|
|
You will find visitor
information about the wineries of the Pacific Northwest on the pages that
follow.
It’s the Grapes!
The grapes grown in the
Pacific Northwest are among the best wine grapes grown in the world.
It wasn’t that long ago that
the only western state that had wineries was California. If there were wineries in the other
states, they were difficult to find.
We were surprised to find the
number of wineries that are in the States of the west today.
We have tried to give the
visitor some insight into visiting wineries in each area.
|
|
What is an appellation?
An appellation, concerning
wine, is the naming of a unique area where the grapes used to make a wine
are grown. In the United States an
appellation can be a State, a county or counties, or an American
Viticulture Area (AVA).
A declared appellation is
where 100% of the grapes in a wine are grown if the appellation is a
State. If the declared appellation
is a county or counties then 75% of the grapes must be grown in that
county. If multiple counties then
the percentage of grapes grown in each county must be listed.
If the appellation on the
label is an AVA then 85% of the grapes must be grown in that AVA. AVA’s are regulated by the US
Government. Each one is distinct
unto itself as to geography, soil conditions, or weather. The US Government makes no distinction as
to the quality of grapes grown in an American Viticulture Area, only that
the area is unique from other areas.
|
In 2007 there were about 200
AVA’s in the United
States.
About half of those AVA’s are in California.
|
