Washington, Oregon, US History Flashcards
Recent AVAs that covers part of WA
(2018) Upper Hudson AVA; covers Albany, Montgomery, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, and WA
(2016) Lewis-Clark Valley AVA; covers WA, ID
Top 3 grapes grown in WA in acreage
- Cab Sauv (23%), Merlot (19%), Chard (17%)
Years of Prohibition
1920-1933
World’s largest producer of sparkling wines
Gloria Ferrer, owned by Freixenet
Domaine Carneros owned by this French champagne company
Taittinger
First AVA in the US
Augusta AVA, Missouri (1980)
US’ smallest and largest AVA
- Smallest: Cole Ranch, Mendocino
- Largest: Upper Mississippi River Valley
Largest appellation in the world and what areas does it cover
- Upper Mississippi River Valley
- covers part of Minnessota, Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin
The “father of California wine”
- Agoston Haraszthy
- Hungarian-born, self-styled “Count”
- arrived in Sonoma in 1849, where he founded Buena Vista
- Haraszthy introduced more than 300 varieties to the state, collected as vine cuttings during his European travels
- Now owned by….Jean Charles Boisset
US’ oldest continuously operating winery
The Brotherhood Winery in Washingtonville, NY (1839)
Napa’s oldest continuously operating winery (1876)
Beringer
Oldest commercial winery in Napa Valley (1861)
- Charles Krug
- moved in 1861 to St. Helena after working for Haraszthy
Founded Inglenook Winery (1880)
Gustav Niebaum
US’ first bonded winery (1860)
Pleasant Valley Wine Company in the Finger Lakes, still operating today
The first to discover American grapes Vitis labrusca, were resistant to phylloxera. Led to grafting and saved the French wine industry
Charles Valentine Riley
In 1938, Georges de Latour hired ____ to oversee the production at Beaulieu. Name his other contributions
- André Tchelistcheff
- the “dean of American winemakers”, a Russian winemaker trained in France
- brought new standards of hygiene and techniques to California, including temperature-controlled fermentations, introducing cold fermentation, controlled MLF, and spreading the use of small barrels
- mentored many of California’s young talents, including Robert Mondavi, Louis Martini, Joe Heitz, and Mike Grgich
- introduced the Georges de Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, a new benchmark in quality for American wine
Top 3 winners of the 1976 Judgment of Paris
- RED RESULTS
1. 1973 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars CS
2. 1970 Ch Mouton-Rothschild
3. 1970 Ch Montrose - WHITE RESULTS
1. 1973 Ch Montelena CH
2. 1973 Meursault Charmes, Roulot
3. 1974 Chalone Vineyard
The first Napa Valley bottling to top the $100 mark at release (1978)
Diamond Creek Cab Sauv
US labeling/threshold alcohol rules
- 14% alc or higher: max 1% tolerance
- below 14%: max 1.5%
% of grapes required for State labeling in WA, CA, OR
- WA: 95%
- CA and OR: both 100%
Estate bottling in WA, CA, OR
all are 100%
Single vineyard fruit in WA, CA, OR
all are 100%
AVA in WA, CA, OR
- WA 85%/95%:
if a wine is labeled by both an AVA and “Washington,” but it is produced in an AVA that exists in both WA and another state, then 95% of the grapes must either be grown in WA or in the stated AVA - CA: 85%
- OR: 95%
Labeling with AVA for WA, CA, OR
- all min 85% of the stated vintage for wines labeled by state or county
- all min 95% for wines labeled with an AVA
Recent 4 AVAs specific for WA
2012: Ancient Lakes of Columbia Valley
2011: Naches Heights
2009: Lake Chelan and Snipes Mountain
3 AVAs shared with OR
Columbia Gorge (2004) Columbia Valley (1984) Walla Walla Valley (1984)
AVA shared with Idaho
Lewis-Clark Valley (1984)
Varietal labeling in WA, CA, OR (no vintage)
- WA/CA: 75%
- OR: 90% for pinot noir, pinot gris, riesling, chardonnay (others are 75%)
