I just returned from a few days in the Walla Walla Valley, thanks to the generosity of the Wine Alliance there.  Walla Walla, a city in the state of Washington, is not just a city but an AVA (American Viticultural Area) of the same name - Walla Walla Valley - that extends across the state line to include part of Oregon.  In fact, nearly half of the appellation’s grapes are grown in the state of Oregon, adding to its unique character.

Nestled in the Oregon part of the valley is a sub-AVA called The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater. This AVA is unique because of the rocks themselves.  According to the Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance, the Rocks District is “the only AVA in the U.S. whose boundaries have been fixed by virtue of a single soil series (Freewater Series) and a single land form (alluvial fan).” This unique soil and landform play a significant role in the flavor and quality of the wines produced here.

These surface rocks not only make this area hard to farm (imagine trying to plow!) but also reflect sunlight and heat during the day and store it up for re-radiation overnight.

A similar effect happens in the famous Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation in southern France.  The French name for these surface stones is galets.  As in the Rocks District of Milton-Freewater, the presence of these rocks in the vineyards is considered one of the defining characteristics of the place.

A long and detailed process is required to designate a new AVA in our country.  I have been present for a few informal conversations among people proposing new ones, which got me thinking about why they matter.

The cynical answer is marketing.  Every product - wine included - wants to have some unique quality that can be claimed as it’s sold.  As I visited the Walla Walla Valley this week, I was impressed at how many differences there were in the soils, annual rainfall, and elevation, even between sites that were short distances from one another.  All of that matters to farmers, and that is what vignerons are.  None of the rest of the culture and appreciation of wine can happen until the grapes are successfully grown and ripened.

Place matters a lot for wine.  The Walla Walla Valley AVA couldn’t be contained in just one state. Going to the time and expense of declaring a special area within the AVA - the Rocks District - is an even more vivid illustration of how much place matters.