Washington State Special Report
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a TIM ATKIN MW SPECIAL REPORT Washington State Special Report by Christy Canterbury MW £12 ¤14 $20 © 2014 Tim Atkin CHRISTY CANTERBURY WASHINGTON STATE Special Report Contents Pg 04 Introduction 05 Winemakers of Washington State 07 The 10 things you need to know 11 Star producers 12 About the tastings 13 Tasting notes 46 Complete scores A-Z 53 Recommended restaurants 53 Further reading Thank you for buying a copy of this report. Please don’t email it to or print it for others. Instead encourage them to pay for their own copy, so that I can continue to write articles and reports for you to enjoy next year. “ You can sense it takes nerve – and intuition – to come here and plant grapevines. ” Page 02 CHRISTY CANTERBURY WASHINGTON STATE Special Report Introduction Trekking from Seattle to Walla Walla in Washington’s southeastern wine territory – from lush, evergreen-covered mountains chilled by Pacific breezes to brown, scrub tree-dappled expanses withering in three-digit (Fahrenheit) heat – feels like traveling between Earth and Mars. The contrasts are striking. You can sense it takes nerve – and intuition – to come here and plant grapevines. Indeed, there is a thriving, tangible pioneer to a vinous spice rack. As Washington continues spirit here with new talent moving in, new to develop, so do its players’ experiments. Rick varieties being planted and new, vinous heights Small at Woodward Canyon has just begun being achieved. Yet, wine production is hardly bottling his Mourvèdre-dominant cuvée, Erratic, new to Washington. Vineyards were established and Betz declares he would bet on Petit Verdot in Walla Walla, the state’s first settlement, by the were he a younger man. While certain varieties 1860s. However, like all other wine producing and vineyards have stood the test of time (things communities across the US, Prohibition being relative in this young region), the potential effectively destroyed this heritage. Washington’s of Washington State is far from tapped out. revival didn’t begin until the 1970s. Furthermore, However, Washington surely is most its success has not come overnight. famously known for its largest winery, Chateau “In the 1970s, the Seattle area was a vinous Ste. Michelle (no circumflex over the first backwater making mostly berry fruit and non- “a”), which is the largest producer of a single vinifera grape wine,” remarked Bob Betz MW. brand of Riesling in the world. Contrary to the Yet, no line drawn in Washington’s near desert conventional idea that chilly and damp Old World sands could remain for long. Local farmers on climates are uniquely suited to cranking out the the eastern side of the Cascade Mountains soon world’s most respectable Riesling, Washington began diversifying into vinifera grapes. Much – with its warm, arid climate – proves time and of this contract fruit was delivered to the big again that it, too, makes excellent bottlings. brands Ste. Michelle and Associated Vintners, Moreover, their Riesling cuvées are also the forerunner to Columbia Winery. At the same impressively reasonably priced. time, hobbyists like Dr. William McAndrew began However, in a somewhat recently developed planting experiments like Celilo in the Columbia winemaking region where production outside Gorge, which has become one of the state’s most large producers’ cellars is often new, small and acclaimed vineyards. family-owned, prices tend to be higher. Value Today, Washington offers the wine lover a is relative though, and it lies in the eye of the lavish diversity of grape varieties and wine styles. beholder. Washington provides value from $10 to Bordeaux and Rhône varieties – both white $25 as well as $50 to $125. It takes some careful and red – are cornerstones. Certain producers sorting to find the wine styles one prefers, but the focus exclusively on either Bordeaux or Rhône rewards are bountiful. varieties, but others produce long line-ups akin Page 04 CHRISTY CANTERBURY WASHINGTON STATE Special Report Winemakers of Washington State Clockwise from top left: Daniel Ferrelli, Chris Upchurch, Christophe Baron, Ben Smith, Ron Coleman, Brandon Moss. Page 05 CHRISTY CANTERBURY WASHINGTON STATE Special Report Clockwise from top left: Bob Betz MW, Scott Greer, Charles Smith, Rick Small, Jon Martinez, Chris Figgins (centre). Page 06 CHRISTY CANTERBURY WASHINGTON STATE Special Report Ten things you need to know A separation of church and state. standing alongside Chateau Ste. Michelle, If it’s true the glory of wine is delivered Hogue, Charles Smith’s ventures and a handful from the sacred soils of heralded of others. vineyards, Washington’s grapegrowers represent The locals so love their Washington wines the Church. Meanwhile, the winemakers who that many are compelled to jump ship at the engage in the technical business of producing, right time in their careers elsewhere. Scott packaging and selling wine personify