
Beverly, Washington courtesy of Four Feathers Wine Services
Editor’s Note: See a summary table of Washington’s appellations.
On October 29th the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) approved Beverly, Washington as the state’s newest appellation. This brings Washington’s total number of viticultural regions to 21.
Located in south-central Washington, Beverly lies between the Royal Slope appellation, which it abuts, and the Wahluke Slope. Much of the land lies on lower, south-southwest facing slopes of the Frenchman Hills. Beverly is wholly contained within the larger Columbia Valley.
A hot, dry growing region
As a grape growing region, Beverly, Washington has three main distinguishing features.
“It’s hot, it’s windy, and it’s got super well-drained soils,” summarizes Kevin Pogue, a geologist and the owner of VinTerra, a vineyard site and terroir marketing business based in Walla Walla, Washington. Pogue was hired by area growers to write the appellation petition.
In terms of heat accumulation, Beverly receives approximately 3500 Growing Degrees Days per year. This makes it among the warmest growing regions in the state.
The area’s warmth, in part, can be attributed to its central location in the Columbia Basin as well as its low elevation. The entire appellation lies between 515 and 900 feet above sea level, with an average elevation of 600 feet.
Beverly also receives a mere five inches of precipitation annually, much of it in the form of snow in winter. Due the appellation’s location, it receives near maximum rain shadow effect from the Cascade Mountains.
“It’s in the driest place in the state essentially,” Pogue says. By comparison, Columbia Valley, on average, receives six to eight inches of annual precipitation.
A windy area
Beverly, Washington is also notable for its persistent wind. The wind is caused by the appellation’s proximity to Sentinel Gap two miles to the south. Sentinel Gap is a 1,500-foot tall, 1.5 mile wide break in the Saddle Mountains where the Columbia River cuts through.
Winds in the area generally come from the south and southwest, accelerating as they pass through Sentinel Gap and then slowing down. According the appellation application, wind at Beverly is, on average, 2.8 miles faster and 5.6 miles faster at daily maximum speeds compared to the nearby Royal Slope.
“It is incredibly windy up there,” says Rebecca De Kleine, general manager and director of winemaking at Four Feathers Wine Services, a custom crush facility that sources fruit from the region.
Well-drained soils
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This article has been updated.
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Always informative and well written. Thanks
Sean, love me some geology.