The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater AVA

The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater is an American Viticultural Area in Umatilla County, Oregon, near the town of Milton-Freewater. It lies entirely within the Oregon portion of the Walla Walla Valley AVA (27 CFR 9.91), which covers portions of Walla Walla County, Washington and Umatilla County, Oregon; the Walla Walla Valley AVA is in turn entirely within the larger Columbia Valley AVA (27 CFR 9.74). The regulation is 27 CFR 9.249. The petition came from Dr. Kevin R. Pogue, a professor of geology at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. TTB published the proposal as Notice No. 142 in the Federal Register on February 26, 2014 (79 FR 10742) and established the AVA by T.D. TTB-127, published February 9, 2015 (Federal Register Vol. 80, No. 26) and effective March 11, 2015. TTB also determined that the new AVA remains part of both the Walla Walla Valley and Columbia Valley AVAs: its elevations, topography, growing season and climate are similar to theirs, but approximately 96 percent of it is covered by heavily cobbled Freewater series soils, which are found only in minuscule amounts elsewhere in those two AVAs. The area contains approximately 3,770 acres and, at the time of the petition, approximately 250 acres of commercially producing vineyards; the petition named 19 wine producers with vineyards in the area, three of which also had winery facilities there. Both "The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater" and "The Rocks of Milton-Freewater" are terms of viticultural significance under the rule. The boundary is drawn on two USGS 1:24,000 scale maps, Milton-Freewater and Bowlus Hill, and runs in straight lines between road intersections near Milton-Freewater, along the Union Pacific railroad tracks from the Walla Walla River, and to points on the 800-foot, 840-foot and 980-foot elevation contour lines. The name comes from the cobblestone-rich soil near the town: Milton and Freewater were founded in the late 1800s and merged in 1951 to become Milton-Freewater, and a 1906 magazine article included in the petition shows the area has long been associated with its unusually rocky soil.

• 27 CFR 9.249; T.D. TTB-127 (Federal Register Vol. 80, No. 26, February 9, 2015), effective March 11, 2015; proposed in Notice No. 142 (79 FR 10742, February 26, 2014)
• Umatilla County, Oregon; entirely within the Oregon portion of the Walla Walla Valley AVA, and part of the Columbia Valley AVA
• Approximately 3,770 acres; approximately 250 acres of commercially producing vineyards and 19 named producers with vineyards at the time of the petition
• Boundary on the Milton-Freewater and Bowlus Hill USGS maps; follows the Union Pacific railroad tracks for 1.2 miles, with road intersections, the Walla Walla River and the 800-foot, 840-foot and 980-foot contour lines as intersection points

The area lies on an alluvial fan of the Walla Walla River, where the river exits the foothills of the Blue Mountains and enters the Walla Walla Valley, and its soils are basalt-derived. Cayuse and Saviah both trace the stones to basalt washed down from the Blue Mountains. Approximately 96 percent of the area is covered with soil from the Freewater series, including Freewater very cobbly loam and Freewater gravelly silt loam. These soils contain large amounts of loose, uncemented gravel, cobbles and boulders that form very deep layers, and vine roots can grow down between the stones: the final rule gives a depth of 30 feet or more before roots hit a restrictive layer of bedrock or cemented soil, and the proposed rule a depth of 30 to 50 feet. In the petition's account, the rockiness of Freewater series soils prevents erosion and discourages rot and mildew by allowing water to drain freely; these soils transmit water at rates in excess of 20 inches an hour, while the finer soils around the area drain at less than 2 inches per hour. In the petition's account, the numerous cobbles absorb and store solar radiation, which raises the soil and air temperatures and reduces the risk of frost damage in the late spring and early fall. A study in the petition compared a vineyard on Freewater series soil with a vineyard on grass-covered loess soil; the greatest difference was at the soil surface, approximately 4.5 degrees Celsius warmer in the rocky vineyard, and at night the soil slowly releases the stored heat. Freewater series soils contain high amounts of calcium, titanium and iron, while the surrounding silt loams contain lower levels, are not as deep and are often underlain by dense, compacted layers of sand and silt called Touchet beds. The plant-available iron level in a vineyard inside the area was approximately 72 milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg), against a highest level of approximately 45 mg/kg in the surrounding region. The 2014 proposed rule records a climate similar to that of the Walla Walla Valley AVA: a growing season of approximately 197 days, an average rainfall of approximately 14 inches, and elevations between 850 and 1,000 feet. The lowest elevations in the area are higher than the lowest elevations of the Walla Walla Valley AVA and are not as susceptible to frost and freeze risks related to nocturnal temperature inversions.

