Sean P. Sullivan - Washington Wine Report

After nine and a half years, I am moving on from Wine Enthusiast.

I started at the magazine as a contributing editor at the beginning of 2013. Since that time, I have reviewed nearly 13,000 wines and authored over 90 articles for Enthusiast.

I began by covering parts of Washington along with Southern Oregon and Idaho. Since the beginning of 2015, I have covered Washington in its entirety. As of this year, I have also been covering all of Oregon and Canada for the magazine.

During my tenure, I have tried to cover the regions in my beat to the fullest of my abilities with the passion and integrity required of any critic. Given how fast the Pacific Northwest wine scene is evolving, doing the region justice has been no easy task. This is an extremely exciting time in the region. The wines have never been better than they are today. I have tried to reflect all this. It has been an honor to tell this story to the readers of Wine Enthusiast.

It has also been a great privilege to work with some of the finest wine writers and critics in the business over the last nine and a half years. In particular, I want to thank my colleague and friend Paul Gregutt for initially recommending me to Wine Enthusiast. I also want to thank Lauren Buzzeo for hiring me when she was tasting director and then continuing to support me as managing editor and earlier this year as executive editor.

Leaving Wine Enthusiast after so long is no doubt bittersweet, and I leave with some business unfinished. I want to offer my sincerest of apologies to producers in Oregon and Canada, who welcomed me with open arms when I took over covering these regions at the beginning of this year and also generously offered me their time over the last six months.

As I said to many people when I took the position, I very much understand how disruptive reviewer changes are for wineries and in fact entire wine regions. I do not take such changes lightly. For making another change this quickly, I am truly sorry. However, I guarantee you the time we spent together was not wasted.

My reasons for leaving Wine Enthusiast are professional, not personal. Some know I have had health issues over the years. I want everyone to know that my leaving Wine Enthusiast has nothing to do with that. I am fine.

I will have more to say about my plans going forward in the future. I will say for now, however, that this is not the end of my time writing about and reviewing Northwest wine. Rather it is the beginning of a new chapter.

I intend to continue writing about Pacific Northwest wineries and rating and reviewing the area’s wines as I have for the last 18 years. This includes wines from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and British Columbia. More to come.

Note to producers: My intention is to review and score all wines that have been submitted prior to today’s date for Wine Enthusiast. Please contact me if you have any questions. 

 The following article was written by Michael Fagin. Fagin is an operational meteorologist providing weather forecasts to clients in the Pacific Northwest and providing custom forecast for groups climbing Mt. Everest and other major peaks. Michael is also a travel writer with a focus on weather and wine.

In the interest of completeness, below is the full statement I was provided by Chateau Ste Michelle on Monday June 20th regarding moving white wine production to eastern Washington and the listing of its Woodinville property for sale. Much of this statement was quoted in my original article:

Chateau Ste Michelle, the Pacific Northwest’s largest winery by a mile, has put its flagship Woodinville property up for sale. The 118 acre site, which includes the iconic chateau that adorns the winery’s labels, was listed earlier this month by CBRE Inc., a commercial real estate company based in Dallas, Texas. The price has not been disclosed. The winery will also move all of its white wine production, which has previously been taking place in Woodinville, to eastern Washington.

"With this change to our winemaking operations, we are evaluating how to best utilize the facility going forward, including exploring a potential sale of our Woodinville property, or perhaps a portion of it," Ste Michelle said in a statement to media. "While a sale of the property has not been predetermined, we are considering all options as we continue to look for ways to improve how we produce our wines, strengthen our commitment to sustainability, and grow the Chateau Ste Michelle brand."

The property listing includes Ste Michelle’s chateau, tasting rooms, a banquet facility, office space, a theatre, a 100,000+ square foot warehouse, and 50,000 square feet of barrel storage. The listing states that the expansive property is “primed for redevelopment and can accommodate a variety of uses, such as industrial, residential, office & life science, all of which are in short supply in Seattle’s burgeoning Eastside.”

