In recent years, “volcanic wines” have received a great deal of press. There can be varied definitions, but one is wines made from vines grown on soils with volcanic parent material. Common examples are wines from Mount Etna and Sicily.

Many assume Washington wines are volcanic, given the state’s towering strata volcanoes, most notably Mount Rainier. The reality, however, is considerably more nuanced.

Almost all of the Columbia Valley’s bedrock is volcanic

First things first. The Columbia Valley is Washington’s largest grape growing region and encompasses most of the state’s other viticultural areas. Almost all of the Columbia Valley and greater eastern Washington’s grape growing regions have volcanic bedrock.

In almost all areas, that bedrock is Columbia River Basalt. These massive basalt flows took place 17 to 6 million years ago. The basalt belched from fissures in the earth, as opposed to eruptions from strata volcanos.

There are regions of the Columbia Valley and greater eastern Washington where there is something other than basalt bedrock. However, almost all of these areas have bedrock that is volcanic in nature too. (Editor’s Note: One area that does not have volcanogenic bedrock is the Rocky Reach appellation.)

However, in almost all areas, vines do not interact with volcanic bedrock

While the bedrock throughout the Columbia Valley is volcanic, in most cases, there are thick soils on top of that bedrock. The soils are so thick that, again in most cases, vines will never interact with the underlying bedrock. These overlying soils are generally not volcanic.

As mentioned previously, Washington does have numerous strata volcanoes. Over the course of time, there have been eruptions. For this reason, one can find layers of volcanic ash in various places in the Columbia Valley. Surely these are volcanic soils, right?

Sort of. These ash layers are generally very thin in most places. Therefore, their overall effect relative to the other soils is minor. That said, there is ash. In places, vines grow deep enough to interact with it.

Some places in eastern Washington do unequivocally have volcanic soils

There are places in the Columbia Valley and broader eastern Washington where vines do interact with volcanic material. They are as follows, going from specific areas to more general ones.

1. The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater

The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater is a nested appellation of Walla Walla Valley and broader Columbia Valley. This area is an ancient riverbed, made up of fist-sized basalt cobblestones. Basalt is, again, volcanic material. The vines interact directly with the basalt cobblestones. (Read more about the Rocks District here.)

2. The North Fork of the Walla Walla River

The North Fork of the Walla Walla River in Walla Walla Valley has gained attention with some winegrowers in recent years. In this area, vines are planted on shallow soils above fractured basalt. Examples include Hors Categorie Vineyard and Elevation Vineyard. Force Majeure and Valdemar Estates recently planted vineyards in this region as well. The resulting wines certainly fit the definition of volcanic.

3. Lake Chelan

The Lake Chelan appellation is at the opposite end of the Columbia Valley from Walla Walla Valley. Due to its proximity to Glacier Peak, a strata volcano, the Lake Chelan appellation has a sizable amount of pumice and ash in its soils. Vines planted there interact with these components.

4. Parts of the Columbia Gorge

The Columbia Gorge abuts but is outside of the Columbia Valley. Within this area lies Underwood Mountain, an extinct volcano. Wines grown on and around Underwood Mountain would be considered volcanic. There are also volcanic materials in soils in some other areas of the Columbia Gorge, particularly in the west.

5. Vineyards and parts of vineyards where soils are very shallow

There are other specific vineyards or parts of vineyards where soils are shallow and vines have the opportunity to interact with bedrock. One such example is L’Ecole No. 41’s Ferguson Vineyard in Walla Walla Valley. This is a site where the soils get very shallow at the ridgeline. In other areas of this vineyard, however, soils are deep enough that the vines would never interact with the basalt.

Take home message

Volcanic wines are having a moment, and there is certainly an angle to tell for Washington wine. Overall, however, Columbia Valley wines should not, as a rule, be considered volcanic wines.

That said, there are plenty of areas in the Columbia Valley and broader eastern Washington that do meet the definition. It’s more a question of where specifically the wines are from and what one considers a volcanic wine. We’ll leave for another day how this volcanic material might, or might not, impact the resulting wines.

Editor’s note: See a related article from my time at Wine Enthusiast about the myth that the Columbia Valley has “rich volcanic soils.”

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