Dropping In on Washington State

The state of Washington is second to California in US wine production and most of its wine comes from the Columbia Valley. Our Okanagan River is a tributary of the Columbia, and the same growing conditions that make the southern Okanagan good country for red wine are present in its neighbour to the south. The rain shadow of the Cascades mountain range minimizes rainfall while promoting long, hot sunny days during the growing season. All the big red wine grapes can grow here, and Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Merlot are found everywhere.

Our short visit to Washington concentrated in the area around Yakima and Woodinville.

Gilbert Cellars was a good start to the trip with a host of good wines with reasonable pricing. We were even able to bring a couple of bottles to the neighbouring bistro for supper, with no corkage charge.

• Riesling 2014, Columbia Valley ($20) – lime, sweet tropical fruit, German style with just a bare touch of sweetness. ♥
• Unoaked Chardonnay 2015 ($24) – citrus/apple nose, light body, light acidity.
• Chardonnay 2013, Columbia Valley ($26) – big French oak vanilla aroma and flavour, just enough fruit. ♥
• Cabernet Sauvignon 2013, Horse Heaven Hills ($32) – cool climate Cab; fragrant, young tannins, light elegant body.
• Syrah 2013 ($30) – wonderful nose with good aromatics, including cocoa; big tannins; falls a little short of the promise on the nose. ♥
• Reserve #1 2012 ($52) – 60% Syrah and 40% Grenache; bright sweet cherry nose, sharp young tannins, beautiful flavours of bramble fruit and cherries but not a fruit bomb; needs time. ♥♥
• Reserve #2 2012 ($52) – 50% Cab Sauv, 25% Petit Verdot, 25% Merlot; fruit flavours are not quite integrated, some mint, smooth tannins. ♥

The Kana Winery tasting room in the centre of Yakima also serves for musical events, and there seems to be a Grateful Dead sub-theme going on too. Our comprehensive tasting selection included:

• Chardonnay 2015, Columbia Valley ($16) – pleasant sunny fruit, good value. ♥
• Workingman’s Red 2010, Columbia Valley ($15) – 50% Tempranillo and the rest southern French varietals, this is quite tasty and enjoyable, another great value. ♥♥
• Old Vines 2011, Champoux Vineyard, Horse Heaven Hills ($18) – Blaufrankisch variety had black cherry and herbs in the bouquet.
• Tempranillo 2011, Stone Tree Vineyard, Columbia Valley ($22) – black cherry, raspberry, toasted nuts and pleasant tannins. ♥♥
• Dark Star 2012, Columbia Valley ($22) – about two-thirds Syrah plus other Rhône varietals, shows red fruit, spice, and good acidity.
• Scarlet Fire 2010, Reserve Red Wine, Columbia Valley ($25) – southern Rhône varietals with cinnamon, spice, and anise and great fruit. ♥♥♥
• Katie Mae Riesling 2014, Zillah Ranch Vineyard, Yakima Valley ($14) – Quite German in texture and style, with some residual sugar – kabinett or spatlese style. ♥♥

Two Mountain Winery was my favourite stop near Yakima, and not only because we had a lengthy discussion with the wine-maker, but because there were some great wines as well. The vineyards are at a high elevation and although it can be quite hot in the summer, there is a large diurnal shift so that nights are quite cool.

• Riesling 2015, Rattlesnake Hills ($16) – lots of tropical fruit and will develop some petrol after a year or two; lovely acidity, quite Moselle-like. ♥
• Hidden Horse Red Blend No. 14 ($18) – leftovers blended from several vintages has become a popular seller. Juicy red fruit, forward tannins, cassis aroma.
• Merlot 2014, Copeland Vineyard, Yakima Valley ($22) – plums, cherry fruit, forward (young) tannins.
• Cabernet Sauvignon 2014, Yakima Valley ($28) – simply an excellent Cab Sauv. ♥♥♥
• Reserve Cabernet Franc 2013, Yakima Valley ($35) – an next an excellent example of Cab Fr with juicy red fruit, perfectly ripe. ♥♥♥
• Vinho Vermelho 2011 Vintage “Port” ($72/500 ml) – made from 100% Touriga Nacional, this proved to be absolutely wonderful. ♥♥♥

Portteus Winery gave us an extensive tasting as well. They offered quite a range of acceptable wines in the $20 and under range. The ones I liked the best were Route 66 2014 ($15) which was in the style of a claret from Bordeaux, Merlot 2014 ($20), Petit Verdot 2013 ($20), and Zinfandel 2013 ($20).

On our last day in the state we visited Woodinville. The “warehouse district” has an interesting setting of more than 40 wineries, tasting rooms, brewers, and cideries, some offering food, all grouped together in a walkable cluster. Start up wineries can rent facilities for production and tasting while larger ones have tasting outlets. Our first stop was the Kestrel Vintners tasting outlet.

• Mourvèdre 2012, Yakima Valley ($45) – black bramble fruit & sweet nose, noticeable tannins, but smooth, good finish. 18% Grenache and 5% Dolcetto as well. ♥
• Old Vines Merlot 2012 ($65) – big ripe plum nose, mocha, medium tannins, very smooth, very drinkable. ♥
• Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 ($45) – very Cab Sauv nose and mouth, full body, smooth tannins, a little short.
• Old Vines Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 ($65) – red bramble fruit, Cab fruit, smooth tannins, good long finish. Some vines from 1972. ♥♥

We had lunch with a tasting at Davenport Cellars – great lunch, but less than inspiring wines. A small winery, they purchase all their grapes. Their most enjoyable wine was the G.S.M. 2013 ($28) with a lovely scented aroma, red cherry and black fruit, medium body, good grip with smooth tannins, and a decent finish.

Our final stop in the warehouse district was at Adrice Wines which featured some innovative wine names, such as Rosé the Riveter – a rosé featuring the famous World War II poster. The winery has recently moved from California, so most of their stock is from that state – we only sampled one wine from Washington grapes: Rosé the Riveter Red 2014 ($45), from the Red Mountain AVA. This was a blend mostly of Cabernet Sauvignon with some Petit Verdot, Syrah, and Merlot. The aroma was strongly cassis with vanilla, and had sharp young tannins in the mouth.

I imagine with more time in this cluster of wineries we would have found some real gems! We finished our day visiting Chateau Ste Michelle the original winery in the state. It has an impressive and large facility in Woodinville which was well attended on a Sunday afternoon in January. Size probably contributed to a fairly perfunctory tasting experience of well made wines.

• Ethos Chardonnay 2013 , Columbia Valley ($40) – quite Burgundian in style although I would have liked a little more acidity, lovely integration of the French oak. ♥
• Artist Series 2012 & 2013, Columbia Valley ($65) – the 2012 quite reminded me of a high-end Bordeaux although maybe a touch too round – excellent. ♥♥ The 2013 was less interesting with sharper tannins and less plush fruit. ♥
• Druthers Cabernet Sauvignon 2013, Columbia Valley ($90) – self-described as “over the top” I think I have to agree as this was hearty and tannic and only decent fruit.
• Ethos Syrah 2012, Columbia Valley ($55) – this wine showed spice, pepper, and good black fruit in the nose with quite a load of tannins in the mouth. ♥

Our combined visit to Oregon and Washington showed quite a contrast in styles between the cool-climate Pinot Noirs of the Willamette Valley and the more robust reds of the Columbia Valley. One thing both had in common, however, were the hefty price tags!