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Delicious wines from Washington’s versatile Yakima Valley

By Great Northwest Wine on April 12, 2015

Red Willow Vineyard is in the western Yakima Valley in Washington state.

A steep slope covered in vineyards leads up to the iconic stone chapel atop Red Willow Vineyard in Washington’s western Yakima Valley. (Photo by Great Northwest Wine)

The Yakima Valley has a long history of grape growing and winemaking, and that legacy continues today.

Some of the region’s oldest remaining vines stretch back nearly a century, and the Yakima Valley is not only the Pacific Northwest’s oldest American Viticultural Area (with that federal designation going back to 1983), but it’s also Washington’s largest planting of vines. As such, the Yakima Valley plays a cultural role in the Washington wine industry while also serving as its viticultural backbone.

Some of the state’s largest wineries are in the Yakima Valley (including 14 Hands and Hogue Cellars in Prosser), and the region that stretches from just below the city of Yakima nearly to the Tri-Cities also is dotted with dozens of artisan winemakers.

Here are 12 delicious wines we’ve tasted in recent weeks that proudly carry the Yakima Valley AVA designation.

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About Great Northwest Wine

Articles credited to Great Northwest Wine are authored by Eric Degerman and other contributors. In most cases, these are wine reviews that are judged blind by the Great Northwest Wine tasting panel.

2 Comments

Paul Cockrell says:

April 12, 2015 at 2:22 pm

Obviously there is a typo. How many cases does Palencia produce?

Reply
- Andy Perdue says:
  
  April 12, 2015 at 7:33 pm
  
  Paul,
  
  For his day job at J&S Crushing/Columbia River’s Edge Winery in Mattawa, Wash., Victor Palencia oversees more than 1 million cases in wine production. For Palencia Winery, he makes about 3,000 cases total.
  
  Reply