The Horse Heaven Hills AVA (American Viticultural Area) is located entirely within the extensive Columbia Valley AVA in the USA’s State of Washington. The Columbia River forms the southern boundary of the AVA. The boundary then tracks roughly north then northeast following its namesake hills before meeting up with the Yakima Valley AVA’s southern border and turning back south again to the Columbia River. Indeed many of the best vineyards are planted on the banks of the Columbia River where they are exposed to strong winds blown off the river. These strong winds cool the vines, toughen the grape skins and stress the plants which strange as it may sound leads to quality wine production and one of the longest growing seasons in Washington. Other substantial plantings are near the town of Prosser by the Yakima Valley AVA border. Elevations in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA range from 300 to 1,800 feet above sea level. Despite the region's close proximity to the river, the land is bone dry, hot and windy. (Copyright material, Wine-Searcher) Vines would not survive here in the well drained, low vigor, sandy loam soils without irrigation as only 4 inches (100mm) of rain on average falls annually. By being able to monitor water through irrigation, vine growth and yields can be controlled to produce high quality fruit.
The AVA was granted in 2005 but grapes were grown here long before that. This region has the distinction of being home to some of the state's oldest Cabernet Sauvignon vines. These first vines were planted here in 1972 by Walter Clore, a Washington State University researcher who believed that eastern Washington had the potential to be a great wine region. Often as is the case with vines, with age comes more intensely flavored fruit. This point was reiterated when a winery (Quilceda Creek) using old vine Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from the Horse Heaven Hills AVA and the Red Mountain AVA was awarded the very rare honor of a 100 point Robert Parker rating for the 2002 and 2003 vintage. This was the first time an American wine outside of California had achieved this honor and the wine became one of only a handful to achieve the 100 point rating in consecutive vintages. Rhone varieties also do well here as do many other red grapes. Most produce big full flavored high alcohol wines. Of the whites, Chardonnay and Riesling are the most widely planted. (© Proprietary Content, Wine-Searcher)
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