associated Vintners and American Wine Growers which are Columbia winery and Ste MIchelle

Question 5

Which are the most planted grapes of Washington?

Answer 5

Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, and Gewürztraminer are the state’s five most planted white varieties; Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, and Cabernet Franc are the state’s most planted reds

Question 6

Name Columbia Valley’s AVAs

Answer 6

Columbia Valley (WA/OR), Yakima Valley, Red Mountain, Rattlesnake Hills, Snipes Mountain, Walla Walla Valley (WA/OR), The Rocks of Milton-Freewater (OR), Horse Heaven Hills, Wahluke Slope, Lake Chelan, Ancient Lakes of Columbia Valley, Naches Heights, Royal Slope, Rocky Reach, The Burn of Columbia Valley, White Bluffs, Candy Mountain, Goose Gap

Question 7

Which AVAs are not in Columbia Valley?

Answer 7

Puget Sound and Columbia Gorge

Question 8

Where are the oldest Cabernet vines in Washington?

Answer 8

Chateau Ste Michele’s Cold Creek vineyard since 1973 in Yakima

Question 9

Which is the first AVA of Washington?

Answer 9

Yakima Valley

Question 10

Name the five nestled AVAs of Yakima

Answer 10

Rattlesnake Hills, Snipes Mountain, Red Mountain, Candy Mountain, and Goose Gap

Question 11

Which is the oldest Syrah vineyard of Washington?

Answer 11

Red Willow Vineyard in Yakima, where the state’s first Syrah went into the ground in 1986

Question 12

Name the two first vineyards of Yakima Valley

Answer 12

Kiona and Ciel du Cheval vineyards in 1975

Question 13

Red Mountain AVA is famous for?

Answer 13

Cabernet Sauvignon currently comprises about 70% of the Red Mountain plantings, and the region is highly regarded for the tannic, deeply colored styles of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and other Bordeaux grapes that it produces.

Question 14

Name some top producers from Red Mountain

Answer 14

Red Mountain’s more acclaimed estate producers include Col Solare (a prestige collaboration between Tuscany’s Antinori and Washington’s Chateau Ste. Michelle), Force Majeure, and Upchurch Vineyards. Producers throughout the state source fruit from celebrated Red Mountain sources like Ciel du Cheval, Kiona, Klipsun, and others.

Question 15

Which is the oldest Vitis Vinifera plantings of Washington?

Answer 15

William Bridgman’s small plot of 1917 Muscat of Alexandria vines, are located on the Upland Vineyards property on Snipes Mountain.

Question 16

Rattlesnake Hills topography and grapes?

Answer 16

elevation of more than 3,000 ft. along the north bank of the Yakima River
The region is slightly cooler than Red Mountain and the south slopes of Snipes Mountain, and Riesling has historically been an important variety here.

Question 17

Name some top producers from Snipes Mountain

Answer 17

Smasne and Maison Bleue

Question 18

Name some top producers and vineyards of Rattlesnake Hills

Answer 18

1968 Cabernet Sauvignon in Morrison Vineyard, the Hills’ first parcel of vinifera grapes. Top vineyards in the appellation today include Andrew Will’s estate Two Blondes Vineyard and Côte Bonneville’s Dubrul Vineyard

Question 19

Which is the smallest AVA of Washington?

Answer 19

Candy Mountain AVA in Yakima Valley
became an AVA in 2020

Question 20

Which are the newest AVAs of Washington?

Answer 20

Rocky Reach approved in 2022, Walla Walla
Goose Gap in 2021, Yakima

Question 21

Name the 2 AVAs of Walla Walla Valley

Answer 21

Walla Walla Valley, The Rocks of Milton-Freewater

Question 22

Name 2 unofficial sub-regions of Walla Walla

Answer 22

Two subregions of the valley nearest the Blue Mountains, Mill Creek and the North Fork of Walla Walla Valley, are current hotspots that may one day achieve their own AVA status

Question 23

Name the 3 rivers that flow though Walla Walla Valley

Answer 23

The valley—whose name means “many waters” in a local native tongue—lies to the east of the confluence of three rivers (the Columbia, Walla Walla, and Snake Rivers) and the Wallula Gap, that bottleneck of the Missoula floods through which the Columbia now flows

Question 24

Soil type of Walla Walla?

Answer 24

loess, suitable to this dry and arid climate for its water holding capacity

Question 25

Which were the first vineyards of Walla Walla?

