02/20/07 Washington Wine Country pt 2

Welcome to Vine to Wine, this is your host Linda Moran. Today we will continue our series discussing the diversity in growing regions within the state of Washington. As recognized and defined by the United States Treasury Department; Alcohol & Tobacco Taxes & Trade Bureau,Washington now has nine American Viticultural Areas and there are a few more applications pending. The application procedure is rigorous, can be grueling, and can takes years. So as consumers what's in it for us? Well it's no secret to those of us living in the state of Washington that the climate changes remarkably from one side of the Cascade Mountain Range to the other. Within both of those areas there are differing soils and microclimates. So feature how soil and microclimate would effect your ability to grow something. Well it is the same kind of thing  just a great deal more complicated when identifying American Viticultural Areas. The grapes resulting from growth in their own unique place may be very different from the same type of grape grown in another area. That is the point of the AVA, to celebrate the differences not to claim one as superior to another. I have a game I play with a wine steward each time I visit his restaurant. I ask him to select a unique vineyard designated wine and tell me all about it. The wines are always different and interesting and it begs me to go and visit. So I have a mission this year  I want to visit all of the AVA's in the state of Washington and you can be certain I will report back to you. And thank you for joining me on today's Vine to Wine.