What’s happening where with Washington whites

In looking at the recent Washington acreage data, I noted that Riesling (6%) and Chardonnay (2%) grew at small rates between the 2011 and 2017 surveys. Meanwhile, Pinot Gris (35%) and Sauvignon Blanc (24%) showed the strongest growth. Let’s take a look at appellation level data to see what’s happening where for these varieties.

For Riesling, the Horse Heaven Hills showed a large increase (66%) in acreage, from 875 acres in 2011 to 1,450 acres in 2017. Additionally, the Wahluke Slope showed a significant (60%) decrease in plantings (851 acres vs 343 acres). That is to say, it looks like a lot of Riesling production (presumably by Ste. Michelle Wine Estates) shifted from the Wahluke Slope to the Horse Heaven Hills over the last seven years. See Table 1 below for additional detail.

In terms of Chardonnay, the numbers were down or more or less stagnant pretty much across all appellations, with the exception of the Yakima Valley, which showed a 27% increase in plantings, from 3,157 acres to 4,005 acres. See Table 2 below for additional detail.

For Pinot Gris, most of the increase is coming from the Horse Heaven Hills (172%) and Yakima Valley (43%). Acreage in the Horse Heaven Hills increased from a modest 138 acres in 2011 to 376 acres (hence the large percentage increase). Meanwhile, in the Yakima Valley, acreage increased from 855 to 1,223. So, in terms of overall acreage, the Yakima Valley was where most of the action was. See Table 3 for additional detail.

Finally, looking at Sauvignon Blanc, the Horse Heaven Hills accounted for the vast majority of the increase seen, with acreage going from 492 in 2011 to 858 in 2017. See Table 4 for additional detail.

Unfortunately for all these varieties, the Ancient Lakes appellation was listed but contained no data (where data is zeroed for appellation, the report states ‘Represents zero or data not published to avoid disclosure of individual operations.’) This is a shame, as it makes the data incomplete. It also leads to some confusion when comparing the 2011 and 2017 surveys.

In terms of the data being incomplete, Riesling is the major player in the Ancient Lakes. So, we do not have a truly accurate portrayal of what’s happening with Riesling on an appellation level without including the Ancient Lakes. However, we can still look at the larger trend going on at the state-level, as presumably the Ancient Lakes variety totals were still included in the Washington totals but were not broken out by appellation.

In terms of confusion in the data, if you look at the tables below, there has been a large decrease in Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, and Sauvignon Blanc acreage in the areas of the Columbia Valley not associated with other appellations from 2011 to 2017. However, the Ancient Lakes appellation was approved in 2012, after the 2011 survey. So, acreage that was included in the 2011 survey as Columbia Valley would have been moved to the Ancient Lakes appellation in 2017. However, without the Ancient Lakes data for 2017, it’s difficult to say exactly what these numbers would look like. Therefore, we cannot, unfortunately, draw conclusions about the Columbia Valley data in the tables below.

So, to summarize, Riesling plantings are on the rise in the Horse Heaven Hills, and Chardonnay plantings are on the rise in the Yakima Valley. The overall trend for the state, however, is a small increase for these two varieties. The Yakima Valley and Horse Heaven Hills are driving the increases in Pinot Gris. Meanwhile the Horse Heaven Hills is driving the increases in Sauvignon Blanc. Overall, these data show an increasing specification of what is planted where in the Columbia Valley in terms of white varieties.

Have thoughts or additional context for the data discussed here? Leave a comment below.

Note: In the tables below, I included to the far right my best guess on what might account for the acreage differences between the 2011 and 2017 surveys. These are, however, just guesses. Appellation information is only listed where data was provided. Other appellations were not provided or are zero. Note that, due to incomplete data as described above, the appellation data (listed as 'Appellations Total') does not equal the totals given for Washington (listed as 'Washington Total'). 

Table 1. Riesling Acreage

Appellation	2011	2017	Change	%	Possible Explanation
Columbia Gorge	22	23	1	5%	Planted
Columbia Valley	1,140	512	-628	-55%	Moved to Ancient Lakes?
Horse Heaven Hills	875	1,450	575	66%	Planted
Rattlesnake Hills	451	352	-99	-22%	Removed
Snipes Mountain	22	74	52	236%	Planted
Wahluke Slope	851	343	-508	-60%	Removed
Yakima Valley	2,858	3,345	487	17%	Planted
Appellations Total	6219	6099	-120
Washington Total	6,320	6,695	375	6%	Planted

Table 2. Chardonnay Acreage

Appellation	2011	2017	Acres	%	Possible Explanation
Columbia Gorge	82	46	-36	-44%	Removed
Columbia Valley	1,331	581	-750	-56%	Moved to Ancient Lakes?
Horse Heaven Hills	1,771	1,805	34	2%	Planted
Lake Chelan	13	20	7	54%	Planted
Puget Sound	0	5	5	NA
Rattlesnake Hills	118	0	-118	-100%	Not reported?
Snipes Mountain	148	112	-36	-24%	Removed
Wahluke Slope	984	829	-155	-16%	Removed
Walla Walla Valley*	27	0	-27	-100%	Not reported?
Yakima Valley	3,157	4,005	848	27%	Planted
Appellations Total	7,631	7,403	-228
Washington Total	7,654	7,782	128	2%	Planted
* Only WA side of AVA

Table 3. Pinot Gris Acreage

Appellation	2011	2017	Change	%	Possible Explanation
Columbia Gorge	68	25	-43	-63%	Removed
Columbia Valley	248	120	-128	-52%	Moved to Ancient Lakes?
Horse Heaven Hills	138	376	238	172%	Planted
Lake Chelan	12	16	4	33%	Planted
Naches Heights	0	5	5	NA	Planted
Puget Sound	9	4	-5	-56%	Removed
Rattlesnake Hills	46	0	-46	-100%	Not reported?
Yakima Valley	855	1223	368	43%	Planted
Appellations Total	1376	1769
Washington Total	1,576	2,123	547	35%	Planted

Table 4. Sauvignon Blanc Acreage

Appellation	2011	2017	Change	%	Possible Explanation
Columbia Valley	171	103	-68	-40%	Moved to Ancient Lakes?
Horse Heaven Hills	492	858	366	74%	Planted
Lake Chelan	3	5	2	67%	Planted
Naches Heights	0	4	4	NA	Planted
Puget Sound	0	1	1	NA	Planted
Rattlesnake Hills	0	29	29	NA	Planted
Red Mountain	18	0	-18	-100%	Not reported?
Wahluke Slope	41	0	-41	-100%	Not reported?
Walla Walla Valley*	0	4	4	NA	Planted
Yakima Valley	421	363	-58	-14%	Removed
Appellations Total	1146	1367	221
Washington Total	1173	1,451	278	24%	Planted
* Only WA side of AVA