(SeattleTimes) - Ed Shaw came to Red Mountain in the 1990s, when "there were not nearly the vineyards and hardly any wineries."

Times have changed.

Red Mountain today is home to an internationally-known appellation with a growing number of wineries and hundreds of acres of vines. Grapes grown on the mountain fetch three times the state average.

Further growth on the ridge between West Richland and Benton City is inevitable.

"It's going to happen," said Shaw, who has Portrait Cellars and E & E Shaw Vineyards on Red Mountain. "We just want it to happen in a responsible way that doesn't destroy what people come here to see."

He and a group of Red Mountain stakeholders - including Benton County officials, winery and vineyard operators, landowners and local agencies - have been working since the mid-2000s on a plan to guide that future development.

Benton County commissioners last week approved the Red Mountain AVA Master Site Plan in a unanimous vote. It includes a vision for the area, guiding principles, recommendations and strategies.