Washington adds wine district

Published: 23 July, 2008

Washington State gains its eighth official wine district following the US Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau's designation of the Wahluke Slope as an American Viticultural Area (AVA).
The new area will be the fifth subregion of the well-recognised Columbia Valley appellation and, with more than 5,000 acres under vine, will represent close to a fifth of the state's overall production, supporting the nation's second-largest wine region.
Warmer temperatures and earlier ripening are among the reasons for this development, and the Columbia River to the west and south and wildlife refuges on the east and north provide natural definitions to the appellation.
Wahluke Slope is one of the state's premier wine-growing regions, and government approval will allow the industry to differentiate itself,' says Robin Pollard of the Washington Wine Commission.

Washington State gains its eighth official wine district following the US Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau?s designation of the Wahluke Slope as an American Viticultural Area (AVA).

The new area will be the fifth subregion of the well-recognised Columbia Valley appellation and, with more than 5,000 acres under vine, will represent close to a fifth of the state?s overall production, supporting the nation?s second-largest wine region.

Warmer temperatures and earlier ripening are among the reasons for this development, and the Columbia River to the west and south and wildlife refuges on the east and north provide natural definitions to the appellation.

?Wahluke Slope is one of the state?s premier wine-growing regions, and government approval will allow the industry to differentiate itself,? says Robin Pollard of the Washington Wine Commission.

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