Winery Clusters

Napa Valley is probably the best know wine growing region in the USA, but there are other areas that are rapidly developing well know wine growing clusters. The State of WA is today the second largest producer of wines in the country, with over 200 wineries and five American Viticultural Area (AVA) designations. In the past, naysayers from CA thought that WA was too cold and wet and way too far north to grow serious wine grapes. However, the Columbia Valley is at the same latitude as the great wine growing regions of Germany and France and boosts long, hot days and cool nights in summer, ideal for wine production.

One of these AVAs is the Red Mountain region, located along I-82 near Benton City, WA (population 2,790). It is Washington’s newest (2001) and smallest appellation (4,000 acres), and is neither a mountain nor is it red. Rather it is a west-facing ridge that is known for its red varieties.

The eight wineries located there hope to turn the area into the next Napa Valley. They’ve recently formed the Red Mountain Estates Association, hoping to turn Benton City into a recognized wine town. The state’s largest winery, Chateau Ste. Michelle, is building a new $6 million winery there, hoping to convert some of the 300,000 tourists/year that visit its Woodinville, WA winery into customers of its Red Mountain wines.

And it isn’t only WA that is taking advantage of the winery niche. OR has almost as many wineries, with production concentrated in the Willamette Valley. ID also has a fledgling industry, concentrated along the Snake River Valley, west of Boise.

Keep your eye on the Red Mountain and other regions of WA, OR and ID. These wine niches have some great potential for rural areas in my opinion, especially if done on a regional basis.