The Columbia Gorge AVA is named after an 80-mile stretch of the mighty Columia River as it makes its way west to the Pacific. Vineyards are located on both banks of the river with the north bank lying in Washington and the south bank in Oregon. The region extends west along the river from the border with the giant Columbia Valley AVA. As a cooler region, this is only one of three Washington AVAs where plantings of white grapes outnumber reds; the other two being the Yakima Valley and Ancient Lakes. The Washington vineyards are planted on the preferred south-facing slopes and can thus take advantage of extended ripening.

The region is bordered on the west by the Cascades and the rain shadow creates radically different micro-climates within the appellation. Annual rainfall decreases at the rate of about one inch per mile from west to east, such that while the western section receives 36 inches per year, the eastern section receives a mere ten inches. As such, it is difficult to generalize about the appellation as a whole other than saying that the western end of the appellation has more of a maritime influence that favors cool climate varietals, and whites in particular, while reds make a greater appearance in the eastern end. The region has about 300 acres under vine split between 40 individual vineyards. (Wine/Appellations)