- Except for Vitis labrusca (Concord): only 51% of a varietal
Rules for Meritage blend
- min 2 grapes and no single variety may make up more than 90% of the blend
- Red: cabernet s-f, merlot, malbec, petit verdot, gros verdot, carmenere, st macaire
- White: semillon, muscadelle, sauvignon vert and musque
WA Facts
- US’ 2nd largest producer, around 5% of the US production
- 46-67 degrees parallel — quite ‘northerly’
- Most of the wine regions and over 95% of vineyards are located east of the Cascade Mountains, where the mountains’ rain shadow effect turns the land arid and necessitates irrigation
- Alsatian varietals do very well — parallels the rainfall in Alsace
- Bordeaux is 5X the vineyard space than WA
Father of Washington State Wines
Dr. Walter Clore
First and most recent AVA in WA
- 1983: Yakima Valley, 1st AVA
- 2016: Lewis-Clark Valley (shared with Idaho)
Climate and soil of WA
- arid, windy and cold climate — fairly ‘pest-free’ and no downy mildew
- Sunlight is an ally, as Washington’s vineyards receive additional summer sunshine hours in accordance with its northerly latitude
- Missoula Floods formed glaciers; geologic variations
- almost vyds lie blow the floodwaters with loess, overlying gravel and basalt
- Cascade Mountains - the mountains’ rain shadow effect turns the land arid and necessitates irrigation
Only AVA located west of the Cascade Range
Puget Sound AVA, near Seattle
This river in Columbia Gorge AVA splits it between WA and OR
Columbia river, Hood river
3 AVAs where white grape plantings outnumber red
Columbia Gorge, Yakima Valley and Ancient Lakes
Differences between eastern and western Washington
- Eastern Washington
- experiences a true continental climate
- “rain-shadow”
- vineyards are thus generally planted on sandy or silty loam soils derived from the flood-borne sediments.
- East of the Cascades: bedrock is invariably basalt, overlaid by sediments deposited by the Missoula Floods, a catastrophic cycle of massive floods that occurred repeatedly at the end of the last ice age, some 12,000 to 18,000 years ago.
- Western Washington
- more of a maritime climate
- vyds can be dry-farmed, an extreme rarity in eastern Washington
Washington’s largest viticultural region
Columbia Valley
Columbia Valley encompasses all WA’s AVA except these (3)
Lewis-Clark Valley (ID), Puget Sound (far west) and Columbia Gorge (OR)
Top white and red varietals in Columbia Valley AVA; name 3 wineries
- Riesling, Merlot
- Chateau Ste Michelle, Quilceda Creek, Columbia Crest
This AVA has the highest concentration of wineries in WA
Walla Walla Valley
Top white and red varietals in Walla Walla; name 3 wineries
- Cab sauv…..then merlot, syrah, cab france and malbec
- Woodward Canyon, Pepper Bridge, Leonetti, De Lille Cellars, L’Ecole No 41, Andrew Will, Seven Hills Vyd
Where in WA are the Blue Mountains located?
Eastern border of Walla Walla
T or F? Due to dry temps and sandy soils, phylloxera has not yet established itself in the Columbia Valley AVA, so most vines are grown on their rootstock
True!
Horse Heaven Hills is bounded on the N by this AVA ____ and on the S by this body of water ____
Yakima Valley AVA, Columbia River
Which AVA is the proud source of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd “100 point” wines in WA State
Horse Heaven Hills
Name 2 wineries from Horse Heaven Hills AVA
Alder Ridge, The Benches, Champoux Vyd, Canoe Ridge
This AVA is naturally bounded by the Columbia River to the west and south, by the Saddle Mountains on the north
Wahluke Slope AVA
Most planted grapes in Lake Chelan AVA
Pinot noir, Riesling
T or F? Yakima Valley (the first sub-AVA) is also the largest sub-AVA in Columbia Valley, both in total size and wine-grape acreage. Grows more than 1/3 of all vinifera wine grapes in WA state
True!
