Breaking down barriers in Pacific Northwest wine

The following is an excerpt of an article I co-wrote with Paul Gregutt in the April 2017 issue of Wine Enthusiast magazine. Paul wrote the first section on Washington winemakers making Oregon wine. I wrote the second section on Oregon winemakers making Washington wine.

A number of Oregon and Washington wineries are heading across state lines to find the best grapes, proving borders don't matter when it comes to good wine.

No single place grows every grape variety equally well. Moreover, grapes know nothing about imaginary lines like state borders. In the Pacific Northwest, enterprising winemakers reach into neighboring states to tap great vineyard sources and craft compelling wines.

South to Oregon 

For half a century, Washington’s winegrowers have been an irresistible force, consistently proving the experts wrong. Since the state began its long march toward recognition as a world-class wine region, vintners there have expanded the range of viable grapes. First, it was Riesling, then other cool-climate whites, followed by more southern reds and whites from France, Italy and Spain.

One grape, however, has proven to be an immovable object here: Pinot Noir.

Read the complete article here.