Answer 25

Chris’ father, Gary Figgins, who in 1974 was the first to plant vinifera in the valley. In 1977, Figgins founded Leonetti Cellar, and Rick Small planted an acre of Chardonnay—the genesis of Woodward Canyon Winery, established by Small four years later

Question 26

Which were the founding fathers of Walla Walla?

Answer 26

Figgins and Small, along with L’Ecole founder Baker Ferguson and Waterbrook founder Eric Rindal, are the “founding fathers” of modern viticulture and winemaking in Walla Walla

Question 27

Name second wave of new producers of Walla Walla

Answer 27

Christophe Baron’s Cayuse (est. 1997) and Norm McKibben’s Pepper Bridge (est. 1998). McKibben and his partners worked with Bordeaux varieties on the valley floor, producing some of the valley’s most lauded Bordeaux-style wines in some years but succumbing to frost and winter freeze in others; Baron focused on Rhône varieties and pushed viticulture into a barren, cobblestone-covered, nearly flat area across the Oregon border now known as “the Rocks.” Crediting Cayuse’ reputation and wines, and in recognition of the uniqueness of the area’s cobbly loam, the 3,770-acre Rocks of Milton-Freewater area, located entirely in Oregon’s Umatilla County, received AVA status in early 2015. About 325 acres are under vine. Old riverbed soils in the young AVA recall the galets of Châteauneuf-du-Pape; today, Rhône-style wines from the Rocks show earthy, savory aromas, often with higher alcohol and lower acidity than those produced elsewhere in the valley

Question 28

Name some top producers of Walla Walla

Answer 28

Cayuse
Gramercy Cellars
Horsepower
Leonetti Cellar
Pepper Bridge

Question 29

Horse Heaven Hills is mostly famous for?

Answer 29

Cabernet Sauvignon

Question 30

Name some top producers and sites from Horse Heaven Hills

Answer 30

Champoux Vineyard, first planted by in 1972 Don Mercer in consultation with Walter Clore, is the appellation’s standard-bearer for quality fruit, supplying top names like Quilceda Creek and Andrew Will. Other preeminent sites include Alder Ridge, Phinny Hill, Canoe Ridge—which houses Ste. Michelle’s red winemaking facilities and resembles an overturned canoe—and Longshadows’ Benches Vineyard, which hugs the high basalt cliffs

Question 31

Walhuke Slope AVA is produces?

Answer 31

warm growing region exciting interest for the quality of its red grapes, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah

Question 32

Ancient Lakes of Columbia Valley produces?

Answer 32

Like Wahluke Slope, it is incredibly arid, but despite its proximity it is considerably cooler—its temperatures are moderated by a series of 35 glacial lakes that knife through the region. Thus, white grapes are the focus here: Riesling is its most planted variety and white varieties altogether account for 80% of the region’s vines.

Question 33

Name the largest producer of Ancient Lakes of Columbia Valley

Answer 33

Milbrandt Vineyards

Question 34

Which is the northernmost AVA of Washington?

Answer 34

Lake Chelan

Question 35

Lake Chelan produces?

Answer 35

Lake Chelan, like the Ancient Lakes, is a glacial lake responsible for moderating temperatures and Pinot Noir and Riesling are the focus here.

Question 36

Which is Washington’s coolest appellation?

Answer 36

Apart from Puget Sound, Columbia Gorge is Washington’s (if not Oregon’s) coolest appellation. Temperature and rainfall aside, wind is the region’s defining climatic feature: Columbia Gorge, the most popular windsurfing destination in North America, is whipped by winds from the west all summer long, as the hot interior pulls cool coastal winds inland through the gap in the Cascades. The constant winds greatly reduce fungal pressure in the otherwise wet climate of the western Gorge.

Question 37

Who planted the first vines in Columbia Gorge?

Answer 37

Walter Clore and a 1968 experimental planting of Pinot Noir. That dry-farmed vineyard, now known as Atavus, lies at 1,700-ft. elevation on a lower shoulder of Mt. Adams and gives a glimpse of the potential for Pinot Noir north of the Columbia River

Question 38

Columbia Gorge’s grapes?

Answer 38

Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer, and Pinot Noir are impressive, but Riesling, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Gamay, Zinfandel, and others all show promise too. The best wines from the region remain inherently food-friendly; they are usually lighter in style, vibrant, aromatic, bright, and seemingly more akin to those of the Willamette Valley than the eastern AVAs of Washington state

Question 39

Puget Sound’s grape varieties?

Answer 39

Early-ripening varieties—often Germanic crossings like Madeline Angevine, Müller-Thurgau, and Siegerrebe—fare best in the rainy, cool climate west of the Cascades, and red grapes outnumber whites by a margin of two-to-one