Washington State Wines

Spent 36 hours in Walla Walla a few weeks ago. Visited five wineries/shops; Cayuse, Canoe Ridge, L' Ecole 41, Woodward Canyon, and Dunham.

Cayuse and Woodward Canyon were the favorites. These two firms seemed to be offering/making wines with a degree of individuality; whereas, the other winery's products seemed to be crafted in a manner to "please-everyone" (that is, rather typical).

Cayuse's most recent Syrah had excellent mouth feel; not terribly tannic, very smooth and very full with a long finish (perhaps a minute or more). Interestingly, the Syrah had been opened the prior day; so perhaps getting some air under it is helpful.

Like you found, the Woodward Canyon's Cabs were a treat; complex but not too heavy. The "old" vines product (if I correctly recall, planted in the

1970's), had such an enjoyable nose, that I almost didn't want/need to drink it.

Canoe Ridge (part of the corporate Chalone Group) had nice whites; especially the Sauvignon Blanc (a good Summer sipper, at a good price), very light in the mouth, not much acid (good for me) and not much fruit flavor (bad).

I found the Dunham Cabernet surprising in it's smoothness considering it's high alcohol content. The Dunham Syrah had an enjoyable "jammy" flavor; and like their Cab., it maintained a "not-too-heavy" mouth considering it's alcohol content.

As for food, we heard that Grapefields is a "must"; but, we opted for dinner at the Whitehouse-Crawford. What a disappointment. Nice enough dining room (converted/renovated sawmill with exposed timbers and plank floors, open kitchen, white linens); but for a "fine" restaurant in a winery-laden area, it only offered +/-6 wines by the glass! The menu was far from inspired; but for a farm town it's probably "fine".

Just my .02 worth, J. Harris

I've tasted the Dunham Syrahs (00 and 01) on a number of occasions (blind and open), and they're very expressive and some of the best in Northwest. The Dunham Cabs have a real following, too, though I'm a bigger fan of the Syrah.

Northstar's quality seems to jump up and down for me. In one tasting, it will show up beautifully. The next time, it will fall flat. It could be bottle variation, but I don't find this much bottle variation in other Stimson Lane wines.

This surprises me. I'm a big fan of L'Ecole and spend a good chunk of my wine budget there. The Cabs and Merlots are beautifully balanced and expressive with good early drinkability and age-worthiness. The Syrah typically is one of the best anywhere in the Northwest. I tend to like the Walla Walla Valley appellation Cabs and Merlots better than the Columbia Valley versions, and those from Seven Hills Vineyard stand out for me.

I was fortunate enough to take part in a 19-year vertical of Woodward's Old Vines Cab, and it was one of my more memorable experiences. I love this wine.

Seven Hills (no relation anymore to the vineyard by the same name) is a class act and consistently great producer, no doubt about it.

Two of my favorites in the Walla Walla Valley are Reininger and Tamarack, which are next to each other at the old airport near Dunham. Reininger makes beautiful Merlot, Cab and Syrah (I spend a lot of money there). Chuck Reininger is a former Mount Rainier climbing guide and now a talented winemaker. Because of the price of his Cab, his nickname is "Thirty-Two Buck Chuck." Ron Coleman runs Tamarack, and he focuses on suave Merlot and Cab. Consistently outstanding efforts.

A newcomer in the valley is Cougar Crest Winery, also at the old airport near Dunham. Its Cab was the top Cab this year at the L.A. County Fair, and its Merlot and Syrah keep winning medals all over the country.

There are about 50 wineries now in Walla Walla, so it's hard to pick out just a few of the top producers, but this should get you started.

Andy Perdue, editor Wine Press Northwest

Pardon my ignorance, but with all the talk about how great the hot, dry weather is going to be for 2003 French wines, I'm curious about how NW wineries deal with all the moisture in that region. Are they setup in areas with less precipitation, or is it dry during the right seasons?

thanks,

-- kov

Man, and my wife convinced me to turn down that Seattle job to stay here in NYC because she thought the weather would be too depressing! Well, she's also phobic of anywhere outside Manhattan ...

