{"id":4773,"date":"2021-01-03T15:21:52","date_gmt":"2021-01-03T22:21:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/danthewineguy.com\/?p=4773"},"modified":"2021-02-02T13:09:11","modified_gmt":"2021-02-02T20:09:11","slug":"the-reach-of-red-mountain-extends-well-beyond-its-vineyards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/?p=4773","title":{"rendered":"The Reach of Red Mountain Extends Well Beyond its Vineyards"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This article originally appeared, in part, in the January, 2021 issue of Bellingham Alive Magazine<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tucked away on a hillside about\n15 miles west of the Tri-Cities, the Red Mountain American Viticultural Area\n(AVA) is one of Washington\u2019s most prominent wine grape growing regions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At just a shade over 4,000 acres,\nRed Mountain is small in size but big on producing some of the best red wines\nin the country. Top red grape varieties grown here include cabernet sauvignon,\nmerlot, syrah, malbec, cabernet franc, and petit verdot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The agricultural success of the\nregion lies in a number of important climatic and geographic features including\na sun-drenched southwest-facing slope, soils rich in alkaline and calcium\ncarbonate, and a warm, almost desert-like environment tempered by cool evenings\nand the influence of the nearby Yakima River.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For winemakers, that\u2019s a recipe\nfor potentially picture-perfect wines with intense and focused fruit flavors, a\nstreak of minerality, and seamlessly balanced acidity levels. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the impact of the Red\nMountain AVA isn\u2019t limited to just vineyards and wineries located within the\nregion.  It extends statewide through a\ncooperative known as the Red Mountain Alliance and includes wineries in the\nTri-Cities, Walla Walla, and western Washington that utilize the area\u2019s grapes\nin many of the wines they produce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Tim & Kelly Hightower<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Alliance members Tim and Kelly\nHightower of Hightower Cellars moved from the Seattle area to Red Mountain in\n2002 and planted their first vineyards in 2005. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe fell in love with the AVA\nafter tasting wines from there in the 1990\u2019s,\u201d recalls Tim, noting that \u201cit was\nthe concentration of fruit and balance of the wines that was captivating.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEven though it\u2019s a warm area,\nit\u2019s also windy, which thickens the skins of the grapes and results in smaller\nberries,\u201d he says. This contributes to the concentrated flavors in the finished\nproduct that are a hallmark of the region\u2019s wines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe \u2018neighborhood\u2019 on Red\nMountain is also fantastic,\u201d adds Kelly. \u201cThe quality of the people it\u2019s\nattracted has really resulted in quality wines.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd the personality of the\nwinemakers comes through in the personality of the wines,\u201d notes Tim, referring\nagain to the quality product that wine consumers will find here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kathy Cortembos, Hospitality\nDirector at nearby Hedges Family Estate agrees; \u201cI love that there is a great\ncomradery between the growers and producers to insure everyone has a great\nexperience drinking a bottle made from Red Mountain fruit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith all the (wildfire) problems\nin California, which is horrible, we think many more people will discover Red\nMountain Cabernets and more. I believe it is the best growing area for Cabs and\nSyrahs in the USA. It is truly a magical place,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those considering a visit to\nthe area there are plenty of options for accommodations in the nearby town of\nProsser, to the west, and the Tri-Cities, to the east, including The Lodge at\nColumbia Point, a highly recommended riverside hotel located in Richland, along\nwith a number of bed and breakfasts, vacation rentals, and other unique\naccommodations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Red Mountain wines can also be\npurchased from participating wineries through the Alliance web site at www.redmountainava.com\/buying-guide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a comprehensive list of\nplaces to stay in the Tri-Cities go to www.visittri-cities.com<\/a>\nand click on \u201cHotels & Lodging.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This article originally appeared, in part, in the January, 2021 issue of Bellingham Alive Magazine Tucked away on a hillside about 15 miles west of the Tri-Cities, the Red Mountain American Viticultural Area (AVA) is one of Washington\u2019s most prominent wine grape growing regions. At just a shade over 4,000 acres, Red Mountain is small […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4773","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-from-the-bellingham-herald"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4773","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4773"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4773\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4812,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4773\/revisions\/4812"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4773"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4773"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}