The Snake River Valley 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 ...

that encompasses an area in

Southwestern Idaho Southwestern Idaho is a geographical term for the area along the U.S. state of Idaho's borders with Oregon and Nevada. It includes the populous areas of the Boise metropolitan area and Treasure Valley The Treasure Valley is a valley in the weste ...

and two counties in eastern Oregon. The Idaho Grape Growers and Wine Producers Commission and the Idaho Department of Commerce and Labor filed the petition to recognize the AVA, and it was granted in 2007. For wines to bear the Snake River Valley AVA label, at least 85% of the grapes used for production must be grown in the designated area, which includes the Southwestern Idaho counties of

Ada Ada may refer to: Places Africa * Ada Foah, a town in Ghana * Ada (Ghana parliament constituency) * Ada, Osun, a town in Nigeria Asia * Ada, Urmia, a village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Ada, Karaman, a village in Karaman Province, Tur ...

, Adams, Boise,

Canyon A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tenden ...

, Elmore,

Gem A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, or semiprecious stone) is a piece of mineral crystal which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. However, certain rocks (such as lapis lazuli, opal, a ...

Gooding Gooding may refer to: Places * Gooding County, Idaho, a county in the United States * Gooding, Colorado, an unincorporated community in the United States * Gooding, Idaho, a city in the United States ** Gooding High School, located within the city ...

, Jerome, Owyhee, Payette, Twin Falls, and Washington, and the Eastern Oregon counties of Malheur and

Baker A baker is a tradesperson who bakes and sometimes sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient history Since grains ha ...

. The AVA encompasses 15 wineries, 46 vineyards, and of commercial vineyard production.

Climate

Located on the same latitude as Oregon's

Umpqua Valley AVA The Umpqua Valley AVA is one of the first American Viticultural Area (AVA) in Oregon and located entirely within Douglas County, Oregon. It became a sub-appellation within the larger Southern Oregon AVA when it was established in 2004. Its bound ...

, the Snake River Valley has a more drastic diurnal temperature variation than other appellations in the Pacific Northwest due to the high elevation of most of the region's vineyards. At elevations of to

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

, the region is also more than from the tempering effects of the Pacific Ocean.

References

External links