Ste Michelle’s 1M+ case white wine production will move to its Canoe Ridge winemaking facility in eastern Washington’s Horse Heaven Hills starting with the 2022 vintage. Given the sheer size of its white wine efforts, presumably other facilities will be used as well. Ste Michelle's red wine production has taken place at Canoe Ridge since 1993. That site has occasionally had a tasting room over the years but is not currently open to the public.

Over the years, I have often told the story of the inception of Washington Wine Report. It turns out that the story I was telling was wrong.

The story that I have told innumerable times goes like this.

In 2005, a friend and I travelled out to Yakima Valley and visited a series of wineries. After this trip, my friend asked me to write up my notes and scores of the wines we tasted. I did so and emailed the notes to him. He subsequently distributed those notes and reviews to his friends. These friends shared them with their friends and so on and so on.

Washington Wine Report was born. I called it that at the top of the emails because that was what it was – a report on Washington wines. It began the year of that trip as an email distribution list. 15 years ago today, June 17th 2007, I launched Washington Wine Report as an on-line site. Over the next several years, I transitioned from the long-form PDF reports I distributed via email to being fully on-line.

As I approached today’s on-line anniversary, I started to wonder, what was the date when my friend and I first went out to Yakima Valley? When exactly did all this really start?

I did some digging into my historical records. In the 2000s, I kept weekly planners detailing what I did each day. I looked through 2005. I found no record of a trip to Yakima Valley. To say I was surprised would be an understatement. I looked through 2006. I also found no record of a trip to Yakima Valley. How could I have not written down such a momentous turning point in my life?

I reached out to my friend who accompanied me to Yakima Valley that year to see if he had any remembrances or any pictures. He had both.

It turns out the year he and I travelled to Yakima Valley was 2004 according to his pictures. I subsequently looked at my planner for that year and confirmed the same. It was April 25th 2004. We went out to the valley for Spring Barrel Weekend.

Bloom has begun in Columbia Valley. Lacey Lybeck at Sagemoor Vineyards reports seeing bloom in Weinbau Vineyard Chardonnay on the Wahluke Slope on June 4th. Lybeck also saw bloom in Chardonnay at Sagemoor and Bacchus vineyards in the White Bluffs on June 6th. 

Today the Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) approved Washington’s newest appellation, Rocky Reach. The approval comes on the heels of three appellations last year, bringing the state’s total number of viticultural regions to 20. Here we take an in-depth look at the appellation.

Overview

Rocky Reach is located in the northwestern section of the Columbia Valley, just south of the Lake Chelan appellation. The appellation’s approval brings Columbia Valley’s number of sub-appellations to 16.

Watch out Walla Walla, there’s a new sheriff in town. Woodinville stalwart Guardian Cellars is opening a tasting room in the valley.

“It's always been kind of a desire to have something [in Walla Walla] if just the right spot came up,” says Guardian founder and winemaker Jerry Reiner, who works by day as a police officer. “It was just waiting and waiting and waiting and, fortunately, finally the planets aligned, and it fell into our lap.”

The new tasting room will be located at 202 East Main Street, across the street from Walla Walla Bread Company. Long-time fans of Guardian, which was founded in 2004, can expect to see themes familiar to the winery’s existing spaces.

“It will kind of stay in the Guardian theme of some blacks, whites, blues, and silver,” Reiner says. “We'll have the kinds of cool modern furniture that we like, and very rich feel behind it.” At present, however, the space is still a work in progress.

“With the current situation and getting supplies and everything, we can't do exactly what we want to the place yet,” Reiner says.

The tasting room will have a soft opening on Friday May 6th, the beginning of Spring Release Weekend. No reservations will be required for opening weekend, but they will begin to be accepted Monday, May 9th. Tastings will be offered Thursday through Monday, and will currently be indoors-only as the winery applies for a permit for outdoor seating.

This will be Guardian’s third tasting room and its largest space at 2100 square feet, with 1700 of that dedicated to the tasting area. The winery will continue to maintain its Woodinville and Maltby tasting rooms. Production will remain at the Maltby site.

