The Rattlesnake Hills AVA is an

American Viticultural Area An American Viticultural Area (AVA) is a designated wine grape-growing region in the United States, providing an official appellation for the mutual benefit of winery, wineries and consumers. Winemakers frequently want their consumers to know abo ...

located in

Yakima County Yakima County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 256,728. The county seat and largest city is Yakima. The county was formed out of Ferguson County in January 1865 and is named for the Yakam ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. United States

Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, statutorily named the Tax and Trade Bureau and frequently shortened to TTB, is a bureau of the United States Department of the Treasury, which regulates and collects taxes on trade and imports of alcoho ...

(TTB) awarded Rattlesnake Hills its appellation status on March 20, 2006, making Rattlesnake Hills Washington's ninth federally recognized American Viticultural Area. The Rattlesnake Hills AVA is entirely contained within the

Yakima Valley AVA } The Yakima Valley AVA was the first American Viticultural Area established within Washington state, gaining the recognition in 1983. Part of the larger Columbia Valley AVA, Yakima Valley AVA is home to more than of vineyards, giving the ar ...

, which is in turn is entirely contained within the larger

Columbia Valley AVA The Columbia Valley AVA is an American Viticultural Area which lies in the Columbia River Plateau, through much of central and southern Washington State, with a small section crossing into the neighboring state of Oregon. The AVA includes the d ...

. The hills form the northern boundary of Yakima Valley, and the AVA includes land between the north bank of the

Sunnyside Canal Sunnyside and Sunny Side may refer to: Entertainment * ''Sunnyside'' (film), a 1919 film by Charlie Chaplin * ''Sunnyside'' (novel), a 2009 novel by Glen David Gold * ''Sunnyside'' (Canadian TV series), a Canadian sketch comedy TV series * '' ...

and the entirety of the southern slopes of the

Rattlesnake Hills The Rattlesnake Hills, also known as Rattlesnake Ridge, is a 16-mile (26 km) long anticline mountain ridge in Yakima County and Benton County in the U.S. state of Washington. It should not be confused with the much smaller Rattlesnake Ridge ...

between

Outlook Outlook or The Outlook may refer to: Computing * Microsoft Outlook, an e-mail and personal information management software product from Microsoft * Outlook.com, a web mail service from Microsoft * Outlook on the web, a suite of web applications ...

and the

Wapato Dam Wapato can mean: * Any of various plants in the genus ''Sagittaria'' * Wapato, Washington, a town named after the plant in the State of Washington in the United States * USS ''Wapato'' (YTB-788), a United States Navy tug in service from 1966 to 19 ...

. The AVA is centered on the city of Zillah. With elevations ranging from to , this AVA contains the highest point in the Yakima Valley AVA.

Vineyards

Vineyards in Rattlesnake Hills AVA include the Morrison Vineyard, planted in 1968 to

Riesling Riesling (, ; ) is a white grape variety that originated in the Rhine region. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet, and sparkling wh ...

and

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebanon' ...

for

Chateau Ste. Michelle Chateau Ste. Michelle is Washington State's oldest winery, located in Woodinville, Washington, near Seattle. It produces Chardonnay, Cabernet, Merlot, and Riesling, and has winemaking partnerships with two vintners: Col Solare is an alliance with ...

. It is the oldest vineyard in the AVA. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Hyatt Vineyard, Whisky Canyon, Outlook, and the Portteus Vineyard were also planted.

Opposition to AVA

When an AVA designation for the Rattlesnake Hills was proposed it created controversy among some Washington winemakers and vineyard growers. One of its most notable opponents was grower Dick Boushey of Boushey Vineyards in the Rattlesnake Hills (but not within the boundaries of the AVA). Boushey argued that the area did not have distinctive ''

terroir (, ; from ''terre'', "land") is a French term used to describe the environmental factors that affect a crop's phenotype, including unique environment contexts, farming practices and a crop's specific growth habitat. Collectively, these conte ...

'' that would merit an AVA stating ''"I know of no regional style, specific variety or type of wine that is unique to this proposed area. The granting of this proposal would confuse consumers and undermine the existing Yakima Valley Appellation."'' Rattlesnake hills wine

References

{{coord, 46, 24, 12, N, 120, 15, 21, W, format=dms, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-WA American Viticultural Areas Washington (state) wine Geography of Yakima County, Washington 2006 establishments in Washington (state)

Vineyards

Opposition to AVA

See also

References