Columbia Valley
Desert vineyards in the rain shadow of the Cascades.
Most of Washington State's wine comes from the Columbia Valley, a vast AVA east of the Cascade Mountains that also reaches into Oregon. The mountains block Pacific rain, leaving the vineyards with only 15–20 centimetres a year, so they rely on irrigation from the Columbia River and its tributaries. At around 46°N, summer days are long — with more daylight in peak season than California gets — while cool nights keep acidity bright. The loose, sandy soils, left by catastrophic floods at the end of the last Ice Age, are hostile to phylloxera, and some vines grow on their own roots.
Grapes grown here 5
What the region makes
Dark fruit with fresh acidity — between Napa's ripeness and Bordeaux's structure.
Savoury and peppery, especially from the Walla Walla area.
Off-dry to dry, with bright acidity.
Worth knowing
Washington is the second-largest wine-producing state in the US, after California.
The Missoula Floods — repeated Ice Age outbursts from a glacial lake — left behind the sandy soils the vines grow in.
Try this region if you like ripe but fresh Cabernet and Merlot.
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