Vineyards – State 42 Wines

When naming our winery State 42, we knew that we wanted our focus to be on making wine from all over Washington while highlighting varietals we love from the perfect spots where each should be grown! We have sought out 13 different vineyards that we are currently sourcing from based on the climate, soil profile and the vineyards dedication to organic/sustainable farming practices. The vineyards we source from fall within the following AVAs or American Viticultural Areas.

The Columbia Gorge AVA

We contract with multiple vineyards on and near Underwood Mt., which is an ancient volcano! The are is rich in volcanic soil on top of layers of basalt. Once the vines are established they are dry farmed which is very rare in Washington. This forces the roots to dive deep for moisture and they produce bright, mineral driven grapes that make delicious structured wine! Side note- we farmed a vineyard in White Salmon when we were getting our start in the wine industry and fell hard for this area. If you haven’t been we suggest you make a weekend trip soon!

Walla Walla AVA

We love Walla Walla for Reds! Most of the oldest and most prestigious wineries in Washington have vineyards or source their grapes from this amazing AVA. With the heat of July and August coupled with the chilly nights and mornings of September the perfect ripeness can be achieved while still holding the balance and acidity needed for a bold but balanced wine. The Missoula Floods deposited silt atop layers of basalt which give the region its special soil profile. We are lucky to source from multiple vineyards in this region including the spectacular Seven Hills Vineyard.

Horse Heaven Hills

South Facing slopes along the Columbia River make this one of the most arid growing regions in Washington. The wind rips through this area which encourages the vine to toughen up the skins giving the grapes more tannin and backbone. We use 3 different vineyards in this AVA.

Rattlesnake Hills AVA

What really sets this AVA apart from much of Eastern Washington is the elevation. Some of the highest elevation vineyards in Washington are in this area. This creates more temperature range during the months close to harvest which helps the grapes to retain acid. This is where we source many of our Rhone varietals.

Yakima Valley AVA

We source our Malbec here. The vines struggle like nowhere else we have seen. They grow in incredibly shallow Loess soil over big outcroppings of basalt over the Yakima River. This struggle along with the heat and the temperature fluctuation from the river makes for vineyards that have low yield but very condensed fruit that makes for big and bold yet very balanced wines. We now contract from 2 small vineyards here and feel very lucky to have found what we think is the best spot for Malbec which is our most popular wine.

Candy Mountain AVA – One of Washington’s newest AVAs

This new AVA is at the base of Red Mt, which is known for growing big bold Reds. Being a bit lower on the mountain and closer to the river we are excited to see how this vineyard can hold some acidity while fully ripening Mourvèdre. Very excited to work with Candy Mountain Vineyard for the first time.

Columbia Valley AVA

One of our very favorite vineyards to work with sits by its lonesome Northwest of Walla Walla and is in the broader Columbia Valley AVA. These vines were planted in the 90’s and grown in basalt outcroppings high above the snake river. The views here are amazing, and so are the Bordeaux varietals we source here. There are many different elevations and soil profiles within one vineyard making it a very unique site.