Great Northwest Wine
September 3, 2017

The Yakima Valley is where the Washington wine industry got its start, as we like to say, “the cradle of the industry.”

There’s a ton of history in this valley, including:

• Walter Clore, “the father of Washington Wine,” lived and did much of his research here. His life is now celebrated at the Walter Clore Wine and Culinary Center in Prosser.
• William Bridgman, two-time mayor of Sunnyside, planted grapes here in 1914. He started Upland Winery after repeal of Prohibition, and it operated into the 1960s. If you know where to look, you can find his concrete fermentation tanks.
• In 1986, the first Syrah, planted in Washington went in the ground at Red Willow Vineyard.
• The oldest Cabernet Sauvignon vines in the Pacific Northwest are at Otis Vineyard north of Grandview, planted in 1956.
• Chateau Ste. Michelle, Washington’s largest and oldest winery, established its original winemaking facility in the town of Grandview.
• The Pacific Northwest’s first American Viticultural Area was the Yakima Valley, approved by the federal government in 1983.

Here are a dozen wines made from Yakima Valley grapes. Ask for them at you’re favorite wine shop or contact the wineries directly.>>>Read the entire article featuring Airfield, Armstrong Family Winery, Isenhower Cellars, Sparkman Cellars on Great Northwest Wine