American Viticultural Area · WA / OR
Columbia Valley
Columbia Valley is a federally-designated American Viticultural Area in WA / OR, established in 1984. The map below shows its official TTB boundary alongside nearby AVAs.
The Columbia Valley boundary is highlighted. Nearby AVAs are rendered in gray — click any of them to view that AVA's page.
At a glance
Established
1984
States
WA / OR
Climate
Continental
Signature varietals
Boundary recorded in 27 CFR Part 9 · Source: TTB
About the Columbia Valley AVA
Columbia Valley, designated 1984, is one of the largest AVAs in the United States — covering roughly a third of Washington State and a slice of northern Oregon. The defining feature is the climate of the Columbia Plateau: hot, dry summers and cold winters with very low rainfall (most of the region requires irrigation), and dramatic diurnal temperature swings caused by the absence of marine influence.
The vast majority of Washington's wine grapes are grown inside Columbia Valley. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Riesling, and Chardonnay are all important. Several smaller AVAs — Walla Walla Valley, Yakima Valley, Red Mountain, Horse Heaven Hills, Wahluke Slope, and many others — nest inside Columbia Valley. The parent AVA itself is too large to be a meaningful labeling claim for most single-site producers; bottles labeled "Columbia Valley" tend to be multi-source blends or fruit drawn from outside the sub-AVAs.
Nearby AVAs
Other American Viticultural Areas closest to Columbia Valley — useful when a vineyard sits inside more than one AVA at once.