Great Northwest Wine magazine Spring 2022

VOLUME 1, ISSUE 2

GREAT NORTHWEST SPRING 2022

WINE

GREATNORTHWESTWINE.COM

PACIFIC NORTHWEST WINERY OF THE YEAR DELILLE CELLARS

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Spring 2022 • Great Northwest Wine | 3

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Spring 2022 • Great Northwest Wine | 5

Welcome to

magazine

IN THIS ISSUE SPRING 2022 | VOL. 1, NO. 2

30 08 10 12 14

COVER STORY | by Eric Degerman

DeLille Cellars – Pacific Northwest Winery of the Year

A VINE START | by Eric Degerman

Getting the points

THE WINE KNOWS | by Andy Perdue

Chris Upchurch, Red Mountain and Cabernet Sauvignon

SWIRL, SNIFF & SIP | by Ken Robertson

Merlot, 25 years later

ELLEN ON WINE | by Ellen Landis

Barnard Griffin’s 2021 rosé takes the sweepstakes award at the 2022 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition with 431 medals awarded to wines from Washington, Oregon & Idaho

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BEHIND THE TASTING BAR | by April Reddout

Understanding the “reserve” in reserve wine

THE WINES THAT MADE US| by Liz Moss Woerman

A look back at wine and great memories

IDAHO WINE INDUSTRY | by Jim Thomssen

5 straight years as fastest-growing state in the U.S.

PLATINUM AWARDS FACTOR INTO SCHOLARSHIPS|by Brad Smith

Yakima Enological Society fosters future growers and winemakers

ANDREW RIECHERS AND AUDEANT WINES|by Tamara Belgard

Salem winemaker attracts international acclaim for Pinot Noir

GLASS SHORTAGE| by Sophia McDonald

Supply chain shortages and the impacts on Northwest wine industry WESTPORT WINERY– WASHINGTON WINERY OF THE YEAR | by Eric Degerman

The Roberts family creates a destination for families

LIBERY LAKE WINE CELLARS– WASHINGTON WINERY TO WATCH| by Eric Degerman

Rewards follow Mark Lathrop’s reach into Red Mountain

CHRIS JAMES CELLARS– OREGON WINERY OF THE YEAR | by Eric Degerman

Producing unique and interesting wines in Carlton

POTTER’S VINEYARD/VINO VASAI WINES– OREGON WINERY TO WATCH| by Eric Degerman

Newberg scientist Bill Sanchez shines with Pinot Noir and Cab

HOLESINSKY VINEYARD AND WINERY– IDAHO WINERY OF THE YEAR| by Eric Degerman

Award-winning chemistry between James and Caitlin Holesinsky

RIVAURA VINEYARDS & WINERY– IDAHO WINERY TO WATCH| by Eric Degerman

Cousins team up in Lewis-Clark Valley

MERLOT TASTING RESULTS| by Eric Degerman

Sagemoor, Red Mountain play lead roles in cast starring Abeja

GREAT NORTHWEST

W IN E

GREAT NORTHWEST WINE l Article title #RedMtnUnfiltered #NoWaterAdded

Since 1998, our team of journalists has set out to help identify award-winning wines from the Pacific Northwest and to share the stories of those behind them. We focus on those in the cellar and among the vines who work with fruit from Washington, Oregon, British Columbia, Idaho and Montana. Our coverage includes those restaurateurs, merchants and ambassadors working to promote the Northwest as one of the wine world’s leading destinations. Along the way, we continue to pay homage to the historic figures responsible for our industry’s delicious past, present and future.

CEO, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Eric Degerman & CO-FOUNDER eric@GreatNorthwestWine.com PUBLISHER Jerry Hug

jerry@GreatNorthwestWine.com

Great Northwest Wine 2022 WA Winery to Watch

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Ken Robertson & COLUMNIST ken@GreatNorthwestWine.com COLUMNISTS

Andy Perdue Ellen Landis April Reddout Liz Moss Woerman

CONTRIBUTORS Tamara Belgard Sophia McDonald Dan Radil Brad Smith Jim Thomssen

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Richard Duval Jennifer King

Greg Jacobs/Capture.Share.Repeat GRAPHIC DESIGN Lisa L. Vogt LVogtDesigns@att.net IN MEMORIAM Bob Woehler Gregg McConnell ADVERTISING SALES Jerry Hug Jerry@GreatNorthwestWine.com (509) 947-9422

2021 - 7 for 7 Platinum Winning Wines!

