Wine Country Tri-Cities Washington
The Spirit of a Land Distilled
Washington State rivals the state of California as the country’s leader in wine production. In particular, the Wines of Tri-Cities are the heart of this wine-producing region, giving the more popular Napa Valley in California a good run for its money.
The Growing Wine Industry
For the past twenty years, the wine industry in the Tri-Cities has been growing, eclipsing the historically agricultural nature of the said area. Driving along the area, you will see magnificent vineyards side by side with the splendid landscape of the Columbia Valley.
The area of Pasco, Kennewick, and Richland, has soil conditions and weather patterns that are like the famous wineries and vineyards of France, whose wine-producing regions produce some of the world’s most renowned wines and spirits.
An interesting fact is that Washington State shares the same latitude with the wine-producing regions of France. This may be the reason why both places share an uncanny similarity in their environment; an environment that is conducive to the growth of grapes that give wines their distinctive taste and aroma.
The Magic and Science of Wines
Wines are a general term that refers to the fermented juice of any type of berry. However, most wines nowadays are made using the juice of freshly harvested grapes, and the term wine is now often used exclusively for such.
The quality of the wines made in the Tri-Cities is based on the grapes that are used to make them. These grapes in turn are highly dependent on the soil and climate upon which they were grown. It is as if the grapes absorb the character of their environment, distill their spirits, and then use these to give wines varying flavors of the Earth. In so many ways, drinking wine is drinking the distilled essence of the land that nurtured them.
No other agricultural product is as sensitive to its environment as wines are. Small fluctuations in soil conditions and weather patterns can create wines that are not quite the same as wines previously produced in the same place, under the same conditions. Minute changes are captured by the grapes and produce nuances in wines that can never be reproduced.
Such is the wonder and magic of winemaking. Whether they are made in France, Australia, or Washington State, there is unpredictability in winemaking that makes it so exciting and satisfying. Winemakers can only hope for the best and distill what nature has already prepared in perfection.
Wines for Land and Life
For the Tri-Cities to produce excellent wines is an ode to the Tri-Cities itself. It is a direct testament to the purity of the land and how it has remained relatively unspoiled in the face of unrelenting development and industrialization.
If the Tri-Cities save land for vineyards and wineries, they not only protect their land, but they end up protecting themselves as well.