Washington Wine Guide: Grapes, Appellations & Producers

Columbia Valley

The vast high-desert engine room

Soil: Arid, sandy, free-draining basalt soils east of the Cascades; irrigated; big diurnal swings.
Style: Structured yet ripe Cabernet, Merlot, Syrah and Riesling; long sunny days, cold nights.
Top sites: Red Mountain (powerful Cabernet), Yakima Valley, Wahluke Slope.
Vintages: 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021
Producers: Château Ste. MichelleColumbia CrestHedges (Red Mountain)

Tip · Washington is the US’s #2 wine state. Its desert east, sheltered by the Cascades, gets long summer daylight and cold nights — ripe fruit with firm structure and freshness.

Value pick

Château Ste. Michelle Columbia Valley Riesling · ~$12

A benchmark-value, off-dry Washington Riesling — the state’s most famous bottle.

Collector pick

Hedges ‘Red Mountain’ Estate Red · ~$45 · 2018

Walla Walla Valley

Cult Syrah on the Rocks

Soil: Famous “Rocks District” of Milton-Freewater — cobblestones over old riverbed; warm valley.
Style: Savoury, meaty, Rhône-like Syrah and serious Bordeaux reds; small, artisan, sought-after.
Top sites: The Rocks District AVA (galet cobblestones, like Châteauneuf).
Vintages: 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021
Producers: ReynvaanK Vintners

Tip · Walla Walla’s cobblestoned Rocks District makes some of America’s most distinctive Syrah — funky, smoky and savoury, with a cult following.

Value pick

K Vintners ‘Milbrandt’ Syrah · ~$30

A bold, peppery introduction to Walla Walla Syrah from Charles Smith.

Collector pick

Cayuse ‘Cailloux’ Syrah · ~$120 · 2019

The cult of the Rocks District — savoury, meaty, mailing-list-only Syrah grown on cobblestones.