LIBERTY LAKE WINE CELLARS

To subscribe: Subscriptions cost $50 per year for four issues per year. Mail check to the address below or subscribe securely at GreatNorthwestWine.com.

Free weekly newsletter: Sign up for our free Great Northwest Wine of the Week email newsletter at GreatNorthwestWine.com Mailing address: Great Northwest Wine LLC 8524 W. Gage Blvd. A-244 Kennewick, WA 99336 © 2022 Great Northwest Wine A publication of Wine News Service PHOTOS ON LEFT Pg. 30 — Pacific NW Winery of the Year - DeLille Cellars with Tom Dugan and Jason Gorski Pg. 38 — Washington Winery of the Year - Westport Winery Pg. 42 — Oregon Winery of the Year - Chris James Cellars Pg. 50 — Idaho Winery of the Year - Holesinsky Vineyard and Winery

23110 E. Knox Ave., Liberty Lake, WA 99019 LibertyLakeWineCellars.com | Info@LibertyLakeWine.com Spring 2022 • Great Northwest Wine | 7

COLUMN l A Vine Start

2 decades later, it’s point/counterpoint starting at 100 I

In 1998, the difference in the marketplace between an 89-point wine and one at 90 points was subtle yet massive.

For a couple of copy desk jockeys working at a small daily newspaper, ERIC albeit in the middle DEGERMAN of Washington wine country, the responsibility of going up to 90 points was something we didn’t feel comfortable with when we judged Merlot for the first issue of now-defunct Wine Press Northwest magazine. That was thousands of wines ago.

Andy Perdue and I were well into our second decades as professional journalists, but new to wine. That didn’t stop us from starting a wine magazine. However, we decided rather early to surround ourselves with experts such as winemaker Charlie Hoppes and international wine judge Coke Roth, as well as to eschew the 100-point scale popularized by Robert Parker and international magazines such as Wine Spectator, Decanter and Wine Enthusiast.

In those days and the two decades prior, it seemed only producers along the Silverado Trail in California’s Napa Valley and the historic houses of Bordeaux and Burgundy were receiving lofty scores for “Parkerized” wines.

Then, international critics began to appreciate what was happening in the Pacific Northwest. Ken Wright, who trained at the University of California-Davis, moved to Oregon to launch Panther Creek Cellars, made the first wines for Domaine Serene and created Ken Wright Cellars. High scores followed each brand, and he wound up on Spectator’s cover.

In Washington state, Quilceda Creek first attained perfection — 100 points from Pierre Rovani in Parker’s Wine Advocate — with its 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon. The Leonetti Cellar 2003 Reserve garnered 97 points from Parker.

Bob Betz received 99 from the Advocate for a 2012 Red Mountain Cab. These days, essentially every winery in the Northwest is earning higher scores. Credit climate change/warmer vintages, the formal education of winemakers/growers and technological advancements, including research by the cork industry.

Sure, those higher-alcohol wines championed

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by Parker are viewed as an endemic condition by some. That concept fed into the American consumer’s penchant for wines that drink more like a cocktail rather than an ingredient at the dining table. Bottom line, though, there are simply far fewer flawed/undrinkable wines. Our blind tastings and competitions — and those of others — prove that.

In fact, every entry we received for this issue’s comparative tasting of Merlot was at least recommendable/drinkable. On Wine Spectator’s scale, that would be 79 points. The WS range for “Outstanding,” the word Andy embraced in 1998 to describe a top wine, is 90-94 points. Any wine beyond that is one Spectator defines as “Classic,” but rarely does that magazine’s score climb above 97. It happened twice in our Merlot judging. (Your results may vary.)