Guardian is the fourth Woodinville winery to open a tasting room in Walla Walla Valley. Mark Ryan Winery opened a tasting room there in 2012. The winery opened a second tasting room, The Annex, in 2020. Mark Ryan’s production also now takes place in the valley, though it maintains a strong Woodinville presence with multiple tasting rooms. Barons Winery relocated its production to the valley in 2016 and opened a tasting room 2017. Finally Patterson Cellars announced earlier this year that it was opening a tasting room in Walla Walla and also moving production to the valley.

Hyatt Vineyards in Washington’s Yakima Valley has announced the hiring of Caleb Foster as general manager and winemaker. Foster started at the position earlier this month.

“I'm excited about the opportunity to help manage and drive the future at a place like this,” Foster says. “There's a great opportunity for growth and change.”

Located in Zillah in Yakima Valley’s Rattlesnake Hills sub-appellation, Hyatt Vineyards was founded in 1983 by Leland and Lynda Hyatt. The winery produces approximately 15,000 cases of wine annually and owns 83 acres of vineyards, planted primary to Riesling, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Malbec.

The Hyatts have been openly looking to sell the winery for some time. Foster was brought on in part to help facilitate a potential sale in the future.

“It’s about envisioning what the new buyer is going to want and need and creating that at this property,” Foster says.

Foster has over 30 years of experience in the Washington wine industry, starting out as assistant winemaker at Woodward Canyon from 1991 until 1999. In 2000, he co-founded Buty Winery in Walla Walla Valley with this then wife Nina Buty. Most recently, Foster spent seven years as winemaker at Richland’s J. Bookwalter Winery before leaving the winery in the spring of 2021. Foster plans to leverage all that experience at his new position.

“I can see clearly the steps that can be made to elevate quality, both in the vineyard and in the cellar as well as elevating the marketing,” he says. In addition to helping revitalize a long-established brand, Foster says there were other aspects that made the job attractive.

“This is a great region for great flavors," he says. "When you stand on the front lawn here, it's simply gorgeous. We have an incredible address. There is a great future that can be created here.”

Image by Tessa Morse courtesy of Hyatt Vineyards. 

The following article appeared in the March 2022 issue of Wine Enthusiast 

Most wines are adorned with a capsule atop the bottle. Whether made of plastic, aluminum, tin or something else, they are so ubiquitous sommeliers have an elaborate ritual to cut through them. Screwcap bottles emulate them.

But as omnipresent as they are, the time has come for wine capsules to go away. 

Year marked by high heat, low yields, good quality

2021 was an unusual growing season in Washington, marked by a record heat event in late June, an overall hot growing season, and in many cases historically low yields. However, in the end winemakers were quite pleased with the quality of the fruit.

“It’s a strong overall vintage,” says Chris Figgins, president and winemaking director at Figgins Family Wine Estates in Walla Walla Valley. “There’s just not a lot of it.”

The growing season started with below average precipitation during the winter, leading to lower soil moisture. Bud break began March 31st, early but in the range of recent years. This was followed by a series of quite cold nights, with temperatures in the 20s for over a week.

“It was a fingernail biter,” says Marty Clubb, co-owner and managing winemaker at L’Ecole No. 41 in Walla Walla Valley. “I was really surprised there wasn't more damage.”

Bloom began May 17th in Columbia Valley, slightly ahead of recent years. As bloom continued into June, temperatures warmed up considerably and stayed warm and dry throughout the summer.

“That was really the driving factor for the whole season,” says Dan Nickolaus, vineyard manager at Wallula and Mach One vineyards in Horse Heaven Hills. He notes that the weather at bloom was not ideal.

“About the worst thing that you can have for bloom is hot, dry wind, and we did have some of that.”

It soon became clear that the state was looking at a very light crop. “When the shoots first came through, you could just see. It's like, ‘Ooh. Small clusters,’” says Figgins.

