Sean P. Sullivan - Washington Wine Report Note: Site has moved to www.northwestwinereport.com

This month’s Five Wines Under $15 is devoted to the wines of Columbia Crest’s Grand Estates series.

It is not hyperbole to say that there is no winery in Washington – perhaps even in the entire country - that puts out higher quality wines at lower prices than Columbia Crest. Even more remarkable is the winery’s incredible consistency year after year.

Columbia Crest’s Grand Estates wines sit in the middle of the winery’s lineup between the Two Vines and H3 series wines with the reserve wines at the top. Impressively for wines at this price, there is good separation between the varieties. The Merlot tastes like Merlot; the Cabernet tastes like Cabernet.

In terms of the wines reviewed below, I struggle to think of a better value-priced Chardonnay than the 2010 Grand Estates from Columbia Crest. It is a thoroughly delicious, spot-on varietal Chardonnay that bests many bottles twice the price.

The belle of the ball here though is the 2009 Amitage Red Blend. About two thirds Merlot and one third Syrah with a dash of Cabernet Franc added in, it delivers a great deal of enjoyment with a more pronounced finish than is typically seen in wines at this price range.

The best part of the Grand Estates series though is, of course, the price. The wines all retail at $12 and can often be found on sale for less. This positions them perfectly to be ‘house wines’ but won’t leave you sorry that it’s Monday night. Who could ask for anything more?

Read previous Five Wines Under $15 here.

Columbia Crest Grand Estates Chardonnay Columbia Valley 2010 $12
(Good/Excellent) An aromatically appealing wine with toast, corn silk, spice, and tropical fruit. The palate is plush and silky, loaded with fruit flavor. A very high quality wine for the price. Aged in new and used French oak and stainless steel (22%). 13.5% alcohol. Sample provided by winery.

Columbia Crest Grand Estates Merlot Columbia Valley 2009 $12
(Good/Excellent) A moderately aromatic wine with abundant spicy berries, coffee, and dark cherries. The palate is lush and silky smooth, filled with chocolate and dark berry flavors backed by more tannic structure than is often found at this price. Merlot 85%, Syrah 11%, Cabernet Sauvignon 4%. Aged 14 months in oak (33% new). 13.5% alcohol. Sample provided by winery.

Columbia Crest Grand Estates Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley 2010 $12
 (Good) An aromatically restrained wine with coffee, dried herbs, and cherry. The palate brings a surprising amount of fruit intensity matched by grainy tannins while still retaining a silky texture. 96% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Merlot. Aged in oak 16 months (33% new). 13.0% alcohol. Sample provided by winery. Recommended.

Columbia Crest Grand Estates Syrah Columbia Valley 2009 $12
 (Good) A moderately aromatic wine with fresh tar, blueberries, light game, and chocolate. The palate is silky and soft with light chocolate flavors. 81% Syrah, 11% Merlot, and 8% Grenache. Aged 14 months in French (60%) and American oak. 13.5% alcohol. Sample provided by winery.

Columbia Crest Grand Estates Amitage Red Blend Columbia Valley 2009 $12
 (Excellent) An immediately appealing wine with roasted coffee bean, pencil lead, and a light gaminess along with loads of luscious chocolate and berry flavors that linger on an exquisitely balanced finish. 63% Merlot, 33% Syrah, and 4% Cabernet Franc. Aged 16 months in French and American oak (25% new). 13.5% alcohol. Sample provided by winery.


Rating System

Please note, my rating system was revised at the beginning of 2012 as follows. Read additional details here.

 (Exceptional)
 (Excellent)
 (Good)
 (Decent)
 (Not recommended/Flawed)

Readers, please note that Blogger, where this site is hosted, has upgraded to a new version which has significant bugs and formatting issues. There are, at present, no work arounds, so you may see significant formatting errors within the posts.

