And specifically those of Washington State – one of which, Columbia Valley, encompasses 11 million acres.
In 1980, the US approved its first American Viticultural Area (AVA), in Missouri. Since then 260 AVAs in 34 states have been added, an average of just over six a year. California has more than half at 143, Oregon has 22 (four are shared between states), Washington has 19 (four shared), and so on. It’s getting to the point that when a new AVA is announced and I start getting press releases, I, perhaps like you, am left wondering, ‘does this matter?’...