Comment from Irvine, Ronald A.

I support the naming of Snipes Mountain as a new AVA. It is both viticulturally unique and distinct and historically very important. Dr. Walter Clore and I co-authored The Wine Project: Washington State's Winemaking History. In it we detail the distinctive features of Snipes Mountain and its immediate neighbor, Harrison Hill. We describe the rocky soils and the unique quality of the wines. Grapes were first planted on Harrison Hill in 1912, wine grapes were added in 1914 at another vineyard on Snipes in 1914. WB Bridgman understood the importance of this uplift in its ability to distinquish itself from the surrounding valley floor. Dr. Clore, considered the father of the grape and wine industry in Washington State notes that the this site is particularly good for the Chardonnay grape. Also, it was here that WB Bridgman encouraged Dr. Clore to increase plantings of wine grapes at the WSU research facility in Prosser. Snipes Mountain and neighboring Harrison Hill are the foundation soils of the Yakima Valley; distinctively stony and ancient, unique in all aspects.