Prosser earned its reputation not as the site of Washington's first vineyard, but as the center of the research and innovation that made Washington wine world-class. Since 1917, WSU's research center here has driven the science behind the vines. Dr. Walter Clore spent decades evaluating grape varieties and working directly with growers — laying the foundation that wineries like Hogue Cellars and Columbia Crest were built on. More than a century later, Prosser still stands at the center of Washington wine.