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Washington

With 18 recognized AVAs, Washington is the second-largest wine-producing state in the United States. Most of these AVAs are located in the east, centered around the valleys of Walla Walla, the Columbia River and Yakima. The grape varieties that thrive here are numerous: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling and Pinot Gris all continue to make increasingly compelling wines. Washington wines thrive in dry, semi-arid conditions far from the Pacific Ocean and are protected from the Pacific Northwest rain shadow by the Olympic and Cascade mountain ranges. Washington owes its unique terroir to the historic Missoula Floods, which swept through the region 10,000 years ago, stripping away the earth and replacing it with sandy soils from modern-day Utah, Idaho and Montana.