Marissa Dineen, Carly Faulk, and Joe Hattrup - Intentional Marketing of the Hills AVA
This podcast features 3 growers of wine grapes in the Rattlesnake Hills AVA: Marissa Dineen, Joe Hattrup, and Carly Faulk. Marissa is owner of Dineen Vineyards and Winery, Joe owns Elephant Mountain and Sugarloaf Vineyards, and Carly is a vineyard manager for Four Feathers Wine Services. Although grapevines were first planted in the Rattlesnake Hills in 1968 and the AVA originated in 2006, there is new energy and organization happening in this WA wine region. Established wineries are being reimagined, new wineries are popping up, and there is a new Hills Winegrowing Association dedicated to more intentional marketing of this often underappreciated wine region. Marissa and Carly are on the board of this association, whose goals and plans will be one topic of this podcast. We will also discuss what makes the Rattlesnake Hills such a distinct and special place to grow grapes and make wine.
The Yakima Valley is a sub-AVA of the much larger Columbia Valley, and it has 5 sub AVAs, one of which is the Rattlesnake Hills established in 2006. The Hills AVA contains roughly 68,000 acres located between the towns of Yakima and Kennewick, with nearly 2000 acres planted to grapevines. The area is generally higher in elevation than the rest of the Yakima Valley. In fact, when Joe planted Elephant Mountain Vineyard in 1998, it was the highest commercial vineyard in the state. In this podcast, we discuss the many benefits of the Rattlesnake Hills for grapevines, including such things as high elevation sites, climate, soils and more.
Listen to the Interview: