Just recently, Washington State added a new member to its AVA family.  Naches Heights was officially recognized as an AVA on January 13, 2012.  It is now the 12^th AVA within the state.  A sub-appellation of the large Columbia Valley AVA, Naches Heights is located in Yakima County, and encompasses an area of 13,254 acres with 105 planted with vines, including 37 acres currently bearing fruit.  The elevation ranges from 1,200 to 2,100 feet, and growers believe that the land that the AVA sits on is quite unique and will give the wines a character that will stand out amongst wines from other growing regions in the state.  One very cool fact about Naches Heights is that all of the acres that have been planted are sustainably farmed.  There is also a very diverse array of varietals being grown in the appellation.  For example, Wilridge Vineyard, which is the largest in the AVA at 10 fruit bearing acres, grows varietals such as Nebbiolo, Tempranillo, and Souzao.  Growing in Naches Heights vineyard is Albarino, which is known for making great wines in Spain.  Along with the Albarino are varietals such as Syrah and Riesling.  There is a great article in Washington Tasting Room, which points out all the great attributes and other stats of the new AVA.  Certainly seems like a great place to plan on visiting soon.

 Also in the news…

 Robert Parker sometimes even scares himself by all the influence he has.

 The Californiawine market is experiencing a structural shortage, which may not balance out for years.

 And according to recent figures,  22% of the global wine market is Italian.

All for now…