Will the Yakima Valley AVA Ever Produce Wines that Rival Great Bordeaux Blends in Cali & France?

I had generally believed that Washington was well suited for climate change, being so far north. I’m still finding amazing wines and value in cool climate varieties from the Columbia Valley AVA. While I’ve had impressive Syrah from Yakima, all of the cabs have been underwhelming. Is it just too hot in the summer for Bordeaux blends? Anything you’ve tried that knocks your socks off?

Red Mountain AVA (a sub-AVA in YV) has Betz ‘Heart of the Hill’ which is an fantastic Cabernet. Too young right now, but all the pieces are there.

I had generally believed that Washington was well suited for climate change, being > so far > north.

Yakima Valley is around 46 degrees north latitude. Margaux is about 45 degrees north latitude.

One degree makes all the difference? [scratch.gif]

Isn’t Two Blondes vineyard in Yakima Valley?

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Yes, WA state is not that far north, unless you’re coming from the perspective of south Texas or Florida. And it doesn’t have the same maritime effects that Bordeaux has, which is very close to the Atlantic, as the state’s vineyards are inland and not marine influenced at all.

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More the Gulf Stream that makes all the difference.

Have some JB Neufeld from Berserkers Day but haven’t opened the Two Blondes yet:

Their base wine was good, but…

And the game show goes ding, ding, ding, we have a winner. I’ve enjoyed many of their other wines and just assumed this was near their home vineyards too. I’ll keep an eye out for it.

This is an interesting topic that I’ve spent a fair amount of time pondering. Probably more than is healthy.

My wife grew up in the heart of the Yakima Valley with a father who worked in the business. I’ve now gotten to know a number of producers in the valley pretty well. Most of the ones I’ve gotten to know have been a bit more market driven than out to make the absolute best wine possible. Their customers typically have wanted inexpensive Bordeaux blends that drank young. Previously, this was riesling with a bit of RS.

I think that, for whatever reason, a number of growers in the YV (especially those outside of Red Mountain) just don’t do some of the more basic things to get top quality fruit. Gross generalization, but many don’t drop fruit often enough and are picking too late, among other things. I personally just feel like too much of the orchard farming mentality persists there, with yield and ripeness being the targets.

Regarding Bordeaux blends specifically, I think great examples can (and have) been produced in the area. However, I truly believe that eventually varietals more suited to a dry climate and that would require less irrigation (the area only gets 6-8 inches of precip a year on average) would ultimately produce a better wine when compared with it’s worldwide competition. Things like grenache, cinsault, aglianico, nero d’avola, etc.

No

Cleveland shares a latitude with central Spain.

Thanks! Is Walla Walla in the same rain shadow?

Heck, I didn’t realize that Red Mountain and Horse Heaven Hills were both sub-AVA’s to the Yakima Valley. Therefore, please include most Andrew Will wines and Ciel Du Cheval vineyard designate wines in the discussion. Andrew Will’s Sorella, Champoux, Ciel Du Cheval and Two Blondes can compete with Cali and Bordeaux.

Great Bordeaux Blends as in first through third growth? YES!!! Red Mountain AVA and The Rocks AVA in the Yakima Valley is putting out world class Cabernet and Syrah too. One winery that produces some stunning wine it is Force Majeure. Their 2016 Cabernet and SJR Syrah are 99 & 100 points respectively FWIW. Betz, Quilceda Creek and others included.

Josh - latitude isn’t the key factor. Bordeaux is part of a large estuary off the Atlantic, whereas Yakima is inland and is essentially a desert. The city of Yakima is around 1000 feet high and they get about 10 inches of rain a year. Because of the mountains, there is a choice of elevation for your vineyards. A place like Margaux is pretty much at sea level, with an elevation of around 50 feet and it gets around 36 inches of rain a year. It also has much more cloud cover. The soils are different. The regions are quite different in all respects. A closer analog to Bordeaux might actually be somewhere on the east coast.

But the Yakima Valley is pretty big, as noted above, and the Andrew Will wines have on more than one occasion been mistaken for Bordeaux. Cadence sources fruit from Red Mountain. Col Solare is also there.

As far as Cleveland, don’t laugh, but I’ve actually had a good Cab from Ohio. Of course, they are now out of business because who buys Cab from Ohio, but at least they showed it could be done!

Just to be clear, The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater AVA is not within the Yakima Valley. The Rocks is a sub-AVA of the Walla Walla AVA, which is a sub-AVA of the Columbia Valley AVA. Red Mountain is a sub-AVA of Yakima Valley AVA, which is a sub-AVA of Columbia Valley AVA. The Columbia Valley AVA covers almost half of the entire state of Washington (and even some of Oregon).

Bangor, Maine is 45 degrees north latitude as well. It’s something people get hung up on but really means next to nothing.

The area produces some unique and excellent Syrah that may rival great Bdx/Cali blends, but IMHO the area (Yakima, Red Mtn and WWV included) will never produce a Bdx blend that rivals those in Bdx or Cali.

The short answer is, sort of. I believe they get somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 inches of precip per year, so quite a lot more than the 6-8 of the Yakima Valley but far less than the 40-something of western Washington.

The Rocks District AVA isn’t in the Yakima Valley. The Rocks is a sub-AVA of the Walla Walla Valley AVA, which itself is inside the Columbia Valley AVA. The Yakima Valley is within the Columbia Valley AVA but shares no land with the Walla Walla Valley AVA.


edit - Oops! Just saw this was already covered.

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