I decided to give a broader picture this
year of the various AVAs that produce the majority of the wines in the state. I
included various sites within the AVAs because they are not entirely homogenous.
|
degree days
|
rainfall at harvest
|
|
|
Red Mountain (Old)
|
3525
|
2.60
|
|
Rattlesnake Hills (West)
|
3504
|
2.28
|
|
Horse Heaven Hills (South)
|
3446
|
1.62
|
|
Red Mountain (New)
|
3439
|
2.35
|
|
Wahluke
|
3258
|
2.24
|
|
Horse Heaven Hills (West)
|
3110
|
2.42
|
|
Walla Walla
|
3102
|
3.14
|
|
Rattlesnake Hills (Centeral)
|
3049
|
2.49
|
|
Horse Heaven Hills (North)
|
2909
|
3.18
|
|
Rattlesnake Hills (South)
|
2905
|
2.82
|
|
Yakima Valley
|
2775
|
2.92
|
Red Mountain was the warmest AVA in the
state this year, beating out the old champ Wahluke by a large margin. New to
our list at number 2, Rattlesnake Hills (West) was not significantly cooler than
Red Mountain. Owen Roe Vineyards are located in the Rattlesnake Hills (West).
No Virginia, the Rattlesnake Hills AVA does not get cooler the further west you
go. Owen Roe had already picked these vines as Red Mountain was just getting
started.
Alder Ridge represents Horse Heaven
Hills (South) and things were quite toasty there along with the new Red
Mountain station.
I can't explain why Wahluke was so much
cooler than normal. It was still plenty warm to ripen grapes.
Horse Heaven Hills (West) is represented
by McKinley Springs at 1081 feet elevation, was still in lower region III as
were Walla Walla, Rattlesnake Hills (Central), and Horse Heaven Hills (North).
The Rattlesnake Hills AVA gets cooler as
you go south along the Sunnyside Canal on the Warden Silt loam soils. The
Rattlesnake Hills (Central) is the portion of the AVA that is on the Ellensburg
Formation aka the ancient cobbles and is slightly warmer at higher elevation.
As usual, the Yakima Valley (Sagebrush
Ridge), home to over 11,000 acres of wine grapes, was the coolest of the
regions. Harvest there is still going two weeks after everyone else is done.
Rainfall during harvest is important -
especially for rot-prone varieties like Riesling, Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay.
Horse Heaven Hills (north) and Walla Walla share the record rainfall during
September and October.
It might be noted that since the soils
are cooler in Washington than California the region classification does not
translate directly. Red Mountain grape quality does not compare directly with
Lodi or Lake County. 3500 GDD more closely translates to high Region II on the cool
soils found in Washington.
