WASHINGTON STATE HAS DIVERSE MICROCLIMATES THAT FAVOR VITUS VINIFERA

The difference in climate between the West coast of the United States and the East coast has all to do with wind. Prevailing winds blow the same way on both sides of the continent, but in the West, the winds are blowing off of the ocean into the land and in the east they are blowing from the land into the ocean. Simply put, large bodies of water, particularly oceans, are highly influential in creating climates. In turn, natural inland obstacles or refuges from this wind, such as mountains or deep valleys, respectively, will block and re-direct this blowing weather resulting in microclimates. The state of Washington pretty much takes the cake in this category as it has the winds of the Pacific, at a latitude where the ocean experiences particularly strong, cold currents, blowing into a ton of geographic diversity that diverts, traps, and manipulates it resulting in a multitude of microclimates. Some of these microclimates are perfect for growing wine since Washington is also squarely within the one of the two latitudinal Wine Belts. It is on the same latitude as the Bordeaux and Burgundy appellation regions in France, and indeed the same varietals thrive in many of the winegrowing regions of Washington. This northern latitude gives Washington two more hours of daylight during the summer growing season than wine regions in California. However, the tradeoff is that the soils in Washington are much less rich in nutrients than the soil in California, so there is far less arable land for vineyards in Washington than in California. However, Washington vines that do thrive produce, for the most part, hardier more nuanced grapes in terms of tannins and other flavor-producing components.

Before we go further, a quick refresher on terminology: the American Viticultural Area (AVA) is the United States equivalent of an appellation in Europe…kinda. It is an official delineated grape-growing region with specific geographic or climatic features that distinguish it from other areas, and it is sanctioned by a United States government agency, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). However, unlike in Europe, AVAs do not go as far as dictating the varietals and blends of varietals that are allowed to qualify for an appellation, mostly because there are no Vitus vinifera grapes that are native to any American regions. In fact, instead, AVAs are based on geography and climate, which then usually dictates what kind of varietal grape best grows in that combination; however, growers can still grow whatever they want and still claim the AVA designation for their wine.

Columbia Valley was established in 1984. It covers 11 million acres and, as we mentioned earlier, accounts for 99 percent of the acreage planted in the state, and a small piece of it even spills into Oregon, so don’t be surprised if you see Columbia Valley on the label of the occasional Oregon-based wine. The Cascade Mountain Range forms the AVA’s western border, and to the north it is hemmed in by the Okanogan–Wenatchee National Forest. The name Columbia Valley AVA is deceiving as there are actually numerous valleys within the AVA, many with separate microclimates, and they are all formed by the Columbia River and its tributaries, the Walla Walla River, Snake River and Yakima River.

Again, keep in mind that the Columbia Valley AVA has many AVAs within its umbrella, and nine of them are often referred to separately, including Ancient Lakes, Yakima Valley, Red Mountain, Walla Walla Valley, Horse Heaven Hills, Rattlesnake Hills, Lake Chelan, Snipes Mountain and Wahluke Slope. And to confuse matters even more, some of these nine are technically sub-appellations of some of the other nine. Yet, it all makes more sense if you just think about localization. If grapes for a wine are sourced completely from a specific geographical AVA, then that AVA will be the appellation on the label, but often vineyards may spill across AVAs in which case the larger AVA that encompasses them will be identified on the label.

The Columbia Gorge AVA within the far west border of the Columbia AVA

Featured Amaro Wine Club Washington State wine: CasaSmith Cervo Barbera (2021)
VARIETALS: Barbera

Charles Smith started the K Vintners winery in 2001 and sold his first vintage of 330 cases of Syrah wine from Walla Walla out of the back of his van. Since then the company has grown considerably becoming one of the more well-known producers of Washington wine.
ViNO CasaSmith?is a 2010 addition of the company that focuses on wine made from classic Italian varietals. They started under the name ViNO with a single-vineyard Pinot Grigio from the Ancient Lakes region, followed by a Sangiovese Rosé and a Moscato. The CasaSmith brand was added in 2012 to focus on classic Italian red varietals, namely Barbera, Primitivo, and Sangiovese. The vineyards are in the Missoula Flood plain, which is at a relatively high enough elevation to have cool evenings, which, again, contributes to unique chemical components that result in minerality and concentrated flavors.

The Barbera grapes for this wine are fermented whole in stainless steel and stay with their skins for 38 days. After fermentation, it is aged in neutral French oak for nine months and comes out as big, bold with a high alcohol by volume (15%) and zero residual sugar.

FOOD PAIRINGS: braised rabbit with olives, charcuterie, duck, venison, lamb, root vegetables, herbaceous cheeses, such as blue cheese.