Kevin Pogue is a professor of geology at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington, known for his expertise on terroir for winegrape production,[1] a specialty in which he has been termed a "leading global expert".[2] He works both as an academic geologist, and as a consultant for grape farmers and land investors. The New York Times said "[t]he importance of the work of Dr. Pogue...signals the increasing maturity and seriousness of the Washington wine industry.[1] In 2018, Dr. Pogue was the recipient of the Walter Clore Honorarium from the Washington State Wine Commission, for his service as an "ambassador, mentor, and champion of Washington Wines". Dr. Pogue authored the entry for Washington State in the 5th Edition (2023) of the Oxford Companion to Wine.[3]
Early life and education
editPogue is from Lexington, Kentucky.[4] He and received a B.S. in geology from the University of Kentucky, and an M.S. in geology from Idaho State University.[5][6] He received a doctorate in geology from Oregon State University.[7]
The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater AVA
editIn 2013–2014, Pogue did geological research for, and was the petitioner for, the first sub-appellation of the Walla Walla Valley AVA to be called The Rocks District of Milton–Freewater American Viticultural Area (The Rocks AVA).[4][8][9][10][11][12]
Candy Mountain AVA
editPogue is the author of the petition that created the Candy Mountain American Viticultural Area in September 2020. Candy Mountain is a sub-appellation of both the Yakima Valley and Columbia Valley AVAs.[13]
White Bluffs AVA
editPogue is the author of the petition that created White Bluffs American Viticultural Area in June 2021. White Bluffs is a sub-appellation of the Columbia Valley AVA.[14]
Rocky Reach AVA
editPogue is the author of the petition that created Rocky Reach American Viticultural Area in July 2022. Rocky Reach is a sub-appellation of the Columbia Valley AVA.[15]
Beverly, Washington AVA
editPogue is the author of the petition that created the Beverly, Washington American Viticultural Area in October 2024. Beverly, Washington is a sub-appellation of the Columbia Valley AVA.[16]
Rock climbing
editPogue has been a prolific developer of rock climbing routes, particularly in the Pacific Northwest. He began climbing in 1975 in the Red River Gorge in eastern Kentucky, an hour drive east of his home in Lexington. He made early ascents of many traditional climbing routes and participated in several traditional first free ascents with his primary partner, Ed Pearsall, whom he encouraged to write the Red River Gorge's second climbing guidebook. After moving to Idaho in 1981, Pogue climbed extensively in the City of Rocks. While climbing at the City of Rocks, he began to develop bolt-protected sport climbing routes with his ascent of Conceptual Reality on the Gallstone in 1985.[17] Since that time Pogue has developed many very popular routes in the City of Rocks and adjoining Castle Rocks State Park, including Theater of Shadows, Sinocranium, Big Time, and Mantle Dynamics.[17] On visits to his family in Lexington, Pogue returned to the Red River Gorge and established sport routes including Creature Feature and Pogue Ethics.[18] After moving to Oregon in the mid-1980's, Pogue climbed often at Smith Rock State Park, where he established the climbs Helium Woman and Captain Xenolith in the Dihedrals area.[19] After moving to Washington in 1990 Pogue discovered the basalt columns of Frenchman Coulee near Vantage. He was a pioneer in the development of sport climbing at Frenchman Coulee where he eventually established 38 routes, mostly on the Sunshine Wall, that include Ride'em Cowboy, Vantage Point, and Hakuna Matata.[20] He eventually discovered the andesite cliffs of Spring Mountain, in the Blue Mountains, close to his home in Walla Walla. During the 1990s Pogue established 50 routes at Spring Mountain.[21] Pogue has also developed over 20 routes at an area known as The Dikes in the Blue Mountains near Dayton, Washington,[21] and has contributed extensively to the development of climbing routes at Wallula Gap on the Columbia River.[22] During his travels, Pogue also managed to establish one, now popular route on the Magic Bus formation in Red Rocks called Neon Sunset.[23]
Himalayan geology
editPogue conducted National Science Foundation Research-funded geologic research in the Himalayan foothills of northern Pakistan from 1986 to 1998. This research, in collaboration with The Geological Survey of Pakistan and Peshawar University, focused on the Peshawar Basin, southern Swat and nearby tribal areas. He primarily studied the structure and stratigraphy of the rocks that are transitional from the sedimentary foreland fold-and-thrust belt to the metamorphic hinterland. His research established a stratigraphic and structural framework for this region[24][25] that allowed it be correlated with the tectonostratigraphic subdivisions of the eastern and central Himalaya of Nepal and India[26] Pogue's research also led to the discovery of the first Ordovician rocks in Pakistan[27] and a major episode of rifting during the Late Paleozoic.[28]
Geology of the City of Rocks National Reserve and Castle Rocks State Park
editDuring 2000 to 2002, Pogue conducted Keck Geology Consortium-funded geological research in the granitic landscapes of southern Idaho's Albion Range. This research led to the publication, by the Idaho Geological Survey, of the book "Etched in Stone: The Geology of City of Rocks National Reserve and Castle Rocks State Park"[29] and the establishment of the geology interpretive trail at City of Rocks National Reserve[30]
References
edit- ^ a b Asimov, Eric (April 25, 2013), "In Search of Terroir, Ear to the Ground", The New York Times
- ^ Chen, Eli (October 2, 2013), "Like That Wine? You Might Thank an Earth Scientist", Science Friday, NPR
- ^ Oxford Companion to Wine, Oxford University Press, 5th Ed. p.827-828.