What happened next, however, was the defining event of the season. A heat dome descended on the Pacific Northwest from June 26th and lasted through June 30th. Growers reported temperatures of 118 degrees Fahrenheit in Walla Walla Valley and 116 in Yakima Valley. Even the traditionally cooler Columbia Gorge was a scorching 108 degrees.

“On our thermal camera, we were seeing temperatures as high as 126 [degrees] on the vineyard floor,” notes Lacey Lybeck, vineyard manager at Sagemoor Farms in the White Bluffs.

This shattered all previous temperature records in every location throughout the state and beyond. Every grower and winemaker said the same thing without hyperbole.

“I've never seen triple digits in June like we had,” says Kendall Mix, winemaker at Milbrandt Vineyards and Wahluke Wine Company on the Wahluke Slope.

The good news was the record heat was well forecast. Growers watered liberally in advance. Those with overhead sprinklers used them. Generally speaking, most thought their sites survived the heat well, though some did see curled and scorched leaves depending on location, variety, and vine age.

“Young vineyards on shallow soils really suffered in some places,” notes James Mantone, founder and winemaker at Syncline Winery in the Columbia Gorge.

Once the heat dome lifted, above average temperatures continued. Kennewick saw 13 days above 100 degrees in July.

“That influenced about everything we did, from labor in the field to watering to when we would do anything,” says Yakima Valley and Red Mountain grower Dick Boushey. Many irrigated throughout the growing season, rarely if ever turning drip irrigation off.

“It was a year where I felt like we were just giving and giving to the vines, and they were just happy to take whatever we gave them,” says Lybeck.

As the season continued, just how light the crop was became more and more apparent. “Every time we reassessed crop load, it got lighter and lighter and lighter,” says Clubb.

Veraison started in mid-July in Columbia Valley, fairly well-aligned with recent years. Harvest began in the state August 11th for sparkling wine and August 12th for white wine, with the latter historically early.

The prospect of a light crop, a high heat year, and an early start indicated it might be a fast and furious harvest, with growers racing to pick fruit before sugars got too high. However, that’s largely not how the season played out.

Cooler temperatures started in mid-September and lasted through October, stretching out the season. “We had probably the nicest fall we've ever had,” says Boushey. “It went all the way into November, and it allowed us to get this fruit picked.” This took a season that at one point appeared to be barreling down the tracks and slowed it down.

“I've always been a believer that you're finishing weather makes a big difference,” says Clubb. “I think the cooler September/October really helped bring the fruit into balance.”

Still, harvest was not without its challenges, with the pandemic and other factors contributing to labor shortages and trucking shortages. In some cases this impacted what was picked, when it was picked, and how, in what one grower described as a “logistics nightmare.”

“I couldn't find bodies, and I had to work through a labor contractor, which I haven't done in a long time,” says Boushey, who notes that once harvest started, it did not relent. “I never picked so steady. It was two months, six days a week, just picking.”

Some wrapped up harvest in late September/early October and others in the middle of the month. Production vineyards, as usual, continued picking into late October/early November.

In the end, the main story was the historically low yields in many locations. Berry size, cluster size, and the number of clusters were all well below average.
At Syncline’s estate vineyard in the Gorge, Mantone says their Gamay grapes were 70 grams in 2021 instead of the typical 190-195 grams. Clubb says in 2015, Washington’s hottest year on record, his winery averaged 3.7 tons per acre across all of its sites. In 2021, the winery’s average was 2.7. Some would have been happy to just have that.

“My worst block, a mature vineyard, I picked Cabernet at .46 [tons per acre],” says Figgins. “We’re always struggling to get a ton, ton and a half [in that block], but .46?”

There are a number of theories as to why the crop was as light as it was. Some believe that a freeze event in late 2020 caused more damage than initially assessed, though others are skeptical. Some think freezing temperatures after bud break played a role. Unsettled weather during bloom in 2020 and 2021 also likely had some impact. All, however, agree that the heat dome was the major driver.

