Bud break has begun in eastern Washington. Hedges Family Estate reported seeing wooly buds on their Red Mountain Cabernet Franc on Monday April 8th. Sagemoor Vineyard in the Columbia Valley, meanwhile, saw bud break in their Chardonnay, pictured here, on April 11th. The latter is about the same as 2017, when bud break was noted in Chardonnay in the Columbia Valley on April 12.
Screwcap, DIAM, and Nomacorc (pictured here) are the three most popular alternative closures in Washington
Below is a tabulation of closure choice and cork taint data from my tastings for Wine Enthusiast in 2018. I have also included data from 2017 and 2016, previously published. Here are eight takeaways.
1. Natural cork continues to be the most frequently used wine closure
Natural cork closures continue to make up about three quarters of the market in Washington (74.15%). While this number was down slightly from previous years, additional data would be needed to say whether this represents a trend or is just normal variance. Note that in the natural cork category, I include all 1+1 corks and related variants, as well as any agglomerative corks that are not guaranteed to be free of potential taint.
2. Cork taint remains a significant problem with natural cork closures
Below are my Wine Enthusiast reviews for March 2019. Wines are listed alphabetically by winery. Read additional information on how I review wines here. All of these reviews are freely available on-line at the Wine Enthusiast Buying Guide. See previous Wine Enthusiast reviews re-published in this space here. Search Wine Enthusiast's on-line database here. Read instructions on how to find Washington wine reviews at Wine Enthusiast here.
108 wines reviewed in the March issue of Wine Enthusiast.
Below are my Wine Enthusiast reviews for February 2019. Wines are listed alphabetically by winery. Read additional information on how I review wines here. All of these reviews are freely available on-line at the Wine Enthusiast Buying Guide. See previous Wine Enthusiast reviews re-published in this space here. Search Wine Enthusiast's on-line database here. Read instructions on how to find Washington wine reviews at Wine Enthusiast here.
Playing catchup on recent wine reviews. 110 wines reviewed in the February issue of Wine Enthusiast magazine.
The focus of the May issue of Wine Enthusiast is wine and technology. I wrote a series of articles on this topic for the issue. They include:
An interview with Marc Noël of Nomacorc
Science and the future of winemaking
How technology is improving wine at home
How wine in the restaurant industry is evolving
Enjoy!
I've had a variety of articles published in Wine Enthusiast in recent months. The first marks Seattle as one of the magazine's top 10 wine travel destinations of 2019. In a separate article that was part of our Pacific Northwest dedicated issue, I talk about why Seattle should be your next travel destination.
In that same Pacific Northwest dedicated issue was also an overview of Washington wine, an article on where to eat and drink in Woodinville and Walla Walla, winemakers changing Washington wine, and also a look at women in the Idaho wine industry.
Enjoy!
Coming to a Washington vineyard very soon – spring color and bud break! Contributing photographer Richard Duval captured this bit of fauna beauty in Walla Walla a few years back. He intends to re-visit for some badly needed spring sun this year.
February brought an abundance of snow to Washington wine country. Undeterred by the cold and the drifts, contributing photographer Richard Duval spent a day in Yakima Valley en route to the Washington Winegrowers Association conference in Kennewick.
The following article appears in the March issue of Wine Enthusiast.
In Washington’s earliest days as a grape-growing region, the state was thought too cool to successfully ripen many warm-climate red grape varieties. Subsequently, cool-climate white grapes, especially Riesling, dominated production and brought early acclaim.
The sun never sets on vineyard work in Washington wine country. With spring inching closer, vineyards need pruning and shaping.
From opposite ends of the state, contributing photographer Richard Duval captured two such examples last week. Under grey skies, Greg Osenbach pruned estate vines at his Whidbey Island Winery. Meanwhile, hundreds of miles due east, a cold but clear morning illuminated the freshly pruned vineyard of Two Mountain Winery in Yakima Valley.
The following article is from the Winter issue of Washington Tasting Room Magazine.
Six new AVAs on the horizon, a stellar vintage for white wines, greener packaging and new winery management are among key trends shaping the state’s wine industry
Washington saw its sixth straight warm vintage in 2018. Near perfect weather conditions in September and October capped off the growing season, with winemakers expecting high quality wines to result. Here’s a look at some of the trends we saw this year in the state’s wine industry.
