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Columbia Valley

Location: Washington / Oregon, United States

Legal name: Columbia Valley American Viticultural Area

Regulatory body: TTB

Official designation: 27 CFR §9.74

Columbia Valley is modeled here as the appellation/legal-origin layer for the existing EncyclopediaOfWine region row. It identifies the protected label name associated with Washington / Oregon, while the original region row remains available as legacy geographic context until downstream links are fully migrated. The AVA spans Washington and Oregon and acts as a parent context for many inland Northwest appellations. Commonly associated grapes include Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Riesling, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Franc. AVA status in the United States is origin-based rather than grape-prescriptive: it protects a delimited place-name and does not require one authorized grape list or a European-style production recipe.

Permitted Grapes

No AVA-specific grape restrictions. Commonly associated grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Riesling, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Franc.

Notable Rules

AVA label use is origin-based: under 27 CFR §4.25(e)(3), at least 85 percent of the wine must be derived from grapes grown within the viticultural area, and American wine must be fully finished within the State, or one of the States, in which the AVA is located. The AVA does not impose a grape-variety list or European-style production code.

Recent Vintages

Recent Washington vintages have swung between heat, freeze, and late-season rescue patterns. Public Washington Wine Commission summaries point to 2015 and 2021 as very warm years, with 2021 also marked by a major late-June heat event and low yields; 2022 started cool and wet but finished with unusually warm late-September and October weather that helped ripening. The result is generally strong regional performance, but vintage texture can differ sharply between warm sites such as Red Mountain and cooler or later-ripening areas.

A general read of growing-season and harvest character — not a rating.

Also Known As

Columbia Valley AVA, Columbia Valley American Viticultural Area

Sources & References

eCFR / 27 CFR §9.74 — United States appellation and AVA framework; public regulatory reference.

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REFERENCE NOTE

This entry is written as an educational overview and may synthesize public regulatory, historical, and editorial sources. It is not an official regulatory record.