American Viticultural Area · WA / OR
Walla Walla Valley
Walla Walla 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 Walla Walla 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
Learn more about Walla Walla Valley
About the Walla Walla Valley AVA
Walla Walla Valley, designated 1984, straddles the Washington–Oregon border in the southeastern corner of Washington and the northeastern tip of Oregon. The valley sits inside the larger Columbia Valley AVA and shares its continental climate — hot summers, cold winters, low rainfall — but is somewhat moderated by elevation and receives more annual rainfall than the drier central Columbia Basin to the west.
Walla Walla is best known for Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah. The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater sub-AVA on the Oregon side, designated 2015, is distinguished by its cobblestoned soil — basalt cobbles deposited by ancient Missoula floods — and produces a particularly distinctive style of Syrah that some compare to Northern Rhône Cornas or Hermitage. The cobblestone is the entire defining feature of that sub-AVA, an unusually narrow geological criterion.
Nearby AVAs
Other American Viticultural Areas closest to Walla Walla Valley — useful when a vineyard sits inside more than one AVA at once.