When we published the first issue of Wine Press Northwest in April 1998, there were fewer than 250 wineries in Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and Idaho. In fact, for the first three years, we were actually able to list all the wineries that had tasting rooms, along with their hours.
We published two issues the first year. Starting in 1999, we bumped the frequency to quarterly and decided we would keep it that way until it was time to expand further.
That time has arrived.
The Pacific Northwest is closing in on 700 wineries, led by Oregon and Washington with more than 250 each. British Columbia has exploded from some 35 in '98 to about 125 today. And Idaho has doubled its industry to more than 25 wineries. Even Western Montana has gotten into the act, going from one winery in 1998 to four today.
So beginning with the Winter issue of Wine Press Northwest (now known as the Jan./Feb. issue), we will increase to six issues. The reasons are many, including the fact that the success of this publication has drawn enough readers and advertisers to make expansion financially viable.
But the key reason for moving to bi-monthly is the wine.
One of the most popular features in Wine Press Northwest is the wine reviews. We judge all wines that appear in these pages under strict blind conditions, meaning we don't know who made the wines, and often we don't know the variety or style. Because of the increasing number of wineries, we're now tasting at least 40 or 50 wines per week. We have room for about 250 wine reviews per issue, which means some reviews don't make it to our readers in a timely fashion.
By increasing the number of issues and devoting more space to reviews, we'll be able to review at least 1,500 Northwest wines per year. That's good for wineries and better for wine lovers. And it's great for us because we get to taste even more wines, something for which we have a deep passion.
With this move comes more change, the first of which you will notice on Page 5: Eric Degerman has been named managing editor of Wine Press Northwest. This is the first internal personnel addition we've made since the magazine started nearly eight years ago.
Eric is no stranger to Wine Press; in fact, this whole operation sprang from a conversation he and I had in October 1997 when we were sitting around discussing the lack of coverage the Northwest received from national wine magazines. We're both newspaper guys at the Tri-City Herald, a mid-sized daily in the heart of Washington wine country. As we waited for the press to start early one morning, Eric uttered in exasperation, "Someone just needs to start a wine magazine for this area!" I went home and thought about it, then went to my publisher the next day and said, "I want to start a wine magazine, and I want you to pay for it." Almost without hesitation, he said, "Sure, why not."
When we published the first issue, I was named editor and took the project forward, with Eric always deeply involved even though he had a full-time job elsewhere within our organization. For the past several years, Eric has held the title of associate editor, but now he is a full-time member of the magazine staff as managing editor. He and I will jointly oversee every aspect of the magazine's operations and development.
In recent issues, you might have noticed other changes. Teri Citterman's column, Urban Sips, speaks to young, hip city dwellers. Whether you're in an urban or rural area (or someplace in between), travel in the Northwest is delightful, so we have added features on places to go and things to do while wine touring. As we move forward, you'll see more of this within our pages.
Most of the changes we've made have come after suggestions from our readers. As Wine Press Northwest evolves, we continue to appreciate your thoughts and ideas of where else we should go and what we should provide.
* * *
The Washington wine industry lost a good friend this summer.
Joel Mills, owner/winemaker for Widgeon Hill Winery in Chehalis, Wash., died in early July of a heart attack. He was 63.
Joel was passionate about winemaking and focused on wine from Yakima Valley grapes, primarily Merlot, Syrah and Chenin Blanc. He was perhaps best known for using the artwork of Dixie Rogerson-Bill on his labels (one of which graced our cover in 2003).
Joel began making wine in 1990 and launched his commercial operation in 1996. At wine festivals, Joel and I would catch up with each other and talk about what we were up to. I always enjoyed our conversations, and we ultimately became friends.
I will miss those conversations, and I will miss Joel.
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