Evidence of the Missoula floods is all around the landscape on Red Mountain, and its presence is one of the secret ingredients for Hedges Wines. At Hedges, think of our story beginning roughly 15,000 - 13,000 years ago, near the end of the last Ice Age. If we took a journey back in time, we’d see that the entire region was covered in a 2-mile tall ice sheet towards the end of the Last Glacial Maximum. We could use a Game of Thrones reference here, yet it wouldn’t be grandiose enough. The region from Northern Oregon, Eastern Washington, Idaho, into Montana and Canada was completely frozen under nearly 3 trillion gallons of water. What happens to the frozen tundra is the stuff of cataclysmic nightmares. While the starting cause of the melting is debated, the entire ice sheet melts very quickly; over a few thousand years and over the course of many large floods. From what we have pieced together from indigenous oral traditions and geological evidence, this flooding was apocalyptic. It was so catastrophic that it tore incredible gashes through the land as it searched for sea level. On its mission, it ripped through the Columbia River Gorge, forming the massive Columbia River, which is the 4th largest in North America. In the Channeled Scablands, Dry Falls, and Soap Lake, the force of the water uncovered hidden aquifers which now present as lakes. Dry Falls was the world’s largest waterfall (that we know of) and it eroded the land and pushed huge basalt boulders across great distances. In fact, icebergs from Canada made their way into Washington, leaving exotic rocks and mineral deposits called erratics. The flood forever altered the landscape of Eastern Washington.
Near the Hedges Estate at Wallula Gap, there are up to 4000 foot high rock walls stretching above the water, and you can drive nearly the length of the state beginning just east of the Winey in Kennewick. As you drive West through the gorge along the Washington/Oregon border you will reach Portland, Oregon and the end of the river, as it spills into the Pacific Ocean. The flood forever altered the landscape of Eastern Washington. People familiar with Washington State think of the notable mountains like Rainier, Adams, and St. Helens. It would be an interesting time travel trip to see what Eastern Washington would’ve looked like prior to the last Ice Age, and one of the clues is in a natural monument called the Twin Sisters, along the Columbia River in the Wallula Gap.
The Twin Sisters is an almost unbelievable pair of pillars made from basalt, the final remnants of flood waters carving out and changing the landscape. They stretch high above the tiny two-lane highway below, a mythic oddity supplied with a Native American legend about the trickster god Coyote, who married two of three sisters and, growing bored, turned them into the pillars, and the third into a cave nearby. As the flood was manipulating and changing the landscape, it was extracting rare minerals from the region. Interestingly, the mountains of Eastern Washington look like the beach at low tide, when the waves recede and leave a cracking landscape.
As this drastic change was happening, just 30 miles west, Red Mountain was undergoing a series of changes as well. When the waters began to recede, Red Mountain received a unique soil deposit, distinctive enough to differentiate itself from the nearby Walla Walla growing region. The soil content is made up of sandy loam and gravel, with a high pH and calcium carbonate rich content. Some would say that it’s not the best place to build a house, but is a perfect place to grow Cabernet, Merlot, and Syrah grapes. The vines are irrigated between deep wells and the Yakima River, while the annual rainfall is 5 to 6 inches. In total, the Red Mountain American Viticultural Area (AVA) is 4,538 acres, of which Hedges has 101 planted acres and is certified Biodynamic and Organic. While not as colossal as the nearby mountains like Rainier, Adams, and St. Helens, Red Mountain, at its peak, is 1400 feet. We invite you to further explore the history of the region and marvel at the powerful force that carved it out, all while sipping on some of the beautiful Hedges wine that owes itself to the Missoula floods.
