DRINK

Build it and they will come - Grapes in the Touchet Valley. Land in the Touchet valley has long been worked as prime wheat growing acreage and with good reason.

The loess soils, long growing days and softly undulating hills are perfect for grain - and for the ease of harvest that the gentle slopes of the rolling hills afford. Those same attributes make for perfect vineyard conditions too, so it came as a surprise to me that more vineyards are not planted out north of Walla Walla. I discovered there is a good news/bad news paradox here in the Touchet that has slowed further vineyard development.

The good news is that the entire region, both the Walla Walla American Viticulture Area and the Touchet Valley just to the north are perfect for growing extraordinarily quality wine grapes as we all now know. Our gently roll- ing hills are ideal for creating the microclimates that can lead to amazing fruit, and eventually the wine that comes from it.

Where Walla Walla is predominately flat, and that's OK for grape growing, the gently rolling hills to the north are much better. One of the advantages that these rolling hills give is aspect ratio - the ability to situate a vineyard to take full advantage of not only the arc of the sun throughout the growing season, but also to take ad- vantage of air flow through the vines.

More good news is these rolling hills afford a wide variety of microclimates, which are the collection of characteristics which can make a site desirable or not so. The soils, airflow and air drainage capabilities, annual average precipitation, annual averages for sun and heat throughout a growing season - collectively known as heat units - and more all make up the microclimate of a vine- yard - the characteristics which make up a site's terroir.

The loess soils of our region are second to none for crops in the west. Let loose from Lake Missoula eons ago, the soft, silty complex soil layers are interspersed in many places with alluvial rock lending more complexity to our lands for the grape.

Now for the bad news -- the prime limiting factor is water, and access to it has prevented the expansion of grapes into the Touchet since the early days of the in- dustry. Grapes don't need a lot of water once they are established but irrigation in the first years of a vineyard is critical to young vine survival. Some, like the Corkrum Family of Spring Valley Vineyards, go to extreme mea- sures to get water to the vines. In their case, a 1,300-foot well was the answer to bringing water to the vines.

Another factor is wheat and our wheat growers like space and the ease of harvest of a continuous run of grain across the hills and dales is an attractive thing. Carving out a section of wheat to plant grapes seems crazy. It's expen- sive, time and labor intensive, and prone to more problems than an electoral candidate. But it has been done and the results are often stunning.

Only a couple of vineyards thrive today in the area, but they produce remarkable fruit.

Biscuit Ridge Vineyard - originally planted by Jack and Helen Durham in the early 1980s has long been known as the source of the Gewürztraminer that Three Rivers turned into its award-winning late harvest desert wine.

Whereas Spring Valley Vineyard is a showcase vine- yard of what can be done north of Walla Walla proper. Planted out with cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc, petit verdot, malbec and syrah, the bold rich wines are filled with terroir and power.

New vineyards will eventually make their way north into the Touchet Valley though a mad rush is not likely anytime soon. I look forward to the new projects that are rumored on the horizon because vineyards and the wineries bring tourism and dollars to the region in a way that other industries just can't do - with style and beauty.