The state in the far north-west of the USA with the capital Olympia covers around 184,700 km². It was settled primarily by German, Scandinavian and British immigrants from the 1830s onwards. Washington became the 42nd state to join the Union in 1889. The landscape is diverse and ranges from the Pacific coast to the fertile Puget Sound region and the forested Cascade Mountains to the drier plateaus in the east. Washington borders the Pacific Ocean to the west, Canada to the north, Idaho to the east and Oregon to the south.

History

Viticulture in Washington developed comparatively late. Although the first attempts were made with vines in the 19th century, cultivation did not reach a larger scale until the middle of the 20th century. After the Second World War (1939-1945), a targeted effort was made to develop suitable sites inland.

The agronomist Walter Clore, who systematically researched the suitability of various European varieties at Washington State University in the 1950s and 60s, as well as André Tchelistcheff (1901-1994) as a consultant and William Bridgman through experiments with the Cabernet Sauvignon and Sémillon varieties, are regarded as pioneers.

The breakthrough came in the 1960s and 70s with the founding of wineries such as Associated Vintners (now Columbia Winery) and Château Ste Michelle, which focussed on European varieties. Thanks to irrigation from the Columbia River and an extremely dry microclimate with hot days and cool nights, the enormous potential could be utilised. Today, Washington is one of the most important wine-growing states in the United States and, together with New York and Oregon, is in second place behind California.

Climate & Soil

The climate is desert-like and continental with hot summers and cold winters. The region lies in the rain shadow of the Cascade Range, which reaches up to 4,400 metres in height, and is dependent on artificial irrigation with water from the Columbia, Snake and Yakima Rivers. In the west, particularly in the Puget Sound...