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Columbia River Gorge AVAs

Caitlyn Morin

Updated: Nov 17, 2023

Estate Properties Vineyard and Country Living NW Real Estate



The Columbia River Gorge is a place of diversity and beauty. There are four AVAs located along the Columbia River Gorge and some cross the state borders of Oregon and Washington. The Columbia Gorge, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley and The Rocks District of Milton Freewater make up the collection of AVAs. Each AVA has its own individual combination of soil, climate and geography that imbues the wines produced in these AVAs with beautiful characteristics of the region.

60 miles east of Portland the vineyards in the Columbia River Gorge thrive in the varying climate and terrain. The Columbia River Gorge AVA was established in 2004 and has 925 planted acres that straddle both the Oregon and Washington sides of the river (True Gorge, Oregon Wine Board). Within the Columbia River Gorge is a near constant stream of wind. This is caused by the warm eastern desert air clashing with the cool air driven from the Pacific Ocean up the gorge (Washington State Wine Commission). The climate within the Oregon section of the AVA is diverse. The eastern side sees about 10 inches of annual rainfall, while the western side can receive up to 36 inches of rain per year due to cooler, marine included climate (True Gorge, Oregon Wine Board).

The Columbia River Gorge AVA has 381 acres sitting on the Washington side of the river. This region is the only Washington AVA that sits outside of the Columbia Valley appellation and the vines here are planted primarily south facing to ensure they get enough sunlight (Columbia Gorge AVA, Washington State Wine Commission).

The soil composition for the Oregon side consists of volcanic, lahar, loess, silt and sand (True Gorge, Oregon Wine Board). The Washington side has a soil that is predominantly silt loam (Columbia Gorge AVA, Washington State Wine Commission).

This region is climatically diverse and therefore allows for a wide range of wine varieties to be produced. The western vineyards yield Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, and Riesling while the warmer eastern regions produce Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Zinfandel (Discover Washington Wine).


Above map courtesy of the Oregon Wine Board, https://www.oregonwine.org/regions/avas/columbia-valley-ava/.


The Columbia Valley AVA lies east of the Columbia River Gorge AVA and straddles both the Washington and Oregon sides with a combined 11 million acres. The overall climate for the region is warm and arid. The warm day temperatures promote slow, evening ripening of the grapes and the cooler temperatures at night help the grapes preserve their natural acidity. The 9,010 planted acres within its borders have soils that are predominately loess, sandy silts and loams (Columbia Valley, Oregon Wine Board).

The Washington side of this AVA is home to the largest growing region in the state. The total planted acres is 59,234 and consists of mainly loess soil overlying gravel and slackwater sediment with a basalt bedrock. The Cascade Mountain range creates a rain shadow for the vines here in the Washington region, thus the area receives six to eight inches of rainfall a year. This arid, warm climate means that growers supplement at times with irrigation to control their grape development (Columbia Valley AVA, Washington State Wine Commission).

The top wines produced from the Washington region are Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Riesling and Syrah (Columbia Valley AVA, Washington State Wine Commission). While from Oregon the top wines produced are Riesling, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Sauvignon blanc, Pinot gris, Gewürztraminer, Cabernet Franc and Viognier (Columbia Valley, Oregon Wine Board).


Above map courtesy of the Oregon Wine Board, https://www.oregonwine.org/regions/walla-walla-valley/.


The Walla Walla Valley AVA sits within the larger Columbia Valley appellation. There are 2,930 planted acres combined on the Oregon and Washington sides with soil mixtures of volcanic, Missoula flood sediments, loess and cobbles. The Oregon soil is composed of the ancient sand and gravel deposited by prehistoric floods and layered by wind deposited silts (True Walla Walla Valley, Oregon Wine Board).

The elevations range across the state borders from 400 ft to 2,000 ft and so does the annual rainfall for this AVA. The western side receives around seven inches annually while the foothills of the Blue Mountains to the east can receive about 22 inches throughout the year (Walla Walla Valley Wine).

