Yakima Valley AVA

Yakima Valley is the first American Viticultural Area (AVA) established within Washington state, gaining the recognition on May 4, 1983. Within the vast Columbia Valley AVA, Yakima Valley appellation cultivates more than 53000 acre giving the region the largest concentration of wineries and vineyards in the state. The most widely planted varietals in the area are Chardonnay, Riesling, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot gris, and Syrah. Nearly 40% of Washington's annual wine production is made from Yakima Valley grapes. In addition to grapes, the Yakima Valley is also home to several fruit orchards growing apples, cherries, nectarines, peaches, pears and plums. Around the town of Zillah, there is the Zillah Fruit Loop driving tour through the area's orchards and vineyards. The area is also home to nearly 80% of the US hop production.

History
A French winemaker from Alsace-Lorraine named Charles Schanno is credited with planting the first vines in the area in 1869. Schanno purchased the cuttings from a vineyard in The Dalles, Oregon and the Hudson's Bay Company outpost at Fort Vancouver.

In the early 1900s, an attorney from Tacoma named William B. Bridgeman, a Sunnyside farmer and grapegrower, pioneered the modern wine industry in the Yakima Valley introducing "Island Belle" grapes. Bridgeman helped draft some of the state's earliest irrigation laws for wine growing and planted his first vineyard in 1914. Many of the vineyards established in the Yakima Valley during this period came from Bridgeman's cuttings. Concord grapes became the dominant grape throughout Washington State. However, they are not wine grapes and were processed at grape juice plants at Grandview, Washington and Prosser, Washington. In 1917, the Washington State Legislature passed an act setting aside 200 acre of sagebrush desert near Prosser to become an agriculture research center known as the Irrigation Branch Experiment Station (today known as the Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center, and operated jointly by Washington State University and the USDA). The first crop was 6 acre of apples used in an irrigation study.

Following the Repeal of Prohibition, Bridgman opened Upland Winery and hired Erich Steenborg as winemaker. Together they determined that the Yakima Valley was better suited for wine growing than central France and were influential in promoting the use of varietal labelling in the Yakima Valley including the state's first dry Riesling. In 1937, the research center hired Walter Clore as an assistant horticulturist. Under Clore's guidance, the center expanded into grape growing with Vitis labrusca, Vitis vinifera and American hybrid grape plantings. Research from the center would become vital to the growing Washington wine industry where the state counted 42 wineries, the largest of which was in the Yakima Valley.

In the 1950’s, Dr. Lloyd Woodbume, a professor at the University of Washington in Seattle, began to produce home wines made from Washington State grapes. Other members of the University faculty joined him and in 1961 they incorporated and planted five acres of Pinot Noir and other Vinifera at Sunnyside adjacent to Bridgman’s vineyard. Their group eventually became Associated Vineyards which released their first wines to the public in 1968. With demand for their Yakima Valley wines growing, they planted 20 more acres at Sunnyside, including Cabernet, Pinot Noir, Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Semilion, and Chardonnay. During the 1970’s, additional acreage of Vinifera grapes were planted throughout Yakima Valley. In the 1980s, along with the rest of the Washington wine industry, the Yakima Valley saw a boom in the plantings of new vineyards and the openings of new wineries such as Hogue Cellars and Covey Run both opening in 1982, followed by Chinook Wines in 1983. By then, there were approximately 23400 acre under vine in the valley. This includes 3500 acre of Vinifera varieties, with the remainder being Concord, White Diamond, and Island Belle. Grapes are planted in nearly every location in the valley where irrigation is available, although the majority of the Vinifera grapes are planted on the south facing slopes of the Rattlesnake Hills, Red Mountain, Snipes Mountain and on the steeper north banks of the Yakima River. There are six bonded wineries in the Yakima Valley and the term Yakima Valley has been used since 1967 as an appellation of origin for wines made from Yakima Valley grapes.

Topography
The Yakima Valley appellation boundaries has the Rattlesnake Hills to the north, the Horse Heaven Hills to the south and Red Mountain forming parts of its eastern boundaries. To the west, the Cascade Range forms a natural border and creates a rain shadow over the area which requires the use of irrigation in viticulture. The appellation encompasses 600000 acre mostly contained within Yakima County, Washington with the eastern edge extending into Benton County. The cities of Yakima and Prosser are the main commercial centers with many wineries located in their vicinities. To the west, Mount Adams dominates the landscape along with the Yakima River on its eastward flow to the Columbia River.

Climate
The climate of Yakima Valley is a distinguishing factor of the viticultural area. In general, the mountains to the west experience significantly cooler temperatures while Yakima Valley is not as warm as areas to the north and east. Within Yakima Valley, the climate averages Region II on the scale developed by Winkler and Amerine of the University of California, Davis to measure degree days. Eight stations average 2641 degree days with individual readings of 2207 at Toppenish, 2436 at Prosser 2665 at Sunnyside, and the highest reading 3048 degree days at Wapato. The mountain areas to the west experience a much cooler climate; Tieton Dam averages 1150 degree days, Goldendale 1779, and Status Pass 1334 degree days. These mountainous areas are classified as Region I. The area to the north following the Yakima River is slightly cooler than the Yakima Valley. Ellensburg experiences 1932 degree days, Yakima 2314, Naches Heights 2330, and Moxie 2574 degree days. In contrast to these cooler areas, the areas northeast, east and southeast of Yakima Valley experience a significantly hotter climate, and may be characterized as Region III. Individual degree day readings include 3231 at Hanford, 3720 at Priest Rapids Dam, 3890 at Richland 3094 at Kennewick and 3201 at McNary Dam. Rainfall in Yakima Valley is sparse. Eight reporting stations within the viticultural area average only 8.11 inches of precipitation per year with a range of 5.88 inches at Toppenish to .12.41 inches at Fort Simcoe. The mean average growing season (28 degree base) for four stations in Yakima Valley is 190 days, ranging from 184 days at White Swan to 196 days at Benton City.

Overall, the temperature of the Yakima Valley is more temperate than the rest of the greater Columbia Valley AVA, with average temperatures being 5 to 10 F cooler.



Vineyards
The Yakima Valley AVA is home to some of the state's oldest vineyards with nearly every major Washington wine maker securing at least some of their grapes from this appellation. Red Willow Vineyard near Wapato stands at the highest point in the Yakima Valley AVA at 1300 ft above sea level. The vineyard is known as the primary grape supplier to Columbia Winery. It was from this vineyard that winemaker David Lake produced the first Syrah in Washington state. Chardonnay is a popular planting in this cool climate appellation with most wine growers preferring a single clonal variety. Nearly any grape can ripen at some location within this diverse AVA. The most sought after sites are located on the eastern edge of the AVA near Red Mountain, Prosser and Benton City. Yakima Valley also includes Boushey Vineyard, ranked as one of the top vineyards in Washington State.

Sub-appellations
As the Washington wine industry discovers its many distinct terroirs, five local appellations were recognized for areas within Yakima Valley possessing unique microclimates and soil conditions producing different vintages from neighboring areas. The Red Mountain appellation was established in 2001, Rattlesnake Hills in 2006, Snipes Mountain in 2009, Candy Mountain in 2020 and Goose Gap in 2022.