Characterizing Inland Pacific Northwest American Viticultural Areas with Geospatial Data

American Viticultural Areas are officially recognized appellations for wine grapes (Vitis vinifera L.). They represent not only geographic identification for growers, but also economic significance through price premiums for grapes from desirable appellations and wines sourcing grapes from such appellations. Petitions for establishment and official descriptions of American Viticultural Areas in the inland Pacific Northwest have traditionally relied on general descriptions of physical attributes and data from point measurements, namely weather stations. Examination of spatial datasets in a geographic information system provides a more holistic means of assessing viticultural areas and a spatially continuous representation of an area. Comparison of spatial datasets to official appellation descriptions largely corroborate petitioners' claims, often with greater detail, but also highlight some shortcomings of official appellation descriptions. By focusing on spatial data representing environmental factors most important to wine grape production, viticultural areas can be described more thoroughly and accurately and appellations may be more appropriately delineated. We examined inland Pacific Northwest American Viticultural Areas with a geographic information system approach, illustrating the utility of spatial datasets in characterization and delineation of American Viticultural Areas.