Page 32 - washington state wine

Red Mountain’s not much of a moun- ican Viticulture Area) can be somewhat their first vines in Red Mountain and
tain in the pantheon of mountains confusing. The Red Mountain AVA lies called their vineyard Kiona. Not long af-
(1,410 feet) or for that matter very red, within the Yakima Valley AVA, which is ter, they planted a vineyard they called
but it is a real mountain that has all the part of the Columbia Valley AVA. Ciel du Cheval. In 1980, they launched
makings for some of the best wines on a winery in Williams’ basement (where
the planet – mostly Cabernet sauvignon, Red Mountain’s most prominent pio- the tasting room remained until a new
merlot, syrah, Cabernet franc, malbec, neers are Jim Holmes and John Wil- winery was built in 2007).
and petit verdot. liams, wine hobbyists who were influ-
enced by the early wine grape research Red Mountain may not be much to look
The red in Red Mountain comes from conducted by Dr. Walter Clore at Wash- at to the casual visitor, but for the wine
the cheat grass that turns red in the ington State University agricultural sta- maker the 4,040 acres of vineyards on its
spring. Washington State AVAs (Amer- tion in Prosser. In 1975 they planted slopes offers all the essential elements to

32 Wine Dine & Travel Summer/Fall 2015