The Perfect Climate for Wine
An ideal viticultural landscape, award-winning wines, sprit of innovation, business lifestyle and social and ecological responsibility make Washington state the perfect climate for wine. Washington's varied climates and rich soils combine with long summer days and northern latitudes to create prime growing conditions across the state.
Washington State shares the same latitude as the famed Burgundy and Bordeaux wine regions of France. The state's geographic make-up includes a variety of microclimates for wine grapes to thrive. Washington is further defined by nine major American Viticultural Areas (AVAs): Yakima Valley, Walla Walla Valley, Columbia Valley, Puget Sound, Red Mountain, Columbia Gorge, Wahluke Slope, Horse Heaven Hills and Rattlesnake Hills. Each region is defined by a unique climate, soil and physical features that distinguish it from surrounding areas.
Washington State’s northerly latitude provides an average of two more hours of sunlight during the prime growing season than California. Washington's 17.4 hours of daily sunlight during the growing season and warm days allow the grapes ripen fully, while cool nights keep fruit acids high, creating rich, flavorful, well-balanced wines. Primarily grown on their own root stocks, which contributes to the health of the vines, Washington state vines produce grapes of consistent quality, resulting in strong vintages year after year.
The vast majority of Washington's wine grapes are grown east of the Cascade Mountain range, which provides an ideal dry, sunny climate for growing world-class wine grapes. Eastern Washington's arid, calcareous and sandy soils encourage the mineral notes, depth and softness that set Washington wines apart from other regions. The mild climate on the Western side of the state is perfect for growing classic noble grape varietals and fruit, as well as some hard-to-find grape varieties. Western Washington is drier and sunnier than many classic wine grape growing regions in Europe, and rarely suffers from prolonged freezes in the winter.
Washington State shares the same latitude as the famed Burgundy and Bordeaux wine regions of France. The state's geographic make-up includes a variety of microclimates for wine grapes to thrive. Washington is further defined by nine major American Viticultural Areas (AVAs): Yakima Valley, Walla Walla Valley, Columbia Valley, Puget Sound, Red Mountain, Columbia Gorge, Wahluke Slope, Horse Heaven Hills and Rattlesnake Hills. Each region is defined by a unique climate, soil and physical features that distinguish it from surrounding areas.
Washington State’s northerly latitude provides an average of two more hours of sunlight during the prime growing season than California. Washington's 17.4 hours of daily sunlight during the growing season and warm days allow the grapes ripen fully, while cool nights keep fruit acids high, creating rich, flavorful, well-balanced wines. Primarily grown on their own root stocks, which contributes to the health of the vines, Washington state vines produce grapes of consistent quality, resulting in strong vintages year after year.
The vast majority of Washington's wine grapes are grown east of the Cascade Mountain range, which provides an ideal dry, sunny climate for growing world-class wine grapes. Eastern Washington's arid, calcareous and sandy soils encourage the mineral notes, depth and softness that set Washington wines apart from other regions. The mild climate on the Western side of the state is perfect for growing classic noble grape varietals and fruit, as well as some hard-to-find grape varieties. Western Washington is drier and sunnier than many classic wine grape growing regions in Europe, and rarely suffers from prolonged freezes in the winter.