Washington state's wine history dates back as early as 1825, when French, German, and Italian immigrants planted vines. As in many other areas of the United States, however, Prohibition in the 1920's dealt a huge blow to Washington's wine business. After prohibition there were a few small wineries scattered across the state that produced very inexpensive wine from local varities. Two of them included Pomerelle and Nawico, which make up part of one of Washington's most well known and largest winery, Chateau Sainte Michelle. Chateau Ste Michelle brought in Andre Tchelistcheff, the famous winemaker from Napa, to establish the winery.

Washington state has a large variety of of grapes being grown, and a lot of it is very high quality. In the last 30 years the number of wineries in the state has grown from about 20, to about 240 today. The area is located at a latitude that it right between Burgundy and Bourdeax. It has lots of sunlight, and the many rivers, lakes, and the influence of the Pacific ocean have created a number of different areas that can grow the wide diversity of grapes.