washington Flashcards
Which are the biggest wineries in Washington?
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.
Soils of Washington were formed by?
Volcanic eruptions and MIssoula floods
Basalt bedrock with sedimentary sediments
Who is the father of Washington Wine?
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.
When did André Tchelistcheff came to Washington and which wineries consulted?
in 1967, Associated Vintners and American Wine Growers which are Columbia winery and Ste MIchelle
Which are the most planted grapes of Washington?
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
Name Columbia Valley’s AVAs
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
Which AVAs are not in Columbia Valley?
Puget Sound and Columbia Gorge
Where are the oldest Cabernet vines in Washington?
Chateau Ste Michele’s Cold Creek vineyard since 1973 in Yakima
Which is the first AVA of Washington?
Yakima Valley
Name the five nestled AVAs of Yakima
Rattlesnake Hills, Snipes Mountain, Red Mountain, Candy Mountain, and Goose Gap
Which is the oldest Syrah vineyard of Washington?
Red Willow Vineyard in Yakima, where the state’s first Syrah went into the ground in 1986
Name the two first vineyards of Yakima Valley
Kiona and Ciel du Cheval vineyards in 1975
Red Mountain AVA is famous for?
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.
Name some top producers from Red Mountain
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.
Which is the oldest Vitis Vinifera plantings of Washington?
William Bridgman’s small plot of 1917 Muscat of Alexandria vines, are located on the Upland Vineyards property on Snipes Mountain.
Rattlesnake Hills topography and grapes?
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.
Name some top producers from Snipes Mountain
Smasne and Maison Bleue
Name some top producers and vineyards of Rattlesnake Hills
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
Which is the smallest AVA of Washington?
Candy Mountain AVA in Yakima Valley
became an AVA in 2020
Which are the newest AVAs of Washington?
Rocky Reach approved in 2022, Walla Walla
Goose Gap in 2021, Yakima
Name the 2 AVAs of Walla Walla Valley
Walla Walla Valley, The Rocks of Milton-Freewater
Name 2 unofficial sub-regions of Walla Walla
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
Name the 3 rivers that flow though Walla Walla Valley
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
Soil type of Walla Walla?
loess, suitable to this dry and arid climate for its water holding capacity
Which were the first vineyards of Walla Walla?
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
Which were the founding fathers of Walla Walla?
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
Name second wave of new producers of Walla Walla
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
Name some top producers of Walla Walla
Cayuse
Gramercy Cellars
Horsepower
Leonetti Cellar
Pepper Bridge
Horse Heaven Hills is mostly famous for?
Cabernet Sauvignon
Name some top producers and sites from Horse Heaven Hills
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
Walhuke Slope AVA is produces?
warm growing region exciting interest for the quality of its red grapes, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah
Ancient Lakes of Columbia Valley produces?
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.
Name the largest producer of Ancient Lakes of Columbia Valley
Milbrandt Vineyards
Which is the northernmost AVA of Washington?
Lake Chelan
Lake Chelan produces?
Lake Chelan, like the Ancient Lakes, is a glacial lake responsible for moderating temperatures and Pinot Noir and Riesling are the focus here.
Which is Washington’s coolest appellation?
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.
Who planted the first vines in Columbia Gorge?
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
Columbia Gorge’s grapes?
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
Puget Sound’s grape varieties?
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
