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It has long been rumored that the few rows of vines at the entrance to Chateau Ste. Michelle in Woodinville, Wash., were required so the winery could be called a "chateau."
PROSSER -- Construction is expected to start soon on the next phase of what backers say will be the state's premier educational and promotional center for Washington's wines and food products.
This week: Westport Winery Dawn Patrol white. Remembering Tom Stockley. Are you a Washington Wine Super Fan? High-alcohol wines. Wine education seminars. Platinum winners. E-edition. What we're reading. Where in Northwest Wine Country. Field trip to Red Mountain.
Feb. 2, 2010
Vol. 11, No. 5
Wine Press Northwest's Wine of the Week is an independent opinion based on double- and single-blind tastings.
Westport Winery NV Dawn Patrol white wine
Appellation: Washington
This ranks among the most remarkable offerings from this rapidly expanding 2-year-old family operation in Grays Harbor County. It's Riesling that's turned red by raspberry juice. The drink is alluring and very intense from beginning to end, and the texture taunts you into thoughts of picking seeds out of your teeth. There's lip-smacking acidity, which makes it a balanced deck wine with 12.5% residual sugar, so chill it and kill it. Rated "Outstanding" by Wine Press Northwest magazine.
Price: $25.
Cases produced: 360.
Food matches: Enjoy this wine with picnic fare or dessert such as cheesecake.
Westport Winery, 1 S. Arbor Road, Aberdeen, WA 98520, 360-648-2224, www.westportwines.com
-- Gordon Brothers Family Vineyards 2007 Tempranillo, Columbia Valley
-- Elk Cove Vineyards 2008 Pinot Gris, Willamette Valley
-- Sweet Valley Wines 2007 Righteous Red Wine, Columbia Valley, $12
-- Willamette Valley Vineyards 2008 Pinot Gris, Willamette Valley, $15
Washington's rugged Washington coast is relatively uninhabited compared with Oregon's coast. Because of the lower population of the region, it has not been a magnet for wineries. However, Westport Winery in Grays Harbor County is pioneering not online coastal winemaking but also maritime viticulture, having planted grapes not far from the seashore, including Sieberrebe, Pinot Noir, Muscat and Madeleine Angevine.
Westport produces a wide variety of wines, both from wine grapes and fruit. Our initial blind tastings of their wines show uniform quality, including some that have earned our top "Outstanding" rating. In addition to today's featured wine, also check out Westport's Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, both made from Eastern Washington grapes.
Ten years ago today, Tom Stockley's final wine column appeared in The Seattle Times. Stockley, who began working for the Times in 1967 and started writing his wine column in 1973, died Jan. 31, 2000, in the crash of Alaska Airlines Flight 261 off the coast of California.
Today, Stockley would be proud of the industry he helped to usher in as the Northwest first and finest wine writer. I asked three Washington wine industry veterans - Ron Irvine, Bob Woehler and Coke Roth - to share their memories of Stockley, who was 63 when he and his wife, Peggy, died in that plane crash.
How much do you love Washington wine? Are you the Super Fan?
Wine Press Northwest and the Washington Wine Commission are running a contest to find out who is Washington's Wine Super Fan. The Super Fan will receive an amazing all-access pass during Taste Washington weekend, which is March 27-28 in Seattle. The prize includes entry to seminars and lunch on "education day" and a VIP pass to the Grand Tasting the next day.
Here is how to enter: Create a video that creatively explains why you are the Washington Wine Super Fan. Beginning next week, you will be able to upload it to our contest site, where wine lovers will then vote on their favorite. The winner will be announced by the end of February.
Get working on those videos!
Last week's commentary about high-alcohol wines brought a thoughtful and insightful response from Ron Irvine, owner/winemaker of Vashon Winery near Seattle. It is well worth sharing with you in full:
"I read Dan Berger's article and I totally agree with it. Dan has been harping on this for twenty years, before there were even big, soft, alcoholic wines. I agree that wines should not taste like chocolate and coca cola, flavors that don't hold up with foods (except maybe dessert). The problem I am having is that this is what people like in wine these days: big, soft, round wines with lots of harmonious oak, moderately high alcohol (around 14%).
