The winemakers of Washington State rolled into Austin today for a trade and media tasting, and what a tasting it was! The day began with a seminar moderated by Sean Sullivan of Wine Enthusiast magazine, presiding over a panel with Master Sommelier Craig Collins, Master Sommelier Greg Harrington, and Winemaker Juan Muñoz-Oca. The takeaway for me from this wide-ranging and informative seminar was that if you are looking for value-priced, luxury wines, look to Washington State. Sean shared an infographic comparing Washington State Wine with that of California, Italy, France and other premium wine producing regions throughout the world. Washington wines had the highest average rating by Wine Spectator Magazine and the lowest average pricing compared to every other region!
Washington is the second largest producer of premium wine in the US behind California and the production is increasing every year. Washington now boasts 900 wineries and 350 growers with 55,000 acres under vine. 70 different varietals are grown there, with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot making up the top two reds and Riesling and Chardonnay making up the dominant whites. 95% of the grapes grown are grown east of the Cascade Mountains, so we are not talking about Seattle here, folks. Much of the winegrowing area is fairly remote, and the region is vast with 11 million acres in the Columbia Valley AVA. There are a total of 14 approved growing regions, known as AVAs, or American Viticultural Areas, in Washington State. 12 of these lie within the Columbia Valley AVA and Columbia Gorge AVA sits right next door to the southwest. Puget Sound is the only AVA west of the Cascade Mountains, a tiny region with less than 100 planted acres.
How to talk about the wine when there were 11 tastings before noon and 48 producers with multiple bottles each at the trade tasting? I’ll start with a few standout bottles from the seminar and trade tasting and end with a few thoughts on the interesting trends and blends.
One of the most beautiful bottles of the day was the very first one. The 2009 Eroica Riesling, produced as a collaboration between Chateau Ste. Michelle and Dr. Loosen was a gorgeous marriage of Old and New World qualities. At first sniff, one might predict they were drinking a Mosel Riesling from a warmer year given the slatey minerality, peaches, and lime blossom. On the palate, it literally burst with lush ripe peaches, fruit cocktail syrup and lime peel with all the fruitiness and ripeness one would expect from a New World wine. Even with 9 years of age, the wine had a nicely preserved acidity to balance the sweetness, which was substantial at 16 g/L of residual sugar. At this level of sugar, this would be considered an off-dry wine. If you avoid Riesling due to sweetness, you can look no farther than the same wine in the 2015 vintage which has 11 g/L of residual sugar, which would still be considered an off-dry wine, but on the palate, tastes nearly dry due to the high acidity of the grape.
Behind Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, Syrah is the third most produced red grape in Washington State. The most interesting one of the bunch today may not be the wine that I would choose for my dinner, but it certainly made the strongest impression–K Vintners 2015 Motor City Kitty. When I put my nose in the glass, I exclaimed that it smelled of smoke, leather and diesel fuel. As I let it sit, aromas of violet and maraschino cherries became apparent. It was a stout and manly wine with firm tannins and flavors of smoked meat, cherries, and violets. My first thought was that this was a biker’s wine….and when I got home to research it, a photo of a guy on a big motorcycle (perhaps the winemaker, Charles Smith?) was featured on the website. My second thought was that these were kind and caring bikers, what with the flowers and cherries, perhaps the wine best suited for those bikers who use their bad-assness to protect children who have been abused (Bikers Against Child Abuse).
My last wine of note (though there were more than I can recount here) was a Cab that I actually liked. Cabernet Sauvignon and I do not generally get along. I know that this is heresy in the sommelier world, but it simply doesn’t work with my palate. As soon as those tannins hit my mouth, I lose all ability to taste much else, and therefore the experience is not usually pleasant. Being a person who doesn’t eat red meat, I can’t even fix it by having a steak to soften the perception of the tannins. Juan Muñoz-Oca’s 2016 Intrinsic Cabernet Sauvignon was a wine I could see myself sipping. Fruit, Fruit, Fruit was the first thing I jotted on my tasting notes. Red fruits with dried red cherries and red currants were predominant and were accompanied by subtle green notes. What impressed me the most, though, was how restrained and integrated the tannins seemed on this young wine. Surprisingly, the wine was left on the skins for 9 months, which one would expect to increase tannins as they come from skins. However, he fermented this wine in concrete and used oak, so as not to extract any additional tannin from the wood. So, if you are not a Cab lover, this may be a Cab to purchase when your big red loving friends come for dinner.
At the trade tasting, I was most impressed by the Bordeaux style white blends. As a mostly white drinker, I love to find new iterations of wines that I love. There were at least five Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon blends at the tasting, my favorite of the bunch being the Novelty Hill 2015 Sauvignon Blanc. Craig Collins noted during the seminar that the DeLille Cellars Chaleur Blanc is one of the few whites that he collects for his cellar.
The Washington Chardonnays also made an impression. Not many people look to Washington to find quality Chardonnay, but I found many of these to be clean, crisp, drinkable whites at a reasonable price. The J. Bookwalter Reader’s Chardonnay which was blended with 24% Viognier was one of my favorites, with a lovely depth and body and pretty fruit flavors.
Lastly, while I did not run into many, I was so excited to find the Rôtie Cellars Southern White Rhone Blend. White Rhones are consistently some of my favorite white varietals and I have been so excited to see Roussanne and Marsanne being produced in Texas. The Rôtie Cellars Southern White Rhone Blend was perhaps my favorite of the day. A blend of 50% Viognier, 35% Roussanne and 15% Marsanne, it was what everyone wants from a white Rhone blend with white flowers, stone fruit, tropical notes and a lush beautiful mouthfeel.
It was such a treat to have Washington come to Texas! Who’s coming with me to Washington Wine Country?