Yakima Valley AVA encompasses these 3 sub-AVAs
Rattlesnake Hills, Snipes Mountain and Red Mountain
This AVA is unique from other AVAs in easterns Washington in that it lies north of the Missoula Floods; soil types here are glacial sediments along with ash and pumice from volcanoes from the nearby Cascade Range
Lake Chelan
WA’s smallest, most densely planted and warmest AVA
Red Mountain
Col Solare, Ciel du Cheval and Hedges Family Estate are in this sub-AVA
Red Mountain
World’s largest Riesling producer
Ch St. Michelle
Ch St. Michelle has a joint venture called this ____, with Erni Loosen of Bernkastel
Eroica
Newest AVA in OR
Van Duzer Corridor (2019)
Top grapes in OR
1) Pinot Noir
2) Pinot Gris
3) Chardonnay
4) Syrah
5) Riesling
6) Cab Sauv
Most vineyards in OR are located in valleys between these two natural barriers
Oregon’s Coast Range to the west and the Cascade Mountains to the east
This AVA’s topsoil of basalt cobblestones that draws comparisons to the galets of Châteauneuf-du-Pape
The Rocks of Milton-Freewater AVA
Oregon’s first and largest AVA
Willamette Valley AVA (~75% of Oregon’s vines)
7 sub-AVAs of OR
- Yamhill-Carlton (2004)
- McMinnville
- Van Duzer Corrider
- Chehalem Mountains
- Ribbon Ridge
- Dundee Hills (2004)
- Eola-Amity Hills
3 main towns of OR
Portland, Salem, Eugene
2 AVAs in OR lie entirely within the OR state
Willamette Valley and Southern Oregon AVA
T or F? Most vyds found west of the Willamette River, with the largest concentration in Yamhill County
True!
2 types of soil in Willamette
- Jory
- well drained volcanic topsoil = more elegance; Dundee Hills
- “red hill soils” that formed from basalt
- Willakenzie
- fine loam ash covered soil = denser style, darker fruit; Ribbon Ridge
Ribbon Ridge AVA, is contained in this larger AVA
Chehalem Mountains
This sub-AVA is sandwiched between Van Duzer Corridor on the West and Willamette River/Salem on the East
Eola-Amity Hills
This bottle won top prize in the Gault-Millau 1979 Wine Olympics
1975 South Block Reserve Pinot Noir from Eyrie Vyds
Chehalem Mountains AVA first winery in 1978
Adelsheim
Top two planted grapes in OR
Pinot noir, then gris
Most famous vineyard in OR? First?
- Most famous: Shea, in Yamhill-Carlton
- First vineyard: Eyrie, in Dundee Hills
What Chardonnay clone replaced Wente in Oregon?
Mendoza
Effect on grapes from Van Duzer Corridor
- windy, more density, smaller yields and thicker skins on grapes
- wines of greater concentration and structure
- reduces disease
Trellising method in OR
Most Guyot
Is chaptalization legal in OR?
Legal, some use it but don’t need it
First Cab vyd in WA?
Otis vyd (Yakima)
Hottest AVA in WA?
Red Mountain (Yakima)
Coolest Yakima sub?
Rattlesnake
Where is the Champoux vineyard located? Name 2 important wineries that gets fruit from this vyd
- Horse Heaven Hills
- Andrew Will and Quilceda Creek
WA’s first grapes planted
Fort Vancouver by the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1825
Oldest Muscat vines in WA
Snipes Mountain (1917) - Muscat d’Alexandria
Oregon’s oldest continuously operating winery
Honeywood Winery
Richard Sommer / Hillcrest Vineyard
- launches OR’s modern era of winegrowing
- OR’s oldest estate winery (1961, Umpqua)
- plants riesling, gewurz, chad, semillon, sauv blanc, cab sauv, pinot noir, zin
First plantings in Willamette Valley
1965 David Lett, Dundee Hills, pinot noir
First vintage bottling of pinot noir in OR
Richard Sommer (1967)
Quilceda Creek line of wines
“Galitzine Vyd”
“Palengat” Blend
“CVR” Blend
Effects of the Coast Range in WA and OR
- forms a sheltering sea wall, as it does in CA, but the ocean’s cold North Pacific current brings rain instead of fog, creating a climate that is mild for such northern latitudes
- separates Willamette Valley from the hot desert in Oregon’s east
- also separates wet western WA from its eastern desert
T or F? Southern OR is much warmer and drier than the rest
True!