• Alluvial fan of the Walla Walla River where the river exits the Blue Mountains foothills; soils basalt-derived
• About 96 percent Freewater series soils: loose, uncemented gravel, cobbles and boulders in very deep layers that transmit water at more than 20 inches an hour
• Cobbles absorb and store solar radiation (petition), raising soil and air temperatures and reducing frost risk in the late spring and early fall
• Petition figures: growing season about 197 days, average rainfall about 14 inches, elevations 850 to 1,000 feet

Christophe Baron's story began near the village of Charly-sur-Marne in the Champagne region of France. He was the youngest of the Champagne house Baron Albert, and his ancestors had worked the land since 1677. After studying viticulture in Champagne and Burgundy, he first came to the Walla Walla Valley in 1993 for a winery internship. In April 1996, back in Walla Walla for a social visit, he drove on the Oregon side of the valley and saw an open field littered with acres of softball-sized stones; he dropped his plan to start a Willamette Valley vineyard and resolved to buy the property and plant a vineyard. In Cayuse's own telling, the terroir reminded him of the cobblestones of the southern Rhône valley and Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and he had seen similar terroir in the "galets roulés" (rolled stone) vineyards of southern France. He planted his first vineyard in the stones on March 21, 1997, and named the venture Cayuse Vineyards after a Native American tribe whose name, the winery explains, was derived from the French word "cailloux", meaning stones. Cailloux Vineyard, 10 acres, was the first Cayuse vineyard planted in the stones of Milton-Freewater, in 1997, and produces the wine Cayuse calls its flagship, Cailloux Vineyard Syrah. Cayuse farms five vineyards spread over 47 acres in the Walla Walla Valley, all planted in stony soil and averaging a yield of two tons per acre, and all Cayuse wines are made from estate fruit. Syrah is the dominant variety, with Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, Merlot, Tempranillo and Viognier making up the balance. The other four vineyards are Coccinelle (4.5 acres, first planted in 1998, the source of Bionic Frog Syrah), En Cerise (10 acres, planted in 1998 on a former cherry orchard), En Chamberlin (10 acres, planted in 2000 on phylloxera-resistant rootstock) and Armada (7 acres, created in 2001 at 1,815 vines per acre). Cayuse has been farmed organically from the beginning, and the winery counts itself the first domaine in the Walla Walla Valley to fully implement biodynamic farming, in 2002.

• Christophe Baron: first in the Walla Walla Valley in 1993 for a winery internship; saw the stone field on the Oregon side in April 1996
• First vineyard planted March 21, 1997: Cailloux Vineyard, 10 acres, source of Cailloux Vineyard Syrah
• Five vineyards over 47 acres in the Walla Walla Valley (Cailloux, Coccinelle, En Cerise, En Chamberlin, Armada); Syrah dominant; estate fruit only
• Farmed organically from the beginning; biodynamic farming fully implemented in 2002

Saviah Cellars was founded in 2000 by Richard and Anita Funk in the Walla Walla Valley of southeastern Washington, and its fruit is sourced mainly from the Walla Walla Valley, including estate vineyards in The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater. Three of its estate vineyards lie in the district: Funk Estate (Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon), planted in 2007 on the apex of the alluvial fan that makes up the AVA; Stones Speak (Syrah, Tempranillo, Viognier), planted in 2016; and Watermill (Cabernet Franc, Mourvèdre, Syrah, Tempranillo), at 880 to 900 feet on the south side of the Walla Walla Valley AVA in Oregon. Saviah characterizes Watermill's wines as savory, with notes of roasted meat, olive tapenade, flowers and mineral.

• Saviah Cellars: founded 2000 by Richard and Anita Funk; estate vineyards in the district are Funk Estate (2007), Stones Speak (2016) and Watermill
• Funk Estate Vineyard sits on the apex of the alluvial fan that makes up the AVA

Primary sources (TTB regulation via ecfr.gov; the Federal Register final and proposed rules via govinfo.gov): https://www.ecfr.gov/api/renderer/v1/content/enhanced/current/title-27?part=9&section=9.249, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2015-02-09/pdf/2015-02553.pdf, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2014-02-26/pdf/2014-04137.pdf. Producer own sites, for each producer's own facts only: Cayuse Vineyards https://cayusevineyards.com/static/about.aspx, https://cayusevineyards.com/static/vineyards-overview.aspx, https://cayusevineyards.com/static/vineyards-farming.aspx, https://cayusevineyards.com/static/vineyards-geology.aspx; Saviah Cellars https://www.saviahcellars.com/about/our-history/, https://www.saviahcellars.com/membership/rocks-district-allocation/, https://www.saviahcellars.com/vineyards/estate-vineyards/, https://www.saviahcellars.com/vineyards/estate-vineyards/watermill-estate/. The soil depth, drainage, temperature, iron, growing-season, rainfall and elevation figures are the petition's evidence as TTB's 2014 proposed rule (Notice No. 142) and 2015 final rule (T.D. TTB-127) record them; the acreage and producer counts date from the 2014 to 2015 rulemaking. Last verified 2026-11-09