"Washington State can make these wines better than anyone because we have such great up-front fruit flavors and mouth feel, I think due to our northern latitude and a slower ripening process, at least in some of the cooler sites. Who can't like these wines?
"I hear people describe these wines as balanced, but often these wines are not balanced in the classic use of that term. The modern definition of balance is soft, where the fruit flavors are prominent, the acids are low, and the tannins are pretty soft. Again, who can't like that? The classical definition of balance is wines that have good fruit intensity, and good crisp acidity, and some tannins. These are wines that will age, in general.
"Here's the quandary. Wines that have true balance (of acidity, fruit intensity and tannins) usually don't drink well early and they surely don't do well in wine judgings. In wine judgings these wines tend to show even more acidic and out of balance (next to low-acid, high-alcohol wines).
"I believe both wines have a place but I don't know how the consumer can make an informed decision unless the pH is listed on the wine, or the TA along with the alcohol. Consumers beware: If a wine tastes really good now, don't cellar it for much more than three years. The corollary is that if the wine seems tart, even a bit too tart, it will probably last beyond five years."
Washington State University Tri-Cities is offering a number of consumer wine seminars at its Richland campus in the heart of Washington's Columbia Valley.
This Thursday, I will be leading a seminar on pairing Northwest wine with WSU's famed Cougar cheeses from the university's Pullman creamery.
On Feb. 18, Henick-Kling will lead a class on detecting wine faults, followed by a March 4 seminar on nontraditional red blends and a March 18 session on Rieslings and terroir.
Classes cost $35 per person and last about two hours. Find out more.
The Winter issue of Wine Press Northwest unveils the results of our 10th annual Platinum Judging, in which we invite wineries to send us their gold medal wines from the year for a "best of the best in the Great Northwest" competition. Each week, I will highlight one of our Platinum winners.
Powers Winery in Kennewick, Wash., is a longtime Columbia Valley producer that is well known for its certified organic estate vineyard and label (Badger Mountain Vineyards). Powers also is a part owner of famed Champoux Vineyards in the Horse Heaven Hills, giving winemaker Greg Powers access to some of the state's finest Cabernet Sauvignon. The winery's first Platinum award is the 2006 Cougar Vineyard Syrah from the Wahluke Slope. It was the No. 1 Syrah in our judging out of 52 in our competition.
Here's a new feature we unveiled with our Fall issue of Wine Press Northwest: an e-edition. It's a facsimile of the print edition and is freely accessible. There are tools for zooming in and out, etc.
Click here to check it out. As soon as it loads, click on the image to go to full-screen mode.
We have loaded up the past six issues of Wine Press Northwest, with a goal of eventually posting a complete archive of the magazine, going back to 1998.
Here are links to stories and blog posts we think you'll find interesting. In most cases, the stories are related to Northwest wine, though on occasion we will include stories on cuisine or specialty foods.
Here are this week's stories:
'Brutal' 2009 a year to forget for California wine industry
Research links lower alcohol to reduced cancer risk
A look at alternative wine packaging
Last week's mystery photo presented little problem for Northwest wine lovers.
In fact, 73% of you correctly identified it as Tinhorn Creek Vineyards near Oliver, B.C. Meanwhile, 13% wondered if it was taken at Bridgeview Vineyards in Oregon's Rogue Valley, while 7% each guessed it was either DeLille Cellars in Woodinville, Wash., or Columbia Crest in Paterson, Wash.
This week's photo, taken by Howard Bales of Portland, was found on Flickr.com. I will narrow the geographical scope to the Willamette Valley, so this should test your knowledge of Oregon wine country.
We have added a new cartoon to our "wine funnies" gallery.
Shortly after the 2009 harvest was in, Red Mountain showpiece wineries Col Solare and Terra Blanca opened their doors to students of Central Washington University's wine studies program. The day included technical tastings and a vineyard tour led by renowned Yakima Valley grower Dick Boushey. Managing editor Eric Degerman takes a look at CWU's program and provides this week's Northwest Winecast.
You can watch the Northwest Winecast two ways (both free):
On our Web site:
On YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/WinePressnorthwest
Looking for a wine-related event? Click here for our Northwest wine events calendar.
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