Coolest and wettest AVA in Southern OR
Umpqua Valley
The Rocks of Milton-Freewater is in this AVA
- Walla Walla Valley
- one of the first in US to be defined almost entirely by soil
- 93% of it made of a single type of soil, the Freewater Series (sitting on an alluvial fan of basalt cobbles
- Cayuse (put this sub-AVA on the map)
2 sub-AVAs in Southern Oregon AVA
- Umpqua Valley
- Rogue Valley
T or F? Umpqua Valley is located south of Willamette; entirely within Douglas County, Abacela winery (albarino, tempranillo)
True!
2 AVAs of Umpqua Valley
- Red Hill Douglas County (single-vineyard AVA)
- Elkton Oregon
Sole sub-AVA in Rogue Valley
Applegate Valley
Southernmost AVA in OR, located just before the California border; warmest and driest growing region west of the Cascades in Oregon
Rogue Valley AVA
Where were Washington’s 1st vinifera vines planted?
Yakima
Who did Tchelistcheff consult for in the late 1960s
American Wine Growers (now Ste Michelle Estates)
Which Washington AVAs are not within Columbia Valley?
Puget Sound, Columbia Gorge, Lewis and Clark
Sole WA AVA in the Cascades
Columbia Gorge
Where is Col Solare?
Red Mountain
Who is Col Solare a collaboration between? Name another Washington collab?
- Ste Michelle and Antinori
- Ste Michelle collab with Loosen called Eroica
Where are Two Blondes and Dubrul vineyard?
Rattlesnake Hills AVA
Who bought Pacific Rim from Randall Graham?
Banfi
Name all of Washington’s cross state AVAs
Columbia Gorge, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla, Lewis and Clarke
Name 2 Horse Heaven Hills AVA vineyards
Champoux, Canoe Ridge, The Benches
Most planted grape of Ancient Lakes AVA?
Riesling
Driest AVA in Washington?
Ancient Lakes (6in a year)
What is the AVA for Seven Hills, Ferguson, Pepper Bridge Vineyard?
Walla-Walla; The Rocks of Milton Freewater AVA (fully in Oregon)
What is the major viticultural hazard in Columbia Valley? 2 reasons phylloxera never got there?
- No water 6-12inches per year and frost when one move inland
- Sandy soil and huge distance of the vineyards kept the bug away
Viticultural techniques WA growers use against the frost?
Dual-trunk training and buried canes
When and where was the first WA state vinifera grape planted? Syrah? Cabernet Sauvignon?
- First vines: 1917 Muscat de Alexandria (Snipes Mountain)
- Syrah: 1986 Red Willow Vineyard (Yakima Valley)
- Cab Sauv: 1957 Otis Vineyard
(Yakima Valley)
Mountain range protecting Walla Walla to the East?
Blue Mountain
What is VINEA?
Walla Walla wineries organization of promoting sustainability
What is the warmest, smallest sub AVA within Yakima Valley? Main Grape? Name 2 vineyards and 2 producers?
- Red Mountain
- Cab Sauv
- Kiona, Klipsun
- Col Solare, Hedges
Largest vineyard on Columbia River fruit source for many wineries north of Tri-Cities? Name the 3 cities?
- 900 acres Sagamore Vineyard
- Kennewick, Pasco and Richland
Columbia Gorge’s most notable fruit source vineyard? Main grapes? Producers bottling fruit from there?
- Cello Vineyard
- Chardonnay and Pinot Noir
- Woodward Canyon, Ken Wright
Name and location of the largest contiguous vineyard in US?
McKinley Springs 2800 acres, Horse Heavan Hills AVA
Name MW and MS winemakers in Washington?
Bob Betz and Greg Harrington
Name a notable producer of Riesling in Oregon
Trisateum, Brooks, Chehalem
Does the Cote d’Or or Willamette Valley have a shorter growing season?
Cote d’Or, but higher temps
Which AVA is shared between Oregon and Idaho?
Snake River Valley AVA
Applegate Valley AVA is within which other AVA?
Rogue Valley AVA
In OR, Résonance is a project from which Burg producer?
Jadot
Where is the Atavus Vineyard?
Columbia Gorge
Which AVA is Pepper Bridge Vineyard
Walla Walla Valley
Newest AVA in OR in 2021?
Lower Long Tom AVA (in Willamette Valley)
Newest AVAs in OR in 2020?
- Tulatin Hills - Willamette, OR
- Laurelwood District (within Chehalem Mountains AVA)- Willamette, OR
