Columbia Hills AVA

Columbia Hills
Wine region
TypeAmerican Viticultural Area
Year established2026[1]
CountryUnited States
Part of Washington, Klickitat County Columbia Valley AVA
Other regions in Washington, Klickitat County Columbia Valley AVAColumbia Gorge AVA, Horse Heaven Hills AVA, The Burn of Columbia Valley AVA
Growing season194 to 254 days[1]
Climate regionRegion III-IV
Heat units3,091 to 3,588 GDD units[1]
Precipitation (annual average)10 to 20 inches (254–508 mm)[1]
Soil conditionsWell-drained soils derived from basalt mixed with loess and wind-deposited sand draped over the bedrock[1]
Total area29,387 acres (46 sq mi)[1]
Size of planted vineyards338 acres (137 ha)[1]
No. of vineyards19[1]
Grapes producedCabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah[2]
No. of wineries4[1]

Columbia Hills is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located within Klickitat County in south-central Washington on the north banks of the Columbia River along the Oregon state border. It was established as the nation's 280th, the state's 22nd, the Columbia Valley's eighteen and the county's fifth wine appellation[3] on August 17, 2026 by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), Treasury after reviewing the 2024 petition submitted by Kevin Pogue, geology professor and owner of VinTerra Consulting, on behalf of Robert Lorkowski, owner of Cascade Cliffs Vineyard and Winery, proposing the viticultural area named "Columbia Hills."[4]

The 29,387-acre (46 sq mi) appellation occupies the lower predominantly south-facing slopes of the Columbia Hills landform that lie between the north shorelines of the Columbia River reservoir pools and the maximum elevation which were directly impacted by catastrophic Missoula floods that repeatedly swept down the Columbia River during the last 1 million years.[5] There are approximately 338 acres (137 ha) of vineyards within the AVA, owned by 19 different property owners, sourcing four bonded wineries, Cascade Cliffs Vineyard and Winery, Jacob Williams Winery, Maryhill Winery and Waving Tree Winery and Vineyards.[6]

Name evidence

The name "Columbia Hills" is applied to a 35-mile-long (56 km) ridgeline that parallels the north side of the Columbia River between Rowena Gap and the mouth of Rock Creek. The ridgeline averages 2,500 feet (762 m) in elevation, and its crest lies two to three miles (3–5 km) north of the reservoirs along the Columbia River, created by Bonneville, The Dalles and John Day dams, which have pool elevations of approximately of 74 feet (23 m), 160 feet (49 m), and 265 feet (81 m), respectively. The AVA is situated on the southern slopes of the Columbia Hills. The Columbia Hills host the Columbia Hills Natural Area Preserve, and the Columbia Hills Historical State Park, both managed by the state of Washington.[4]

Terroir

Topography

According to the petition, features created by depositional and erosional processes associated with catastrophic ice age flooding dominate the topography of the Columbia Hills AVA. Erosion by the floodwaters of the generally flat-lying layers of bedrock created a series of stepped terraces within the AVA. These gently-sloped terraces provide excellent locations for vineyards within the otherwise steeply-sloped valley of the Columbia River. Large, gently-sloped gravel bars deposited by ice-age floods also provide level terrain for planting vineyards in the AVA. According to the petition, the ice-age flooding along the Columbia River generally did not exceed 1,050 feet (320 m). Therefore, elevations within Columbia Hills AVA are limited to those at or below 1,050 feet (320 m) to exclude regions without the flood-related topographic features. To the north of the AVA, the topography is much steeper and less impacted by ice-age flooding. Elevations within the higher elevations of the Columbia Hills that are not included in the AVA reach 2,625 feet (800 m), as shown on the 1980 version of the Goldendale, Washington-Oregon U.S.G.S. map included with the petition. The same map also shows that within the Simcoe Mountains, farther north of the AVA, elevations exceed 4,593 feet (1,400 m). East of the AVA, within the established The Burn of Columbia Valley AVA, elevations reach as high as 1,460 feet (445 m). The petition states that ice-age flooding never inundated approximately 33 percent of the land within the established The Burn of Columbia Valley AVA. West of the AVA is the established Columbia Gorge AVA, which has a diverse topography and elevations that reach 2,602 feet (793 m). According to the petition, ice-age floods only covered 26 percent of the land within the established Columbia Gorge AVA.

Slopes within the Columbia Hills AVA have a uniformly southerly aspect. The petition states that a southerly aspect is the preferred direction for viticulture in the higher latitudes in the northern hemisphere because the slopes receive the greatest exposure to the sun’s rays. As a result, south-facing slopes have higher soil temperatures than slopes that face north. According to the petition, warmer soils encourage vine growth and speed ripening of the fruit. By contrast, the established The Burn of Columbia Valley AVA, which is east of the AVA, consists of relatively flat topography with varying aspects. The petition states that west of the AVA, within the established Columbia Gorge AVA, the aspect distribution is also varied and essentially random. The region to the north has a dominantly southern aspect similar to that of the Columbia Hills AVA, but it is above the maximum elevation of the ice-age floods. Low-lying areas south of the AVA, in Oregon, have a dominantly northern aspect.[7] Approximately 20 miles (32 km) downstream of the AVA, the Columbia River enters a near sea-level gap through the Cascade Mountains known as the Columbia River Gorge. This is the only low elevation gap in the range, and the only area where the moist marine air that is commnon on the western side of the Cascade Range can enter the Columbia Basin and influence its climate.[4]

