The Yakima Valley, a long, wide swath of land that stretches from the shadow of Mount Adams in the west to Red Mountain in the east, is the cradle of the Washington wine industry.
It was here where William Bridgman began planting wine grapes in 1914. It was here where Walter Clore spent his career with Washington State University studying and promoting the Washington wine grape industry. In 1983, the Yakima Valley became the Pacific Northwest’s first American Viticultural Area.
And today, Washington’s largest concentration of wine grapes is in the Yakima Valley. Many of the state’s best vineyards are in the Yakima Valley, a region also known for growing many crops, including Concord grapes, pears, peaches, apricots, apples, hops and corn.
And in communities such as Prosser, Benton City, Sunnyside and Zillah, dozens of wineries are sprinkled up and down the Yakima Valley.
Here are a dozen delicious wines we’ve tasted recently that use Yakima Valley grapes.
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