{"id":7167,"date":"2026-08-17T07:41:46","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T14:41:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/?p=7167"},"modified":"2026-08-20T07:48:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T14:48:12","slug":"columbia-hills-is-washingtons-22nd-american-viticulture-area","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/?p=7167","title":{"rendered":"Columbia Hills is Washington’s 22nd American Viticulture Area"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As reported by the Washington State Wine<\/strong> Commission<\/strong>:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Columbia Hills is Washington\u2019s newest American Viticultural Area (AVA). On August 17, 2026, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) published the final rule to officially define the Columbia Hills AVA as a designated wine grape-growing region. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Columbia Hills is located in south-central Washington between the Columbia Gorge to the west and The Burn of Columbia Valley to the east. It is wholly contained within the larger Columbia Valley. The appellation gets its name from a 35-mile-long ridgeline that parallels the north side of the Columbia River, which serves as the AVA\u2019s southern boundary. It is bounded to the north by the 1,050-foot elevation line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe north boundary of Columbia Hills marks the highest elevation reached by the Missoula Floods in this region, resulting in soil made up of thin wind-deposited silt and sand that overlies flood-eroded basalt bedrock,\u201d explained Kevin Pogue, Professor of Geology at Whitman College, who wrote the AVA petition for Columbia Hills. \u201cIt is a very scenic area that features vineyards perched above the river on flood-eroded terraces.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur region is made up of small, intimate, micro-climate terroirs defined by their closeness to the water,\u201d added Robert Lorkowski, owner at Cascade Cliffs Vineyard and Winery, which is located within the appellation. \u201cA great quote I remember is, \u2018All the great grapes see the river.\u2019 Whether that\u2019s quantifiable, I honestly couldn\u2019t say, but there is a deep spiritual or intangible feeling of having the vines see the river.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A wine grape-growing region must have distinguishing features to qualify as an AVA. In Columbia Hills, these include: <\/p>\n\n\n\n