The Grapevine: Washington State a standout in wine production

The Grapevine: Washington State a standout in wine production

BY TIM DWIGHT • FOR FLORIDA TODAY • June 11, 2009


"I suspect that most wine drinkers would be a bit perplexed if asked to name the state with the second largest premium wine production in the U.S.; California is an easy guess for number one, but the wines of Washington State remain under the radar of most wine aficionados."

With that statement nearly five years ago, I began an initial column here in "The Grapevine" on Washington State wines. Much has changed in that time, and I'd offer with some certainty that the wines of this state have made significant inroads with the wine-consuming public.

Numbering 350 in '05, Washington recently celebrated its 600th opening, nearly doubling the size of bonded wineries in a remarkably short time. And while those numbers pale next to their southerly neighbors in California, they certainly represent significant growth -- in quality as well as quantity.

Large Washington operations like Columbia Crest, Chateau Ste. Michelle, Red Diamond and Hogue produce reliable bottlings in the everyday price range from $8 to $15, and these brands challenge more established wineries from California for category dominance.

At the high end, it's a common sight to see cabernets, merlots and syrahs competing for top scores from the critics. As a point of emphasis, a small winery from Snohomish, Wash., specializing in cabernet sauvignon (Quilceda Creek) has managed to score 100 points in critic Robert Parker's Wine Advocate for 3 out of the past 4 vintages. (And the '04, a blot on the record that interrupted the run of perfection? It scored 99 points.)

No other winery -- in Napa, Bordeaux, Tuscany or elsewhere -- can come close to that pinnacle.

For many of us on the east coast, Washington conjures up rainy images of Seattle shorelines and endless pine forests, and there certainly is an element of truth to that vision. But that is also not where most of the state's wine industry is located.

The Cascade Mountain Range, running north to south, bisects the state, and the differences are dramatic as far as weather patterns and geography go. It's not uncommon for Seattle and the western part of the state to tally 50 inches of rain annual. But east of the Cascades in the grape-growing region that stretches across the 120 miles or so of southeastern Washington, they receive 8 to 12 inches a year.

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