Washington Wine - Wine Regions

Wine Regions

Geographically and viticulturally, Washington is divided into sections separated by the Cascade Mountain chain. The cooler, wetter Western Washington which includes the population centers of Seattle, Tacoma and Olympia is responsible for less than 1% of the state's wine production and is home to one American Viticultural Area (AVA)-the Puget Sound AVA. However, many wineries such as Chateau Ste Michelle, Andrew Will, Quilceda Creek and those located in Woodinville wine country have production facilities and tasting rooms in Western Washington. Seattle also has several urban wineries such as Willridge Winery. These wineries will often own or buy from vineyards in Eastern Washington and have the grapes trucked over the mountains to their facility. The warmer, drier eastern part of the state is home to the vast Columbia Valley which extends south into Oregon. The Columbia Valley AVA is further divided into several smaller AVAs including Yakima Valley, Walla Walla Valley, Red Mountain, Wahluke Slope, Horse Heaven Hills, Rattlesnake Hills and Snipes Mountain. To the north in the larger Columbia Valley AVA is the Lake Chelan AVA and two pending AVAs (the Ancient Lakes AVA in the north central part of the state and one around Wenatchee on the Columbia River). On the westernmost side of the Columbia Valley in central Washington is the newest AVA, Naches Heights. West of the Columbia Valley is the Columbia Gorge AVA which, along with the Walla Walla AVA, is also shared with Oregon.