Folks waiting for The Wine Advocate reviews for Washington will have to wait a while longer. Originally slated for the October 31st issue, the reviews will now be part of the December set of reviews. The delay was announced via e-mail to wineries as well as via Mark Squires' Bulletin Board. Writing about the change on the bulletin board Robert Parker stated, "I decided to push Washington state back to December, largely because the upcoming issue is exceptionally large even by our fanatical standards, and such articles don't lend themselves to being divided in two parts."

For folks you missed it, you can listen to my appearance on Table Talk Radio KKNW 1150AM yesterday with Jamie Peha and Thierry Rautureau here. We talk about the 2012 harvest and Thanksgiving wines. I come on about 37 minutes in (takes some time to load). Enjoy!

The October Virtual Tasting wine is tonight! The wine is the Renegade Wine Co.  2011 Columbia Valley Red Wine. This wine retails for $10 and is widely available. The tasting will take place from 7-8pm Pacific.

What you need to do to participate is:

1. Buy this month’s wine from a local retailer or from the winery.

2. Tweet your comments about the wine on Twitter between 7 and 8pm Pacific tonight using the hashtag #RWineCo. For those on Twitter, follow me @wawinereport.

This is the first in a monthly series of images from photographer Richard Duval called 'Pic of the Vine.' This month’s image comes from the estate vineyard of a'Maurice Cellars in the Walla Walla Valley. The vineyard is fronted by a full bloom of lavender.

Duval notes that he first saw the scene at the end of the day drive-by on one of his frequent shooting trips to Walla Walla. The next morning he was in place for dawn’s light to illuminate the sky and the lavender field in front of the carefully tended vines. The result was this landscape that he jokingly titled “On the Corner of Lavender and Vine.” Download a screen saver sized version of this image at www.vinelines.com. Read reviews of the a'Maurice Cellars wines here.

Reminder  - This month's Virtual Tasting is coming up Wednesday at 7pm Pacific. Read about how to participate here. 

I am pleased to announce that photographer and writer Richard Duval will be a regular contributor to this site.

Richard Duval’s world revolves around the three critical Ps – photography, pizza, and piano. Culled from his frequent travels, his wine, scenic and landscape images are found on note cards, galleries, and calendars, and as stock photography. His work is often featured in Washington Tasting Room magazine, the Washington Wine Guide, Nature Photographer, and Northwest Travel Magazine among others and his assignments include Holland America Line, Microsoft and Vermont Life.

Woven into this texture is his endless pursuit of perfecting the art of Neapolitan pizza making by evoking the traditions and practices of old world Naples. In between photo sessions and pizza tossing, Duval's main love is the piano. His CD “Notes to Myself” features his intimate and original musical stories. He lives near Mill Creek with his wife Leslee and Brunello, the wine dog.

See his wine work at www.vinelines.com and on Facebook at Duval Images.

Look for the first image in a monthly series from Duval called ‘Pic of the Vine’ later today.

Reminder  - This month's Virtual Tasting is coming up Wednesday at 7pm Pacific. Read about how to participate here. 

A round-up of stories on Washington wine from October 15th to 21st 2012. Read previous round-ups here.

From around the country…

The Wall Street Journal asks if happy days are here again for Merlot.


From the blogosphere…

Paul Gregutt writes about the new Ancient Lakes AVA. He also gives a top 10 best buy from the Northwest.

Huffington Post writes about the TripAdvisor 2012 Travelers’ Choice Wine Destinations awards with Walla Walla at number 8.

Through the Walla Walla Grapevine writes about a The Illusionist vertical. Catie also writes about an afternoon with Figgins Family Wine.

The Daily Meal writes about Columbia Valley. They also write about Long Shadows.

Zinfandel Chronicles writes an open letter to Quilceda Creek.

Woodinville Wine Update writes about Pomum Cellars. Shona also writes about upcoming events in Woodinville and a Vortex Cellars pumpkin carving contest.

WineEYak gives a slideshow from harvest.

Wine Peeps writes about the 2010 Mercer Riesling.