A newly proposed program by the Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC) would allow state penitentiary inmates to work at a Walla Walla vineyard and hopyard. The program would be run in partnership with a local management company, Walla Walla Vineyard Management (WWVM). The goal is to provide inmates with skills that could be used upon release.
Well, 2019 is here, and everyone needs a New Year’s resolution or two, especially ones that are achievable. This year, my resolution is to drink more Riesling. Specifically, it is to drink at least one bottle of Riesling per month, each month in 2019.
Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all! May your holidays and New Year be filled with family, friends, and, of course, great Washington wine.
Below are my Wine Enthusiast reviews for December 2018. Wines are listed alphabetically by winery. Read additional information on how I review wines here. All of these reviews are freely available on-line at the Wine Enthusiast Buying Guide. There is also a freely available Wine Enthusiast Tasting Guide app. See previous Wine Enthusiast reviews re-published in this space here. Search Wine Enthusiast's on-line database here. Read instructions on how to find Washington wine reviews at Wine Enthusiast here.
116 wines reviewed in the December 1st and 31st issues of Wine Enthusiast.
Washington growers and winemakers consistently use one word when describing the weather during 2018’s harvest: perfect.
“It was the best weather I’ve ever seen,” said Dick Boushey, who manages vineyards in Yakima Valley and Red Mountain. “We probably harvested some of the best fruit I’ve ever picked.”
Below is a look at what was picked, when, and where in Washington during October 2018.
Harvested ended for some growers in warmer sites toward the end of September, whereas for others it stretched into mid to late October and even into early November for larger production wineries.
2015 is the third in what I refer to as Washington’s ‘staircase vintages’ from 2013-2015, where each growing season was a step up in heat accumulation from the previous one (read a recent post comparing these three vintages here).
Three warm vintages result in very different wines
After a vintage in 2012 where heat accumulation was a near perfect match for 20-year historical averages in Washington, 2013 through 2015 saw three increasingly warm growing seasons. While it is tempting to characterize each of these years as simply producing ‘warm vintage wines,’ side-by-side tastings reveal significant differences.
Below are my Wine Enthusiast reviews for November 2018. Wines are listed alphabetically by winery. Read additional information on how I review wines here. All of these reviews are freely available on-line at the Wine Enthusiast Buying Guide. There is also a freely available Wine Enthusiast Tasting Guide app. See previous Wine Enthusiast reviews re-published in this space here. Search Wine Enthusiast's on-line database here. Read instructions on how to find Washington wine reviews at Wine Enthusiast here.
181 wines reviewed in the November issue of Wine Enthusiast.
Bodegas Valdemar, a fifth-generation family winery based in Spain, is in the process of building a facility in Washington. The winery, which will be called Valdemar Estates, is expected to open in spring of 2019.
“We decided to do this big step to Washington State, and we are really, really excited about it,” says Jesús Martínez-Bujanda Mora, who recently relocated to Washington with his wife and three-year-old daughter to focus on the project.
Below are my Wine Enthusiast reviews for October 2018. Wines are listed alphabetically by winery. Read additional information on how I review wines here. All of these reviews are freely available on-line at the Wine Enthusiast Buying Guide. There is also a freely available Wine Enthusiast Tasting Guide app. See previous Wine Enthusiast reviews re-published in this space here. Search Wine Enthusiast's on-line database here. Read instructions on how to find Washington wine reviews at Wine Enthusiast here.
280 wines reviewed in the October issue of Wine Enthusiast.
We’re at the six week mark of harvest!
Harvest began in Washington this year on August 17th, with a pick of Chardonnay for sparkling wine at Hilltop Vineyard in Yakima Valley. Most winemakers I’ve spoken with recently have reported they have brought in about 60% of their fruit and expect to continue harvesting for the next several weeks. Hillary Sjolund, consulting winemaker at Wine Boss in Richland, provided on Facebook the following summary of 2018, which I have combined with her summary from the same point at previous vintages:
With harvest in full swing around the state, contributing photographer Richard Duval is always on the road, looking to capture images of great wines in the making. Last week, he touched down in the Columbia Gorge hamlet of Lyle, home to Syncline Wine Cellars. As luck, the calendar, and the harvest gods would have it, he arrived on the day of Syncline’s harvest of its Nelson Vineyard Syrah.
The October issue of Seattle Metropolitan contains a listing I wrote of Washington's 30 most exciting wines of 2018. This list was culled from sampling over 1,000 wines. Long time readers should note that this list is a reimagining of the annual Top 100 list that I have written for the magazine since 2010.
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