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The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater AVA facts for kids

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The Rocks District
Wine region
The Rocks AVA map.JPG
Rough location of The Rocks District (red) within Walla Walla AVA (black)
Official name The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater Viticultural Area
Type American Viticultural Area
Year established 2015
Country United States
Part of Columbia Valley AVA and Walla Walla AVA, Oregon
Climate region Arid
Soil conditions cobbles
Total area 3,770 acres (1,526 ha)
Size of planted vineyards 250 acres (101 ha)
No. of vineyards 19
Grapes produced cabernet franc, grenache, malbec, Syrah, tempranillo, viognier
No. of wineries 3 or 4
The Rocks District Rocks
The Rocks District signature cobblestones

The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater AVA (The Rocks District) is an American Viticultural Area that is a sub-appellation of the Walla Walla Valley AVA, which itself is a sub-appellation of the Columbia Valley AVA.

It is named for the city of Milton-Freewater, Oregon, and a unique alluvial fan resulting in rocky soils with "baseball sized" basalt cobbles covering the earth, and is notable as being "the only AVA in the United States whose boundaries are defined by the soil type". Unique wine flavors are said to result from the mineral composition, hydrology, and temperatures of the volcanic rocks.

History

Washington State geologist and terroir consultant Kevin Pogue submitted the proposal for the new AVA to the U.S. government. The AVA was published for comment in the Federal Register in February 2014, and was established in February 2015.

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