Lucha Vino writes about Washington Mourvedre.

Under the Grape Tree writes about K Vintners.

Table Talk writes about the end of the Seattle Wine Society.

WA Wine PR writes about auctions in wine country.

Edmonds Patch writes about Edmonds only liquor store closing.

Huffington Posts writes about fall vineyard visits.

On the Scenic Route writes about Whidbey Island’s Vail Wine Shop.


From the locals…

The Bellingham Herald writes about the Taste of Tulalip.

The Spokesman Review writes about the 2012 harvest.  They also write about the opening of Total Wine.

The Tri-City Herald writes about Locati.  They also write about approval of the Ancient Lakes growing region and the dedication of the Wine Science Center.

KNDO writes about Walla Walla being named as a top ten wine destination. They also write about the dedication of the Wine Science Center.

NPR writes about the dedication of the Wine Science Center.

The Seattle Times says come to Walla Walla for the wine; stay and dine. They also write about the Wine Science Center dedication.

The Columbian writes about the Wine Science Center.

That’s all folks!

Please note that from September 26th through October 15th, the system that generates RSS feeds and distributes e-mails for readers of this site was not working properly. For this reason, during this time, people who read via RSS feeds did not see the posts updated and people who subscribe via e-mail did not receive e-mails. The problem has now been corrected - and thank you to the reader who brought the issue to my attention.

Below is a list of posts during that time from most recent to least.

HARVEST REPORT OCTOBER 15TH 2012

WASHINGTON WINE ROUND-UP OCTOBER 1ST TO 7TH 2012

OCTOBER VIRTUAL TASTING - 2011 RENEGADE RED WINE

THE WEEK OF THE WIND MACHINE - HARVEST REPORT OCTOBER 8th

WASHINGTON WINE ROUND-UP SEPTEMBER 22ND TO 30TH 2012

WINE COUNTRY PORN FROM THE YAKIMA VALLEY

FRESH SHEET OCTOBER 2ND 2012

HARVEST REPORT OCTOBER 1ST 2012

SUMMARY OF POSTS FOR SEPTEMBER 2012

FIVE WINES UNDER $15 - SEPTEMBER 2012

A round-up of stories on Washington wine from October 8th to 14th. Read previous round-ups here.

From around the country…

Fox News writes about the top 10 wine country inns with a shout out to Abeja.

The Washington Post asks whether Amazon is any closer to solving the wine shipping riddle.

Florida Today writes about K Vintners.

The New York Times writes about Jon Rimmerman of Garagiste with a lot of Washington talk along the way.

The Wall Street Journal writes about Bill Foley.


From the blogosphere…

Table Talk gives part II of winemaking lessons on Bainbridge Island.

The Washington Vine writes about Kiona’s Lemberger.

Northwest Wine Anthem gives a Friday find from Claar Cellars.

Through the Walla Walla Grapevine writes about Bergevin Lane.

Zinfandel Chronicles writes about the 2000 Woodward Canyon Estate Red.

Paul Gregutt writes about wine gadgets.

WA Wine PR writes about Entwine.

Woodinville Wine Update previews Taste of Tulalip. Shona also bigs goodbye to the Enological Society of the Pacific Northwest.

Lucha Vino writes about Washington Dolcetto.

Wild 4 Washington Wine writes about Gilbert Cellars.

Wine Peeps writes about 2008 Washington Cabernet. They also write about Nota Bene Cellars.

WineEYak writes about Catch the Crush.


From the locals…

The Bellingham Herald says that Portland is a springboard for exploring Oregon wine. They also write about a Pasco caucus.

The Union Bulletin writes about the rebranded Vintage Walla Walla event.

Wenatchee World On-line writes about Grant County. They also give wine by the numbers.

The Tri-City Herald writes about the expansion of Barnard Griffin.

WSU gives an update on the Wine Science Center.

That's all folks!

