Tag: pacific northwest

A bit more than two hours southeast of Seattle in Central Washington, Yakima Valley has an average of 300 days of sunshine and a bounty of just about everything. If it grows in the Pacific Northwest, there’s a good chance it grows in abundance in the Yakima Valley, which is home to four American Viticultural Areas (AVAs), more than 70 wineries, and over one-third of the state’s vineyard acres. Yakima Valley also grows more than 40 commercial crops, including 78 percent of the hops harvested in the entire United States! It’s almost impossible to not eat local, with fields, farms, and orchards in every direction. With so many vineyards in the area, it seems only natural to stroll through one and see how the grapes are grown. Here, you can walk through most every vineyard with the winemakers themselves. Many of the wineries serve as venues for up-and-coming musicians, and the valley is fast becoming a hub for great live music.

It has been 20 years since the founder of Abacela, Earl Jones, planted the first Tempranillo in the Pacific Northwest. In 1992, his passion for the grape and a good deal of scientific analysis was strong enough to justify a move for Earl and his wife Hilda from the Gulf Coast to Southern Oregon’s Umpqua Valley. Here, Earl found the land he dreamed of, resting over an ancient geological fault with steep hillsides featuring an exciting diversity in soil types, microclimates, and sun exposures. What’s more, at 43 degrees North latitude, the land occupied a similar geographic position as sections of northern Spain.

The Tri-Cities is located in the heart of Washington wine country in the center of the Pacific Northwest, about a three and one-half hour drive from Seattle and Portland.

For first-time visitors it can be confusing, starting with the climate. As green and lush as the state of Washington is, the Tri-Cities doesn’t see much rain. It’s sunny on an average of 300 days per year. The air is dry and desert-like, but there is plenty of water, too. Three amazing rivers—the Columbia, the Snake, and the Yakima—converge here, creating an oasis that makes kayakers, fishermen, water skiers, canoeists, sailors, kite surfers, and pontoonists very happy. Landlubbers too. The area offers enough challenging terrain for cyclists, beguiling trails for hikers, and beautiful golf courses to keep everyone entertained for days on end.