Monday, August 16, 2010

Geology Inspired Wine - Its all in the Dirt

I was given this wine cork last week. It was from a bottle produced by Glacial Lake Missoula Wine Company http://glmwine.com/. I have not tried the wine but appreciated that those drinking it thought of me.
The Missoula Flood deposits underlie the majority of vineyards in eastern Washington and the flood has become a big part of the story for the eastern Washington wine growing region. Any vineyards below an elevation of 1,250 feet are likely growing from Missoula Flood deposits. This winery appreciates the geology as all the vineyards they use as from the Yakima Valley. The winery itself is located in Blaine, Washington in the northwest corner of the state well outside the deluge area. Blaine was under 5,000 feet of ice when the deluge events took place.
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2 comments:

  1. Blue SunflowerAugust 16, 2010 at 6:47 PM

    In the Willamette Valley a lot of vineyards are just above the flood deposits in order to easier "stress" the wines. Scott Burns (Portland State University) does a lot of research on this.

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  2. Dan McShaneAugust 17, 2010 at 9:06 AM

    I have been learning a bit about stressing of vines especially in areas underlain by permeable soils. Thanks for the information, I'll have to look for that next time I am in the Willamette. In the case of the Willamette Valley the general elevation of the flood is 400 feet and most of the Willamette flood deposits are on the silty size with an occasional ice rafted eratic. I have really appreciated the work Scott Burns has done on the lower Columbia.

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