Washington will receive its thirteenth federally approved growing region - the Ancient Lakes of Columbia Valley - this week. The appellation is expected to be entered in the Federal Register on Thursday.

Cameron Fries of White Heron Winery petitioned for the appellation along with Joan Davenport, Professor-Soil Sciences at Washington State University. Fries says that he’s been working to gain appellation status for the region for almost seven years.

Fries believes that the Ancient Lakes region deserves to be recognized both for its grape growing and its majestic scenery. “It’s an extraordinarily beautiful area,” he says. “I call it a mini Grand Canyon.” Anyone who has seen a concert at the Gorge Amphitheatre, which lies within the growing region, will surely agree.

Fries says that the hallmarks of the wines from this region are higher acids and higher tannins. Winemaker Freddy Arredondo at Cave B Estate Winery concurs.

“The biggest thing for us is that the wines in general, not just the whites, not just the reds, retain a lot more acidity than in other regions," Arredondo says. "In terms of the reds, they can also be a bit more tannic.” Arredondo attributes the acids to the area’s cooler temperatures and large diurnal shifts, the tannins to the sometimes windy conditions. He also notes that wines from the area are deeply colored.

The Ancient Lakes area is most commonly referred to as Quincy Basin. However, with Quincy the name of a Loire Valley region, a different name was needed. “The name Ancient Lakes just came to me in the middle of the night one night,” Fries says.

The name Ancient Lake refers specifically to three lakes within the appellation near Babcock Ridge. However, over time, the name has been used more generally to refer to a system of 35 lakes in the surrounding area.

While the federal designation is new, grapes have been grown in the Ancient Lakes area since the 1980s at what is now Cave B. White Heron has vines dating to 1990. In terms of plantings, the Ancient Lakes region is skewed heavily toward white wine grapes, with Riesling and Chardonnay the most planted. However, there are also plantings of Syrah, Pinot Noir, Bordeaux varieties, and other grape types.

Evergreen Vineyard, which encompasses several nearby sites, is both the largest vineyard in the area and the most well known, with vineyard-designated bottles made by Milbrandt Vineyards, Charles Smith, EFESTE, Sleight of Hand, Tempus Cellars, and others. The vineyard is known for its crisp acidity and distinctive minerality with Riesling the most prominent player.

The new Ancient Lakes region contains 162,762 acres of which approximately 1,400 are currently under vine. It is located within the Columbia Valley appellation and includes the towns of Quincy and George. Most of the appellation is within Grant County.


The appellation is bounded by the Columbia River to the west; the Winchester Wasteway, a drainage canal, to the east; the Beezeley Hills to the north and the Frenchman Hills to the south. Elevations range from highs of 1,600 in the north to 1,900 feet in the south with considerably lower lying areas in the middle. The three lakes that comprise Ancient Lake are at an elevation of 821 feet, one of the lowest areas of the appellation. Interstate 90 runs through the middle of the growing region.

There are currently six wineries within the Ancient Lakes appellation: Cave B, White Heron, Ryan Patrick Vineyards, Beaumont Cellars, Jones of Washington (tasting room), and St. Laurent Estate Winery (production facility). Some of these wineries make both estate and non-estate wines.

There are six commercial vineyards dispersed throughout the area. These vineyards belong to: Milbrandt Vineyards (840+ acres), Jones of Washington (334 acres), Cave B (105 acres), Ryan Patrick (58 acres), Sunset Vineyard (40 acres), and Mariposa (12 acres, White Heron).

In terms of soils, the appellation application identifies 65 different soil types, all of which are influenced by the Missoula Floods, consistent with most of Washington’s growing regions. Seventeen of the soil types account for 88% of the overall acreage. According to the application, the most common soils are fine sand, very fine sandy loam, silt loam and loamy fine sand (yes, there are differences between all these things!).

Climatically, the Ancient Lakes is one of the cooler regions in the state, beginning its heat accumulation later and ending it sooner. It is also one of the drier areas, receiving only 6 inches of precipitation annually.

