Snipes Mountain is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in the Yakima Valley of Washington state. It was established by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), Treasury on January 21, 2009 as the state's 10th AVA. It is the second smallest AVA in the state, after the Red Mountain AVA, and has one of the state's longest viticultural histories. The 4,145 acres (6 sq mi) appellation is a sub-AVA of the Yakima Valley AVA and the Columbia Valley AVA. It is located above and between the towns of Sunnyside and Granger around Outlook, Washington, in the southeast corner of the Yakima Valley.

History

Snipes Mountain was named for Ben Snipes, an early Yakima County pioneer who built a house at the base of a mountain in the 1850s and developed an expansive cattle operation. Upland Vineyards, was first established in 1917 by Washington State wine pioneer William B. Bridgman. The vineyard on Snipes Mountain was one of the first to plant the European Vitis vinifera varieties of Semillon and Pinot noir in Washington. The petition to TTB was submitted by Mr. Todd Newhouse, of the Upland Winery in Outlook, Washington on behalf of area grape growers proposing the establishment of the viticultural area named "Snipes Mountain."

Terroir

The viticultural area is centered around Snipes Mountain, a 7 miles (11 km) long anticline ridge with a 1,290 feet (393 m) peak that rises from the floor of the Yakima Valley with comparatively unique, rocky soils, called Aridisols. The viticultural area also includes Harrison Hill, which lies contiguously east of Snipes Mountain and has similar soil and topography.

Snipes Mountain viticultural area, like much of Eastern Washington, is located in the rain shadow of the Cascade Mountains which contributes to the warm and dry climate of the region. Soil deposits below the area are composed of gravels and settlements left by ancient river beds that the Columbia River once followed. These deposits range in size from that of a human fist to large melons. The mountain itself was created by fault activity.