Climate

Eighty percent of the Columbia Hills AVA acreage lies within one mile (2 km) of the Columbia River that acts as a thermal reservoir, moderating the climate near its shores. Due to its proximity to the river, the AVA generally has warmer growing season temperatures, particularly during the early morning hours, than the surrounding regions. The warm climate aids and accelerates the ripening of grapes and allows for the cultivation of warm climate grape varietals such as Grenache and Mourvèdre. The petition included information on the average growing season temperatures, growing degree day (GDD) accumulations,[8] annual number of frost-free days, and average growing season maximum and minimum temperatures from within the Columbia Hills AVA and each of the surrounding regions except the region to the east. Unless otherwise noted, all climate data was collected from 2017 to 2021. The data, included in the petition suggests that the AVA has a warmer climate than each of the surrounding regions.[7]
The exchange of air through the Columbia Gorge is referred to by meteorologists as "Columbia Gorge gap flow."[9] Gap flow through the Columbia Gorge is responsible for increased cloudiness and precipitation and cooler average temperatures in the area near its eastern entrance, where the Columbia Gorge AVA is situated. A large percentage of that AVA receives over 30 inches (762 mm) of annual precipitation, and viticulture without supplemental irrigation is possible in some areas. Moving east from the entrance to the Columbia Gorge, gap flow effects rapidly diminish, reducing annual precipitation to only 10 to 20 inches (254–508 mm) in the area of the AVA, so that irrigation is required in all vineyards. Near the eastern end of the AVA, the boundary of The Burn of Columbia Valley AVA is also the boundary of the vast Columbia Basin desert, where annual precipitation drops below 10 inches (254 mm).[4]

Soils

The soils of the Columbia Hills AVA are divided into two main soil map units. Most of the area within the AVA features soils mapped as the Cheviot-Horseflat-Rockly-Kiona unit, which are described as "well-drained soils that formed in colluvium and residuum derived from basalt mixed with loess." In the western portion of the AVA, the soils belong to the Ewall-Dallesport-Rock Outcrop unit. These soils consist of wind-deposited sand that was draped over the bedrock and gravel bars that were left behind when the ice-age floods ceased. The soils of the AVA are typically much coarser than the loess-based soils that are common elsewhere in the Columbia River basin and are well drained to excessively well drained. The petition states that the coarse soils warm more quickly than finer soils, which encourages vines to root deeply. Furthermore, the petition states that in many areas of the AVA, the soils are shallow which allows roots to encounter the underlying basalt bedrock or gravel substrate, which is uncommon in the deep loess-derived soils found elsewhere in the Columbia River basin, and which become exposed to the minerals and nutritive elements in those rocks.
To the east of the Columbia Hills AVA, soils of the Van Nostern-Morrow-Bakeoven soil unit cover approximately 50 percent of the area within the established The Burn of Columbia Valley AVA. These soils occur largely above the maximum limit of the ice-age floods and were not subjected to flood erosion. These soils contain large amounts of wind-deposited loess. West of the AVA, the soils of the established Columbia Gorge AVA are highly diverse due to the large variations in bedrock, slope angle, slope aspect, precipitation amounts, and elevation. North and south of the AVA, the soils are generally deep and derived from loess over bedrock.[7]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Establishment of Columbia Hills Viticultural Area" (27 CFR 9 [Docket No. TTB–2024–0007; T.D. TTB–206; Ref: Notice No. 235] RIN 1513–AD08 Final Rule). Federal Register. 91 (157). Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau {TTB), Treasury: 53191–53194. August 17, 2026.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. ↑ "Welcome to the World, Columbia Hills AVA!". Wine, Wit and Wisdom. August 18, 2026.
  3. ↑ "List of AVAs by Establishment Date". TTB.gov. 2024. Archived from the original on February 5, 2025. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Pogue, Kevin R. (December 5, 2024). "Petition to Establish the Columbia Hills American ViticulturaL Area" (PDF). TTB.gov. Cascade Cliffs Vineyard and Winery.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  5. ↑ "Columbia Hills is Washington's 22nd American Viticultural Area". WA Wine. Washington State Wine Commission. August 17, 2026. Retrieved August 21, 2026.
  6. ↑ Sullivan, Sean P. (August 16, 2026). "Columbia Hills, Washington's newest appellation: The who, what, where, and why". Northwest Wine Report. Retrieved August 21, 2026.
  7. 1 2 3 "Proposed Establishment of the Columbia Hills Viticultural Area" (27 CFR 9 [Docket No. TTB–2024–0007; Notice No. 235] RIN 1513–AD08 Proposed Rule). Federal Register. 89 (234). Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau {TTB), Treasury: 96623–96627. December 5, 2024.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  8. ↑ Winkler, Albert J.; Cook, James A.; Kliewer, William Mark; Lider, Lloyd A. (1974). General Viticulture (Second ed.). Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 61–64. ISBN 978-0-52002-591-2.
  9. ↑ Sharp, Justin; Mass, Clifford F. (December 2002). "Columbia Gorge Gap Flow: Insights from Observational Analysis and Ultra-High-Resolution Simulation". Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. 83 (12). American Meteorological Society: 1757–1762.

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