With the appellation’s approval, wineries will be able to submit appellation-designated labels for approval in a month’s time. Consumers can expect to see wines with an Ancient Lakes designation on the shelves in early 2013.

Top picture courtesy of Cameron Fries, White Heron Winery. See additional pictures from the area here. 

The past week in eastern Washington was notable for seeing limited amounts of rain – the first in several months. For most, this was a relief, cutting down on dust and clearing the air. Few growers or winemakers expected the rain to have any effect on harvest. Other than that, things are beginning to wind down for many.

Winemaker Ross Mickel of Ross Andrew Winery and Force Majeure says, “Not much is happening in terms of ripening or degradation of the fruit. Things are in a holding pattern. There is possibly some dehydration, so we'll probably see an increase in Brix levels, but in terms of flavors in the vineyards we are working with, what we're going to get is already there.”

Despite the warm growing season, Mickel notes that the fruit has retained good acidity in the sites he works with. “I've only had one vineyard where acids have been out of whack…Not sure what the culprit is there because every other vineyard so far has had incredible pH/TA levels with most every other site/variety being in the 4.5 to 6.2 g/L range and pH of 3.45 to 3.55. Malic acids have also been on the lower side for us (1.2 g/L to 2.3 g/L). In past years we've had malic levels into the high 3's. This is probably because of the warm growing season we've had. This is nice as I don't expect to see too much of a pH shift at the end of ML, so our pH levels should end up in the 3.5 to 3.65 range across the board.” Ross Andrew is 85% complete with harvest, and Mickel expects to be finished in a week’s time.

Winemaker Mike Januik of Januik Winery and Novelty Hill notes just how unusual the extended stretch of perfect weather was this year. “This is my 29th harvest in Washington, and I can’t remember the weather ever cooperating as much as it has this fall,” Januik says. “Ordinarily, we would have seen at least a small amount of rain by now, but I haven’t seen a drop yet.” Januik picked his first fruit 20 days earlier this year than last, saying, “The only disadvantage of picking so early this year is that we had scheduled a trip to Louisiana to watch the Huskies play LSU and had to cancel!”

Like several winemakers have previously noted, Januik reports that berry sizes have been smaller this year and says it has led him to make adjustments at the winery. “We’ve dealt with it by managing our macerations a little differently. We prefer to pump over rather than punch down, and in a year like 2012 it is much easier for us to fine tune our macerations doing pumpovers.” Januik reports that he is about 75% through harvest and expects to be done by the end of next week.

At Woodward Canyon in the Walla Walla Valley, Rick Small says that the recent cold weather has made for some long days and nights. “The last week has been pretty hectic for us,” Small says. “Sub-freezing temperatures meant late night wind machine operation in addition to delivering bins, hauling grapes and making wine. Elevations (Woodward Canyon Estate Vineyard) above 600 feet saw little if any frost effect on canopy. The fruit above 600 feet continued to ripen perfectly and was harvested several days later.” Small wrapped up harvest at his estate vineyard last Thursday and says that he is 85% finished with harvest overall.

Looking back at the vintage, Small notes that one major factor in 2012 is what kind of winter issues the vineyards had the last two years. Speaking of his estate vineyard he says, “Vineyard blocks that were above 800 feet elevation or on very steep hillsides and survived winter injury in 2010 and 2011 produced amazing crops this year…In other locations near the Columbia River some winter injured vines are ripening fruit but rather unevenly. This requires amazing patience and great intestinal fortitude to wait, but we know that we must. This is where experience with the vineyard comes in.” Small also noted that he did not foresee any issues with the recent rains.

Meanwhile Evergreen Vineyard Manager Ryan Flanagan says 2012 has been a relief after the past two years. “It’s nice to be back to normal,” Flanagan says. “It’s really been a gorgeous growing season.” With much of Evergreen planted to Riesling, most of the picking is still in front of him but he says, “Canopies are just turning over right now. We’re right where we want to be.”