“It was probably the main contributing factor to what I would describe as the lowest yielding vintage I've ever seen,” says Clubb. The timing of the heat dome was particularly important.

“That heat hit during lag phase, so that was that period of time when we've got cell division,” says Mantone. “I think the vines just kind of like the rest of us went into survival mode.”

Overall, Cabernet Sauvignon was the most impacted variety, with many growers reporting that they were down 30% or more off their projections. In the end, however, most varieties came in light, though Syrah generally fared well.

“Everything was down,” says Katie Nelson, winemaker at Chateau Ste Michelle, the state’s largest winery.

Many reported Brix were elevated, as would be expected in a warm year. Others saw more mixed numbers.

“Brix were kind of a tale of two stories,” says Kate Michaud, winemaker at Double Canyon Winery, which gets the majority of its fruit from Horse Heaven Hills. “We had some sites that had pretty modest Brix, even in the first week of October, then other ones that were 27+.”

The heat of the year might seem to indicate it would be a low acid vintage. However, many reported that acids were above expected – though by no means high.

“The shocking thing was the acid from the vintage, that it held on,” notes Mantone.

In the end, depending on location, it was either the warmest or second warmest vintage on record looking at Growing Degree Days, a measure of heat accumulation. While the heat dome and warm summer surely had their impacts, winemakers were quite happy with the final results. “Quality is great, but it’s going to be a little shorter in certain varieties,” says Nelson.

Unlike the previous two vintages, where a lot of fruit was left on the vine due to a frost event in 2019 and concerns about potential smoke impact in 2020, growers picked every grape they could find in 2021. “Basically the state was picked out,” says Mix.

In the end, the heat dome and low yields were the big stories of the vintage. While the heat had its impact, several producers noted how fortunate it was that the record heat came in late June and not in July or August.

“Had that heat happened three or four weeks later, I think we would have lost the vintage,” says Figgins.

All quotes from interviews conducted in December 2021 and early January 2022. Photos by Richard Duval.

The following article appeared in the April 2022 edition of Wine Enthusiast.

Bud break has begun in Columbia Valley. Sadie Drury at North Slope Management noted bud break in Syrah at Seven Hills Vineyard on March 28th. Drury also said that she has seen bud break in Cabernet Franc (pictured here), Sangiovese, and Merlot. Though Drury says bud break has currently occurred in less than 5% of buds at Seven Hills, she expects widespread bud break shortly with a series of warm days in the forecast.

Wineries, please note that the Wine Enthusiast submission schedule for Washington and Oregon has changed from the schedule that was released at the beginning of the year.

In the revised schedule, reviews for Washington and Oregon will now be published in every issue of the magazine. For Washington, this realigns the schedule to how reviews have been published in recent years. For Oregon, this is a change from every other issue, as reviews have been published in the past, to every issue.

My intention in advocating for this change was to a) make the schedule easier to understand and b) decrease the time between when wines are submitted and when reviews are published as much as possible.

With this change, wineries have two options. If you wish the reviews to be targeted to a specific issue of the magazine, you may follow the 2022 Buying Guide Tasting Schedule found on the Submit for Rating page of the Wine Enthusiast website. Alternately, if you want the wines to be tasted as quickly as possible, you can ignore that schedule and simply send in the wines when they are ready for review. 

In either case, I taste on a rolling basis and wines will generally be tasted within two to four weeks of when they were received. If you have any questions, please email me using the information on the Contact page.

For consumers, this means you can expect to see my Washington and Oregon reviews in every issue of the magazine going forward. We can all raise a glass to that!

Patterson Cellars announced today the purchase of the former Tertulia Cellars winery and its surrounding Whistling Hills Vineyard in Walla Walla Valley. The long-time Woodinville producer will move most of its production to the valley and open a tasting room there.

“My team's excited. I’m excited. It’s going to be a good move,” says owner and winemaker John Patterson.