- ^ a b Dalton, Levi; Scala, Erin (May 30, 2014). "Kevin Pogue interview". I'll Drink To That podcast. Episode 176. Retrieved 2014-08-30.
- ^ Staff: Kevin Pogue, Whitman College, archived from the original on 2014-09-03
- ^ Geology department: Kevin Pogue, Whitman College Geology Department
- ^ About us, VinTerra Consulting PLLC
- ^ Richard, Terry (October 16, 2013), "Walla Walla emerges as wine-tasting haven in scenic southeast Washington", The Oregonian
- ^ Richard, Terry (October 21, 2013), "Walla Walla's southside wine district features proposed Milton-Freewater AVA", The Oregonian
- ^ Holden, Ronald (April 2014), Home Grown: A celebration of local culinary enterprise—Kevin Pogue: Champion of Rocks, Seattle Dining!, archived from the original on 2014-09-03, retrieved 2014-08-30
- ^ Steiman, Harvey (February 28, 2013), "New Walla Walla AVA Faces Rocky Road—Washington vintners who use grapes from "The Rocks" won't be able to put it on their labels", Steiman at Large blog, Wine Spectator
- ^ "Proposed Establishment of The Rocks District of Milton–Freewater Viticultural Area" (PDF), Federal Register proposed rules, vol. 79, no. 38, United States Government Printing Office, p. 10743, February 26, 2014
- ^ Federal Register, volume 85, no. 187, p. 60358
- ^ Federal Register, volume 86, no. 115, p. 32186
- ^ Federal Register, volume 87, no. 107, p. 33634
- ^ Federal Register, volume 89, no. 209, p. 85852-85854
- ^ a b City of Rocks and Castle Rocks State Park, by Dave Bingham, Wolverine Publishing, 2016, pages 168, 169, 237, 278, ISBN 978-1-938393-24-2
- ^ The Red, by Brendan Leader, Onsight Photography and Publishing, 2019, pages 20, 32, 33, ISBN 978-0-9580790-9-9
- ^ Rock Climbing Smith Rock State Park, by Alan Watts, Falcon Guides, 1992, page 134, ISBN 978-0-7627-4124-3
- ^ Frenchman Coulee, by Brenden Sullivan and Jim Yoder, Vertical Press Publishers, 2019, pages 110-131, ISBN 978-0-578-48271-2
- ^ a b Northwest Oregon Rock, by Tim Olson, Published by Tim Olson, 2012, pages 317-343, ISBN 978-0-9635660-6-5
- ^ "Rock Climbing in Wallula Gap, Southeast Corner".
- ^ Red Rocks Climbing, by Greg Barnes, Supertopo Publishing, 2004, page 144, ISBN 0-9672391-6-8
- ^ Pogue, K.R., Wardlaw, B.R., Harris, A.G., and Hussain, A., 1992, Paleozoic and Mesozoic Stratigraphy of the Peshawar Basin, Pakistan: Correlations and Implications: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 104, p. 915-927.
- ^ Pogue, K.R., Hylland, M.D., Yeats, R.S., Khattak, W.U., and Hussain, A., 1999, Stratigraphic and structural framework of Himalayan foothills, northern Pakistan, in Macfarlane, A., Sorkhabi, R.B., and Quade, J., eds., Himalaya and Tibet: Mountain Roots to Mountain Tops: Geological Society of America Special Paper 328, p. 257-274.
- ^ DiPietro, J.A., and Pogue, K.R., 2004, Tectonostratigraphic Subdivisions of the Himalaya: A View from the West: Tectonics, v.23, TC5001, doi:10.1029/2003TC001554.
- ^ Pogue, K.R., and Hussain, A., 1986, New light on the stratigraphy of the Nowshera area, Northwest Frontier Province, Pakistan, and the discovery of Lower-Middle Ordovician trace fossils: Geological Survey of Pakistan Information Release no. 135, 15p.
- ^ Pogue, K.R., DiPietro, J.A., Rahim, S., Hughes, S.S., Dilles, J.A., and Lawrence, R.D., 1992, Late Paleozoic rifting in northern Pakistan: Tectonics, v. 11, p. 871-883.
- ^ Pogue, K.R., 2008, Etched in Stone, The Geology of City of Rocks National Reserve and Castle Rocks State Park, Idaho: Idaho Geological Survey Information Circular 63, Moscow, Idaho, 132 p.
- ^ Pogue, K.R., 2004, Self-guided geology trail at City of Rocks National Reserve, southern Idaho: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 36, n. 5, p.416.
Further reading
edit- Mitham, Peter (June 2013), "Topography and Temperature: Research in Columbia Valley links land and growing degree days", Wines and Vines
- Reed, Diane (2014), Legendary locals of Walla Walla, Arcadia, p. 104, ISBN 978-1467101172
- Wilder, Zibby (August 22, 2012), "Kevin Pogue: Washington Wine's Most Wanted "Terroirist"", Seattle Weekly
- Brayton, Adam (November 8, 2012), "Wine sparks academic pursuit", Whitman Pioneer
- Zraly, Kevin; Matthews, Sara (2006), Washington: The State of Wine, Graphics Arts Books, ISBN 978-1558689534
- Geologists debunk soil impact on wine at Ore. talk, Associated Press, October 24, 2009, archived from the original on August 28, 2014 – via The Seattle Times