Flanagan notes that there has been one interesting aspect of this growing season. “One thing we’ve all been commenting on is the ripeness of the skins,” he says “The skins on the Riesling in particular are really thin. It’s a little nerve wracking. Luckily it’s been dry we haven’t see a real explosion of botrytis.”

Picture courtesy of Pepper Bridge Winery. Follow them on Facebook here and Twitter here.

* * *

Read previous harvest reports here.

See information on the Washington State Growing Degree Days here.

See monthly forecast for Yakima Valley (Sunnyside), Red Mountain (Benton City), Walla Walla, Paterson, and Mattawa.

The information in the table below is aggregated from personal correspondence with growers and winemakers, as well as information posted on Twitter and Facebook. It is not intended to be comprehensive but rather is intended as a snapshot of what is going on around the state. If you wish to send data for your grapes or vineyards (or correct any of the information below), please email me at wawinereport@gmail.com, leave a comment here, or leave a comment on the WWR Facebook page.

Winery	Grape	Vineyard	Date	Notes
Columbia Valley
Cedar River	Riesling	Burgess	10/11
Blooms	Petit Verdot	Kolibri	10/11
Blooms	Malbec	Kolibri	10/11
William Church	Malbec	Gamache	10/11
William Church	Viognier	Connor Lee	10/11
Kaella	Merlot	Conner Lee	10/13
Crayelle	Albarino	Evergreen	10/13
Yakima Valley
Manu Propia	Cabernet Sauv	Red Willow	10/3
Tero/Flying Trout	Malbec	Konnowac	10/9
Syncline	Grenache Blanc	Boushey	10/11
SOH	Cabernet Sauv	Raj Mahal	10/11
Maison Bleue	Grenache	Boushey	10/12
Ross Andrew	Syrah	Boushey	10/14
Red Mountain
Sonoris	Cabernet Sauv	Shaw	10/11
Sonoris	Cabernet Sauv	RMV	10/11
Liberty Lake	Petit Verdot	--	10/11
Guardian	Cabernet Sauv	Klipsun	10/12
Michael Florentino	Tempranillo	Ciel du Cheval	10/12
Guardian	Cabernet Sauv	--	10/13
Walla Walla Valley
Woodward Canyon	Mourvedre	Estate	10/11
Sleight of Hand	Merlot	Va Piano	10/12
Tero Estates/Flying Trout	Malbec	Windrow	10/12
Rattlesnake Hills
Andrew Will	Merlot	Two Blondes	10/8
Andrew Will	Malbec	Two Blondes	10/8
Cloudlift	Cabernet Sauv	Elephant Mt	10/9	Brix 26⁰, TA .69, pH3.41
Blooms	Syrah	Bosma’s	10/11
Blooms	Viognier	Bosma’s	10/11
Lake Chelan
Hard Row	Syrah	--	10/12	--
Wahluke Slope
Hard Row	Cabernet Sauv	--	10/11
Estrin Estates	Syrah	RiverBend	10/13
Horse Heaven Hills
Cloudlift	Cabernet Franc	Alder Ridge	10/9	Brix 26.6⁰, TA .6, pH 3.5
Cloudlift	Cabernet Sauv	Alder Ridge	10/9	Brix 25.9⁰ TA .6, pH3.42
Tero Estates/Flying Trout	Malbec	Alder Ridge	10/10	2 tons
Robert Ramsay	Syrah	McKinley Springs	10/11
Angel Vine	Zinfandel	Alder Ridge	10/11
Robert Ramsay	Cinsault	McKinley Springs	10/11
Adams Bench	Cabernet Sauv	May’s Discovery	10/12
Snipes Mountain
SOH	Grenache	Upland	10/11
Columbia Gorge
Syncline	Syrah	Steep Creek	10/12
Foundry	Chardonnay	White Salmon	10/12