Yakima Valley is the firstAmerican Viticultural Area (AVA) established inWashington state on April 3, 1983 by theBureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF),Treasury after reviewing the petition submitted by the Yakima Valley Appellation Committee to propose a viticultural area named "Yakima Valley."[5] The area petitioned is a valley centered around theYakima River in southcentral Washington. The Yakima Yalley geographically is nearly 75 miles (121 km) long and 22 miles (35 km) wide at its widest point and encompassed approximately 665,600 acres (1,040 sq mi). Currently within the vastColumbia Valley AVA, the Yakima Valley appellation cultivates more than 53,000 acres (21,448 ha) giving the region the largest concentration of wineries and vineyards in the state. The most widely planted varietals in the area areChardonnay,Riesling,Merlot,Cabernet Sauvignon,Pinot gris, andSyrah.[3] Nearly 40% of Washington's annual wine production is made from Yakima Valley grapes.[8] In addition to grapes, the Yakima Valley is also home to several fruit orchards growingapples,cherries,nectarines,peaches,pears andplums. Around the town ofZillah, there is theZillah Fruit Loop driving tour through the area's orchards and vineyards. The area is also home to nearly 80% of the UShop production.[3] In July 2024, the Yakima Valley was named best wine region in the U.S. by readers of USA Today.[9]
AFrenchwinemaker fromAlsace-Lorraine namedCharles Schanno is credited with planting the first valley vines in 1869.[3] Schanno purchased the cuttings from a vineyard inThe Dalles, Oregon and theHudson's Bay Company outpost atFort Vancouver.[10]
In the early 1900s, an attorney fromTacoma namedWilliam 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'scuttings. Concord grapes became the dominant grape throughout Washington State. However, they are not wine grapes and were processed at grape juice plants atGrandview, Washington andProsser, Washington. In 1917, theWashington State Legislature passed an act setting aside 200 acres (81 ha) ofsagebrush desert nearProsser to become an agriculture research center known as the Irrigation Branch Experiment Station (today known as theIrrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center, and operated jointly byWashington State University and theUSDA). The first crop was 6 acres (2 ha) of apples used in an irrigation study.
Following theRepeal ofProhibition, Bridgman opened Upland Winery and hiredErich 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 ofvarietallabelling in the Yakima Valley including the state's firstdry Riesling.[1][3]In 1937, the research center hiredWalter Clore as an assistanthorticulturist. Under Clore's guidance, the center expanded into grape growing withVitis labrusca,Vitis vinifera andAmerican 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.[1][10]
In the 1950’s, Dr. Lloyd Woodbume, a professor at theUniversity of Washington inSeattle, 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 otherVinifera 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 theWashington wine industry, the Yakima Valley saw a boom in the plantings of new vineyards and the openings of new wineries such asHogue Cellars andCovey Run both opening in 1982,[10] followed byChinook Wines in 1983.[11] By then, there were approximately 23,400 acres (9,470 ha) under vine in the valley. This includes 3,500 acres (1,416 ha) 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.[1]
The Yakima Valley appellation boundaries has theRattlesnake Hills to the north, theHorse Heaven Hills to the south andRed Mountain forming parts of its eastern boundaries. To the west, theCascade Range forms a natural border and creates arain shadow over the area which requires the use ofirrigation inviticulture.[3] The appellation encompasses 600,000 acres (938 sq mi) mostly contained withinYakima County, Washington with the eastern edge extending intoBenton County. The cities ofYakima and Prosser are the main commercial centers with many wineries located in their vicinities. To the west,Mount Adams dominates the landscape along with theYakima River on its eastward flow to theColumbia River.[12]
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 thescale developed byWinkler andAmerine of theUniversity of California, Davis to measuredegree days. Eight stations average 2641 degree days with individual readings of 2207 atToppenish, 2436 atProsser 2665 atSunnyside, and the highest reading 3048 degree days atWapato. 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 atHanford, 3720 atPriest Rapids Dam, 3890 atRichland 3094 atKennewick and 3201 atMcNary 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 atFort Simcoe. The mean average growing season (28 degree base) for four stations in Yakima Valley is 190 days, ranging from 184 days atWhite Swan to 196 days atBenton City.[1]
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 (−15 to −12 °C) cooler.[7][3]
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.[13]Red Willow Vineyard nearWapato stands at the highest point in the Yakima Valley AVA at 1,300 feet (400 m)above sea level. The vineyard is known as the primary grape supplier toColumbia Winery. It was from this vineyard that winemakerDavid Lake produced the first Syrah in Washington state.[3] Chardonnay is a popular planting in this cool climate appellation with most wine growers preferring a single clonal variety.[12] 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 nearRed Mountain, Prosser andBenton City.[7] Yakima Valley also includesBoushey Vineyard, ranked as one of the top vineyards in Washington State.[14]
As the Washington wine industry discovers its many distinctterroirs, five local appellations were recognized for areas within Yakima Valley possessing uniquemicroclimates andsoil conditions producing different vintages from neighboring areas. TheRed Mountain appellation was established in 2001,Rattlesnake Hills in 2006,Snipes Mountain in 2009,Candy Mountain in 2020 andGoose Gap in 2022.[15][16]
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.46°27′10″N120°17′10″W / 46.4526922°N 120.28610234°W /46.4526922; -120.28610234