the State. Greer of Sheridan Vineyard, who left finance for The structure of grapegrowing and farming, noted how people tend to do so saying, winemaking in Washington evolved quite “There’s lots of Boeing people in winemaking. differently than in other parts of the US – and Microsoft types tend to be investors in other in most of the New World for that matter. Many people’s places.” grapegrowers, from the off-the-radar types to Changing gears sometimes requires the most-revered, do not make wine. They only changing addresses. Only one percent of the grow fruit, and that fruit is dispersed far and state’s vines are rooted in Seattle’s Puget Sound wide to cellars all over the state. The cultural area. The remainder lies two to three hours by divide between grapegrowing and winemaking car to the southeast. Some build wineries in the uniquely characterizes Washington State wine. Seattle suburbs, a veritable haven for city slickers Change remains (and surely should be) attached to The Emerald City. Others move to inevitable, and more and more winemakers live by the vines. grow grapes. Most of the grower-winemakers still buy fruit, too, but a few handfuls exclusively Vineyards in the near dessert. use estate fruit. Washington’s vines inhabit a near From wherever the fruit is sourced, the desert environment. The vast swathes vineyards are quite young. Rick Small of of green hillsides separated by dry, brown Woodward Canyon states that vineyards expanses with scraggly trees are striking. The attaining the 15- to 20-year marker are “old” by growing season is remarkably dry, and only Washington standards. More new vineyards are a few high-elevation vineyards in the Blue on the way, too, as over 670 acres (271 hectares) Mountains squeak by without irrigation. Sunny on Red Mountain (almost 520 acres/210 hectares days and chilly nights characterize the growing of which are in the AVA) were put up for auction season, as does a magnanimous quantity of in late November 2013. Despite the track record sunshine. Using Napa Valley’s 38th parallel as Washington has established, it is still a state on the point by which to judge where grapes should the move. be grown in the US is deceiving. A number of the world’s most celebrated vineyards sit The new guard. Today, delving into on the 45th parallel in Europe. Washington’s winemaking in Washington is pretty eastern vineyards lie between the 46th and easy with a bit of coin in the pocket. 47th parallels. These higher latitudes mean Plenty of grapes are available for purchase, and more sunshine hours to complement the cooler the number of winery permits granted seems to nighttime temperatures. Eastern Washinton grow exponentially. Small estimates only 40% of receives about one additional sunshine hour Washington’s 780 wineries own vineyards. Most each day during the growing season than does of the state’s wineries look like micro-producers, California’s Napa and Sonoma Valleys. Page 07 CHRISTY CANTERBURY WASHINGTON STATE Special Report Washington’s sandy soils and extreme as the vines lie between 700 and 800 feet, he dryness help Washington remain blissfully qualifies them as being in a serious “risk zone”. phylloxera free. Only a few cautious – or Indeed, Pepper Bridge suffered terribly in the possibly just curious – farmers like Leonetti’s 1996, 2004 and 2008 arctic blasts. In fact, the Chris Figgins recently have planted some vines 2004 freeze knocked out most of Walla Walla’s on rootstock. crop that year and is believed to have affected as Granted, latitude and sandy soil aren’t many as three-quarters of the vines. everything. Grapegrowing in these harsh In order to protect them during the winter, conditions is not for the faint of heart. some growers undertake the tedious task of burying their vines. Small, however, prefers Water and water rights. Eastern to hope for the best after seeing vines crack Washington’s near desert conditions from the stress of this process. Those cracks are a result of the Cascade Mountains, a coastal invite disease, whatever little there may be in range that absorbs rain inbound from the Pacific Washington State. Tough calls are nothing new Ocean. Only eight inches (20.32 cm) fall on an in this rugged vine-growing environment. average, annual basis. With the exception of some high elevation All-encompassing Columbia vineyards in the southeastern Blue Mountains, Valley. The enormous Columbia growers simply MUST irrigate. DeLille’s Chris Valley encompasses all of Washington’s eastern Upchurch and his Assistant Winemaker Jason vineyards, 99% of the state’s plantings, and Gorski agree that to understand how critical this covers one-third of Washington State. Though is, “You need to stand in the vineyard and feel large in surface area, its acreage committed what it is like to be baked like the vine.” to vine is not. The entirety of Washington has To irrigate, however, you must have access 43,000 acres (17,400 ha) under vine; Napa Valley to water.