The purchase includes Tertulia’s 9,200-square-foot production facility and tasting room space located in the southside of Walla Walla. It also includes a 14+ acre surrounding vineyard. A little over seven of those acres are currently planted, with room for an additional 1.4 acres. The Tertulia brand and inventory were not part of the sale.

The building will be rebranded as Patterson Cellars and will have a tasting room, Patterson’s fifth. Patterson will continue to have two tasting rooms in Woodinville, one at Hollywood Hill and one in the Warehouse District. The winery will also continue to operate satellite tasting rooms in Seattle and Leavenworth. Patterson himself will relocate to Walla Walla.

“I'm just looking for a little bit of a change. I'm hoping that, with the move, life will be a little slower,” Patterson says, noting this year will be his 36th harvest.

The winery plans to continue all existing vineyard contracts and hire someone to manage the new estate property. Walla Walla Valley currently comprises approximately 20% of Patterson’s fruit. Patterson produced 18,000 cases of wine in 2021. The winery plans to add 2,800 square feet of space to its new building to accommodate that production.

“We can get one vintage in [to the existing building], but we can't get two vintages,” says Patterson. “So that will be one of the first things we do.” The winery also plans to add covered outdoor spaces to serve guests.

In addition to moving the majority of production, Patterson will be winding down his healthy consulting business. This has involved everything from custom crush and equipment use to various other services for numerous western Washington wineries.

“I’ve got a lot of customers and friends that I've worked with for 15-plus years,” says Patterson. “I’ve been letting them know that I have to focus on a different phase of my business.”

Patterson Cellars was founded in 2000 in Monroe, Washington by John Patterson and his father Jack. John had previously spent 13 years at Quilceda Creek. The winery moved to Woodinville’s Warehouse District in 2007. While Patterson is relocating the winery, he remains bullish on the future of Woodinville.

“Downtown there's so much going on,” he says. “You've got the new schoolhouse, you've got Woodin Creek, and you've got all the multi-use buildings. It's exciting to see it all.” Patterson is currently serving his ninth year as president of Woodinville Wine Country, a local promotional body.

With the move, Patterson says he hopes to spend more time with the winery’s customers. “I love working with the guests when they come in and in greeting them and talking to them. For me, that’s so relaxing.”

Tertulia Cellars closed its doors in 2021 after 16 years in business. With this sale, owner Jim O'Connell continues to have two vineyards in Walla Walla Valley, Elevation Vineyard in the North Fork region and Rivière Galets in The Rocks District. METIS, a mergers and acquisitions firm specializing in Pacific Northwest wineries and vineyards, served as the exclusive transactional advisor in the sale. Terms were not announced.

Images of Tertulia Cellars and John Patterson by Richard Duval. 

Today the Institute for Enology and Viticulture at Walla Walla Community College announced the search for a new director. The institute is home to College Cellars, a teaching winery that along with the Institute have had an outsized impacted on the west coast wine industry.

“The number of graduates that are involved in various companies and businesses and wineries is astonishing,” says Marty Clubb, co-owner and managing winemaker at L’Ecole No. 41, one of Walla Walla Valley’s founding wineries. “When you create such a strong, educated network of people, it has a multiplier effect in terms of its influence.”

To wit, at present L’Ecole’s entire cellar team comes from the college. “It's been the best thing that ever happened to us,” says Clubb of his new team. “They are wine savvy. I think they’re ultimately going to help us make better wine.”

Another one of the valley’s founding wineries, Woodward Canyon, has also seen the impact of the college. Woodward recently underwent a generational transition, where founders Rick Small and Darcey Fugman-Small transitioned leadership to their daughter Jordan and son Sager. Sager is a graduate of the program.

“One of the things I didn’t really expect to see was how entrepreneurial the program turned out to be,” says Small, noting the number of graduates that have gone on to start wineries and other businesses. These graduates have also taken key positions throughout the Washington wine industry as beyond.

The Institute was founded in 2000 (Full disclosure: I am currently an adjunct instructor at the college.) Since that time, the program has had over 350 students. Many of them have gone on to have successful careers as growers, cellar hands, winemakers, and hospitality workers.

