It’s here. America’s day of thanks, and the eve of the largest shopping day of the year. How will you celebrate? Are you heading out to shop after the big meal or getting up for the...
This article originally ran in the Pacific NW Magazine, special to the Seattle Times. Author Andy Perdue, September 12, 2018 ON THE NORTH BANK of the Yakima River is Lonesome Spring Ranch, a vineyard on a...
Published in the Yakima Herald Republic, March 4, 2018 Owning a vineyard is like owning any other real estate: location is everything. Well, maybe not EVERYthing. In viticulture, it’s not only where the vineyard is located, it’s...
An appellation, or AVA (American Viticultural Area), is a designated geographical region that possesses unique climate, soil and physical features which distinguish it from surrounding areas.This combination of soil, slope and sunshine influences the growth...
A French viticulture term; veraison means “the onset of grape ripening.” It involves a number of changes in the grape. First, the grapes start to change color. Once veraison starts, the vineyards begin to explode...
The longest day of the year is now behind us, but Yakima Valley wine grapes are still receiving more sunshine than the famous California wine-growing regions. It may surprise many that the Yakima Valley’s long summer...
Originally published in the Trial City Herald. By Andy Perdue and Eric Degerman, June 12, 2018 Of all the brown ridges in Washington’s Columbia Valley, perhaps none is more important to winemakers than Red Mountain. It is a...
Scientific support for viticulture, or the craft of grape growing, began in the Yakima Valley as early as 1917. It was then that William Bridgman planted a vinifera vineyard on Snipes Mountain in Sunnyside. Remarkably,...
Seattle Times January 19, 2018 During the past decade, the number of regional wineries has increased by 400 percent. Washington state has blossomed into the second-largest premium wine producer in the U.S., closing in on California. During the...
September means back-to-school for most students. Among them are the next vintage of winemakers from Yakima Valley College’s Viticulture and Winery Technology program. Yakima Valley is the oldest wine region in Washington State, but until 2000, aspiring winemakers had...