Yakima Valley AVA

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Yakima Valley AVA
Yakima Valley AVA.JPG
Appellation type: American Viticultural Area
Year of establishment: 1983
Part of the wine-growing region: Columbia Valley AVA
Sub-regions: Horse Heaven Hills AVA , Red Mountain AVA , Rattlesnake Hills AVA
Growing period: 190 days
Precipitation (annual mean): 200 mm
Soil types: Silt - clay
Planted acreage: 240,000 hectares of recognized area
Number of vineyards: 4,400 hectares of planted vineyards
Grape varieties: Mainly Chardonnay , Merlot , Cabernet Sauvignon , Riesling and Syrah
Wine quantity: Single-variety wines, dessert wine , sparkling wine , Bordeaux-like blends

Yakima Valley American Viticultural Area (short: Yakima Valley AVA ) is a wine-growing region in the south of the US state Washington . Yakima Valley was Washington's first recognized designation of origin (recognized since 1983) and, with its 4,400 hectares of vineyards, is part of the supra-regional Columbia Valley AVA . The main grape varieties grown are Cabernet Sauvignon , Merlot , Syrah , Chardonnay and Riesling . Almost 40 percent of Washington State's wine production comes from here.

In addition to viticulture , the region lives from fruit growing . Near the city of Zillah, the Zillah Fruit Loop tourist route leads through the plantations of apple , cherry , nectarine , peach , pear and plum . 80 percent of the US hops also come from this region.

Geography and climate

In order to take into account today's popular term of the terroir , the Yakima Valley area was divided into sub-regions:

The cascade chain to the west shields the area in its lee from precipitation. The dry climate requires irrigation of the vineyards. A total of 240,000 hectares of land was released for wine production. Of this enormous area (for comparison: the entire wine-growing area in Germany is almost 100,000 hectares), almost 4,400 hectares are in production. The majority of the area is in Yakima County , with the eastern portions overlapping into neighboring Benton County . The cities of Yakima and Prosser are the most important trading centers in the region and offer easy access to a large number of wine-growing businesses. In the west, Mount Adams determines the landscape.

Compared to the rest of the Columbia Valley AVA, the climate is more temperate .

history

The first documented plantings put the from Lorraine originating Charles Schanno of the year 1869th Schanno bought the necessary seedlings in The Dalles , Oregon, as well as from the Hudson's Bay Company . In the early 20th century , William B. Bridgeman from Seattle had a major influence on viticulture in the Yakima Valley. He campaigned for the irrigation of the vineyards and planted the first plantings himself in 1914. In addition, the majority of the seedlings that were used later to plant new vineyards came from his business. Later he also commercialized Washington’s first dry Riesling.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c T. Parker Discovering Washington Wines , p. 36. Raconteurs Press 2002. ISBN 0971925852
  2. ^ C. Fallis, editor. The Encyclopedic Atlas of Wine , p. 51. Global Book Publishing 2006. ISBN 1740480503
  3. ↑ T. Parker. Discovering Washington Wines , p. 37. Raconteurs Press 2002. ISBN 0971925852
  4. ↑ H. Johnson & J. Robinson. The World Atlas of Wine , p. 290. Mitchell Beazley Publishing 2005. ISBN 1840003324
  5. ↑ P. Gregutt Yakima Valley AVA appellation America
  6. ^ R. Irvine & W. Clore. The Wine Project . 79 Sketch Publications 1997. ISBN 0-9650834-9-7
  7. ↑ T. Parker. Discovering Washington Wines , p. 8. Raconteurs Press 2002. ISBN 0971925852
  8. ↑ T. Parker. Discovering Washington Wines , p. 10. Raconteurs Press 2002. ISBN 0971925852

Web links

Commons : Yakima Valley AVA  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 46 ° 20 ′ 50.3 "  N , 120 ° 15 ′ 56.6"  W.