Sabrina Lueck, interim director of winemaking at the college, credits the program’s success to the hands-on experience students get. “Our students truly learn by doing,” she says. “We have eight acres of vineyards and a 2,000 case winery where our students really do have true ownership over the product.”

The intimate size of the program and its tight relationship with the Washington wine community are also pivotal to its success.

“I think that we have a nearly unparalleled ability to refer students into jobs where they're going to thrive, because we get to know our students and their motivations, their goals,” says Lueck. “Then our program has been integrated in this community for [over] 20 years, so our staff members understand the needs of our local industry as well.”

The impacts of the program have been felt well beyond Walla Walla Valley and Washington. Graduate Joel Sokoloff is currently vineyard manager at highly regarded Soter Vineyards in Willamette Valley. He previously held the same position at Cayuse Vineyards in Walla Walla Valley, one of the top estates in the world.

“The biggest strength [of the community college] is giving an excellent foundation for being successful, no matter which route you want to take in the wine industry,” Sokoloff says. “They really help students find what they're interested in.”

Maryam Ahmed, founder of Maryam + Company in Napa Valley, is also a graduate of the program. Prior to founding her own company, she spent nearly five years as director of public programs at the Culinary Institute of America in Napa. Ahmed says the college offers a unique opportunity for students to gain direct experience and be embedded in a community that is home to over 120 wineries and tasting rooms.

“I really wanted a hands-on program,” she says of why she choose the college. “It was an amazing opportunity to both get this degree and be completely immersed in a wine region and a community that supports the school too.”

Lueck has been at the college since 2011, starting teaching there at the tender age of 23. She has served as interim director since 2021 and is leaving the college to work at the esteemed German producer Weingut Keller.

“I am leaving, but I love this program,” says Lueck. “The most rewarding and exciting thing for me has been the success of the graduates.”

With Lueck leaving, there will be a chance for the next generation of leaders to carry the torch, teaching new students and taking the program to the next level. Lueck says the next director, who she will have a role in hiring, will have the opportunity to have an enormous impact on Northwest wine.

“One of the missions of the college is to be the catalyst that transforms our students lives and the communities that we live in, and I truly believe we do,” Lueck says. “I've seen the impact that our program has had on our students individual lives and also our winemaking community here.”

Applications for the position are currently open.

Image of Institute for Enology and Viticulture and Sabrina Lueck by Richard Duval. Image of students in vineyard courtesy of the Institute for Enology and Viticulture.

This week Mark Ryan Winery announced it had purchased full ownership of Underground Wine Project. The dual project between Woodinville’s Mark Ryan Winery and Walla Walla’s Sleight of Hand Cellars began in 2014.

“I love Underground Wine Project, but it’s never been a top priority for either side,” says Mark Ryan founder and winemaker Mark McNeilly. “This was a good business decision for us, and I also think it was a good business decision for them.”

Underground Wine Project includes Mr. Pink Rosé, Idle Hands Red Blend, and Devil’s Playground Cabernet Sauvignon. All three wines will now be folded into the Mark Ryan portfolio, which includes Mark Ryan Winery, Board Track Racer, Lu & Oly, Flowerhead, and Megan Anne Cellars. Of the three Underground wines, Mr. Pink is the driver at 15,000 cases in the last vintage. McNeilly anticipates broadening that wine’s reach.

“Rosé is such a hot SKU right now,” he says. “I suspect we can grow Mr. Pink. It's got a lot of potential.” McNeilly anticipates Idle Hands and Devil’s Playground might also grow.

“I want me and my team to step back and look at all the Mark Ryan family of wines and see where the Devil's Playground and Idle Hands fit in, but I think they’re very viable and we’ve had great success with them,” he says. “I think we can go a little bit more broad in distribution for all these SKUs.” Of note, McNeilly says Underground’s commitment to philanthropy will continue.

The 2021 vintage of Mr. Pink, due out in February, will be the first release of Underground Wine Project under Mark Ryan.