Barbera | VinoVerve

A town so nice, they named it twice!

Well, not so much the town in this scenario as the entire appellation. This seems only fair as the this AVA is located in two separate states – Oregon and Washington. The justifications for the establishment of the viticultural area are historic, geologic, geographic and climatic.

Walla Walla translates at “rapid stream” or “many waters” in the Sahaptin language that is shared by the Walla Walla, Umatilla, Yakama, Nez Perce and Tenino peoples. Western settlers moved into the area beginning in the 1830s when Marcus and Narcissa Whitman came as missionaries to the Walla Walla people but were murdered by the Cayuse following outbreaks of measles that the indians believed were caused by the whites (they were, but they didn’t do it on purpose as no one was aware of germ theory quite yet). Viticulture began informally with French fur trappers in the 1840s in an area previously known as Frenchtown, now called Lowden.

The geologic basis of the creation of the appellation is based in part on the similarity of the river plain of assorted wind blown loess soils well drained by smaller streams that cut through the area. Being located between the Cascades and the Blue Mountains along the Washington, Oregon and Idaho border means that the area is blocked from the moderating temperatures nearer the Pacific but also in a rain shadow as well. This means that the climate is more intense with warmer days with cool evenings and semi-arid which requires irrigation for cultivation.

Modern viticulture (i.e. post-(the dreaded) Prohibition) began with Leonetti Cellars in the 1970s with Woodward Canyon Cellars and L’Ecole 41 coming along in the 1980s . The Walla Walla AVA was established in 1984 and amended to extend the territory in 2001. Varietals produced in the area include:

Barbera
Cabernet Franc
Cabernet Sauvignon
Carmenere
Chardonnay
Cinsault
Counoise
Dolcetto
Gewürztraminer
Grenache
Malbec
Marsanne
Merlot
Mourvedre
Nebbiolo
Petit Verdot
Pinot Gris
Pinot Noir
Riesling
Rousanne
Sangiovese
Semillon
Sauvignon Blanc
Syrah
Tempranillo
Viognier

Oh, and I have actually been to this viticultural area! The Wine Bloggers’ Conference in 2010 was in Walla Walla.

Walla Walla AVA by Gretchen Neuman for VinoVerve.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Gretchen Neuman
VinoVerve Editor

One man’s basin is another man’s valley.

The Umpqua is formed by three mountain ranges: The Cascades, the Coastal Range and he Klamath, but often the area is often known as the 100 valleys of the Umpquas. The Umpqua River runs through the valley but is no way responsible for the formation of this appellation. The soils are a diverse mixture of igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks with alluvial and clays dominating the valley floor and clays. In fact, the contains at least 150 separate soil types. The climate of the region is also varied with the northern areas being cool and moist, the southern being warm and dry and the central area transitional.

Viticulture has been active since the 1880s when German settlers left California and headed north. In the modern era winemaking was established in the early 1960s and has grown to at least 60 vineyards and 12 wineries. The appellation also distinguishes itself by being the first place in the U.S. growing Grüner Veltliner. Other varietals being produced include:

Albariño
Baco Noir
Barbera
Cabernet Franc
Cabernet Sauvignon
Chardonnay
Chenin Blanc
Dolcetto
Gewürztraminers
Grenache
Grüner Veltliner
Kadarka
Malbec
Marechal Foch
Merlot
Muller Thurgau
Muscat Canelli
Petite Sirah
Pinot gris
Pinot noir
Pinotage
Riesling
Roussane
Sangiovese
Semillon
Sauvigon Blanc
Syrah
Tannat
Tempranillo
Valdiguie
Vermentino
Viognier
Zinfandel

Umpqua Valley AVA by Gretchen Neuman for VinoVerve.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Gretchen Neuman
VinoVerve Editor

Category Archives: Barbera

Walla Walla AVA

Umpqua Valley AVA

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