Author(s):
Nancy B. Hultquist, Ph.D.* - Central Washington University
Abstract:
Geography and topographic maps play a significant role in the decision of the U.S. regulations involved in designating and locating the boundaries of an American Viticultural Area (AVA) as recognized by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. March 20, 2006 was the official recognition of Washington State's Ninth AVA, located in south central Washington, southeast of the city of Yakima on the south-facing Rattlesnake Hills.
Rattlesnake Hills AVA is a 68,500 acre region enclosed in the Yakima Valley AVA, which is a sub-region of the Columbia Valley AVA. However, in Washington State most new AVAs are using names different from "Valley" changing more appropriately to "Hills", "Slope", or "Mountain". While juice grapes thrive in some of the colder wet-soil valley locations, the own-rooted Vitis vinifera grape plants need better draining soils and the protection from cold air provided by appropriate slopes. This presentation includes descriptive geography about the distinctiveness of place, shows winescapes within the AVA, mentions the petition process and how geography played a significant part, and visits -- through photographs -- some of the wineries and vineyards in the new AVA experienced in a summer course taught for the past decade as Wine, A Geographical Appreciation.