Yes, that explains a lot, thanks. It's obvious that they've already got the water thing sorted out as I've had more than a few nice product from there, I was just curious about how. In some ways a no-precipitation region seems ideal, as the growers have ultimate control of the water supply.

Thanks again,

-- kov

NYC may get more rain, but how about days of rain? The other depressing thing about the Northwest is how early it gets dark in the winter (offset by how late it gets dark in summer).

So which wine-growing regions are most similar to Washington? Alsace? Austria?

Dimitri

That's a tough question because of the various factors involved. I think that in terms of climate and moisture (or lack thereof), some of the regions in Australia might qualify. Alsace is worth a mention, not because of the similarity of regions, but because the phenomenon that makes it a great winegrowing region, i.e. the barrier to moisture created by the Vosges Mountains, is similar to the one that makes parts of eastern Washington State good for winegrowing, except that in the latter case it's the Cascade mountains. I'm not knowledgable at all about New Zealand but I seem to recall that there is a similar region there.

And by the way, don't pay much attention to the annual rainfall figures for Seattle (located in western Washington, where there is a strong marine influence). Look at something like days per year of possible sunshine. (Pretty low!) Except for a few varieties like Mueller-Thurgau (sp?), few major wine grape varieties grow well west of the Cascades.

And as mentioned above, the vineyards of eastern Washington are about the same latitude as Burgundy and Bordeaux, meaning that the days are longer (by about two hours) in the summer than they are in places like, say, Napa Valley.

Vino

No. Do you?

Good point. Number of days of sunshine. How many days of sunshine does Washington have compared to New York?

Dimitri

This question makes absolutely no sense, given the differences in climate between western Washington (where Seattle is located and which has a strong marine influence) and eastern Washington (on the other side of the Cascade Mountains, which block most of the moisture that would otherwise come in from the Pacific Ocean) and where (almost) all of the wine grapes are grown.

Vino

Lots of sunshine days in eastern Washington, relatively few in western Washington, although the summers are great in the latter. A common joke is that summer weather in Seattle starts on July 5. This summer has been a bit different. We just set a record for the most consecutive days above 70F. But the rains are coming.

Exactly how this compares with New York I don't know. I suspect there is quite a variation within that state as well although perhaps not a drastic as that in Washington.

Vino

In the heart of Washington's Columbia Valley, where I live, we get about 300 days of sunshine per year and 5-7 inches of precipitation. Because of our northerly climes, we see about two more hours of sunshine per day than California during the growing season. A 30- to

40-degree drop at night throughout the growing season helps to preserve Washington's famous acidity.

The Evergreen State this is not!

Andy Perdue, editor Wine Press Northwest magazine

It could be argued that Washington wine country is similar to the Northern Rhone. We're at about the same latitude, and the Syrah here exhibits a lot of the wild, exotic characteristics of Cote Rotie (perhaps not a fair analogy considering most of Washington's Syrah has been planted since 1996, and there's still fewer than 3,000 acres of Syrah in the state). The days might remind one of California's Central Valley with temperatures consistently in the 90s and low 100s through July and August, though the nights cool off considerably.

It's difficult to equate Washington with other wine regions in the world. We have crappy soil thanks to the Ice Age floods, hot days and cool nights, little precipitation and lots of sunshine. While we don't have the scenery of Napa or Sonoma, the growing season probably is similar (though it starts a few weeks later here).

Andy Perdue, editor

Wine Press Northwest magazine

This sounds almost perfect for producing Rhone-style wine. Crappy soil is a Good Thing. So are hot days and cool nights. I guess the biggest problem is that the season is so short. (Do the freezing winters have an effect?) Are you able to dry-farm in this part of Washington?

Dimitri