As one of Washington's first grape-growing regions, Snipes Mountain recently became an official American Viticultural Area (AVA) on February 20, 2009. However, according to the federal document, citing Ron Irvine's The Wine Project: Washington State's Winemaking History, growers first planted vineyards here between 1914 and 1917.
Todd Newhouse, owner of Upland Estates Winery (the only winery currently located within Snipes Mountain AVA), and Joan Davenport, a soil scientist based at Washington State University’s research and extension center in Prosser, worked together to research and write the petition for federal AVA recognition of this small area. The application process is complex, requiring research and reporting of the proposed area's geologic history, historic justification for its proposed name and the area's history related to the growing of grapes and the production of wines. |