This region's complex soils, little rainfall and warm growing season provide the perfect grape growing conditions to produce full-bodied wines like Syrahs, Cabernets, and Merlots (True Walla Walla Valley, Oregon Wine Board).

The Rocks District of Milton Freewater is located inside the Walla Walla Valley and Columbia Valley AVAs in northern Oregon. It became federally recognized for its unique attributes to the wines produced and was officially an established region in 2015. Though some vineyards date back as early as the 1880’s (Freewater AVA, Oregon Wine Board).

The region is situated on a gentle sloping alluvial deposit of the Walla Walla River at the base of the Blue Mountains and expands over the valley. The elevations that the vineyards are planted at range from 800 ft to 1,000 ft. The AVA features a unique soil composition of dark volcanic basalt with a mix of sand and silt. The rocky mixture is well draining and thus the planted vines can put down deep roots. The dark rocks found within the soil are also great conductors of heat and provide warmth to the vines and assist with grape ripening (Freewater AVA, Oregon Wine Board).

The climate generally produces mostly sunshine with low humidity and the daily temperatures tend to vary. Wine production primarily consists of Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache with floral notes, this wine can be savory on the pallet with a mineral finish (Freewater AVA, Oregon Wine Board).

The Columbia River Gorge is full of beauty and the wines produced from this region are just as diverse as the topography and climate within all the AVAs. With some of the AVAs sitting in each other like nesting dolls, the special characteristics of each region is not subtle. These regions have much to offer and will continue to showcase the lovely diversity of the Columbia River Gorge on both the Washington and Oregon sides.

Estate Properties Vineyard & Country Living Northwest Real Estate brokers specialize in the purchase and sale of vineyards, wineries and small acreage real estate sales and specialized in the Columbia River Gorge grape growing region. We have several properties on the market that include vineyards, farms and small acreage properties that are available for sale. For additional information, please contact our team of real estate professionals. We can assist you with purchasing land in the Columbia River Gorge and throughout the Northwest. If you are considering the sale of your farm, ranch, vineyard, winery or small acreage property, call our knowledgeable team for a confidential consultation and complimentary real estate broker’s price opinion. Estate Properties Vineyard & Country Living Northwest Real Estate is here for you. Call 503-212-2718 or email us vineyardandcountry@bhhsnw.com.


 

Click to View References

Oregon Wine Board, Oregon Wine Board website 2023, True Gorge, accessed 25 October 2023, <https://www.oregonwine.org/regions/columbia-gorge/>


Washington State Wine Commission, Washington Wine website, Columbia Gorge AVA, accessed 25 October 2023, <https://www.washingtonwine.org/resource/columbia-gorge/>


Discover Washington Wine, Discover Washington Wine website 2023, True Gorge, accessed 27 October 2023, <https://www.discoverwashingtonwine.com/wine-regions/columbia-gorge/>


Oregon Wine Board, Oregon Wine Board website 2023, Columbia Valley, accessed 25 October 2023, <https://trade.oregonwine.org/resources/columbia-valley/>


Oregon Wine Board, Oregon Wine Board website 2023, Columbia Valley, accessed 25 October 2023, <https://www.oregonwine.org/regions/avas/columbia-valley-ava/>


Washington State Wine Commission, Washington Wine website, Columbia Valley AVA, accessed 25 October 2023, <https://www.washingtonwine.org/resource/columbia-valley-ava/>


Oregon Wine Board 2023, Oregon Wine Board website, True Walla Walla Valley, accessed 26 October 2023, <https://www.oregonwine.org/regions/walla-walla-valley/>


Walla Walla Valley Wine, Walla Walla Valley Wine website 2023, About the Appellation and Valley, accessed 26 October 2023, <https://www.wallawallawine.com/wine-region/about-the-ava/>


Oregon Wine Board, Oregon Wine Board website 2023, Freewater AVA, accessed 26 October 2023,<https://www.oregonwine.org/regions/walla-walla-valley/rocks-district-of-milton-freewater-ava/>


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