So now we’re back to where Andy and I were two decades ago. What takes a wine from 89 to 90? In Spectator’s rarified air of today, it is 97 vs. 98.

Those who read our coverage this winter of the 22nd Platinum Awards in the inaugural issue of Great Northwest Wine magazine likely noticed points were given to each winning wine. The Chris Daniel Winery 2017 Malbec — the top-scoring wine — finished with 99.5 points. One judge, a celebrated winemaker, held firm at 99 points, noting, “No wine is perfect, but this is close.”

One of the country’s most respected critics once told me that he couldn’t imagine awarding a white wine more than 96 points. Well, some bottlings by the Gehringer brothers, the Krugers at Wild Goose or Rieslings from Bob Bertheau can take me there.

Our decision not to award points wasn’t because we were trying to break with tradition.

Part of it was that we were novices when it came to evaluating and judging wine, and a portion of our readers appreciated our approach. We were learning on the job, using a journalistic approach to evaluating every wine under blind conditions, and taking new consumers along as we explored and discovered.

Ultimately, though, I answer to two camps: the readers who subscribe to the magazine and/ or buy wines our panels recommend and the vintners who seek our impressions of their wines.

In recent years, more winemakers asked us to begin using the 100-point system. We all grew up with it in grade school, though some wine

critics delight in pointing out the 100-point system is essentially a 20-point scale starting at 14. They may have a point.

Some retailers want a score to use as a shelf talker. (Many also appreciate it when a bottle wears a gold-medal sticker from a wine competition.)

However, the tipping point for my internal debate came last summer when one of the vintners you will read about in this issue reached out and said: “I’m sorry to tell you this, but I’ve never been asked, ‘So how many ‘Outstanding!’ ratings have you gotten?’ They only want to know about gold medals or how many points a wine got.” === Back when my beat was not wine but the Western Hockey League, the local club briefly restricted my access because they didn’t appreciate the way I wrote about their last-place team.

It presented a few challenges, so I was tempted to write a column about it. My editor told me something that’s stuck with me.

“The reader doesn’t care if your job is difficult or how you do it, so don’t mention it.”

Well, I didn’t run the newspaper, but I own this publication so in the interest of transparency, this second issue of Great Northwest Wine magazine will feel different than the first. My publisher, Jerry Hug, needed to switch printers to get this edition to you in March rather than May. “I was shocked to find out our printer is killing their press for our magazine,” he told me. “With COVID-19, the paper mills changed their processes to making cardboard — Amazon needs it — and killed the press lines that make the stock paper we use. Couple that and a backlog of newsprint orders, and they have a six-month plus wait.” === Another reason this issue will look different is we’ve added a columnist — Liz Moss Woerman — and brought on retired banker Jim Thomssen to write regularly about Idaho’s wine industry. I trust we will have room to fit in all of this worthy content, but it’s an exciting challenge. Thank you for reading and supporting us.

Eric Degerman is the owner and CEO of Great Northwest Wine LLC. He can be reached at eric@GreatNorthwestWine.com

COLUMN l A Vine Start

Spring 2022 • Great Northwest Wine | 9

COLUMN l The Wine Knows

I

Upchurch hits sweet spot with Cab on Red Mountain

f Cabernet Sauvignon was a celebrity, it would be Sylvester Stallone: strong yet supple, ages well, with a purity of fruit like the ringing of a bell and tannins that can knock you out if the match is ANDY uneven.

PERDUE Cab isn’t a sipping wine — no supporting actor role for this red. This is the main character, the centerpiece of a meal focused on a rich entrée like lasagna or grilled meat.

While Cabernet Sauvignon is the most grown wine grape variety in the world, it’s typically popular in the “romcom” category, where its rugged tannins are softened through significant blending with Merlot, Malbec or Petit Verdot.

The Washington winemakers who master bottling Cab — the action-hero version of 90 or 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon — are similarly strong and confident in their approach with this grape.

Upchurch Vineyard is one of those award-winning producers. With Red Mountain as the stage, Chis Upchurch wrings every drop of quality from the Cabernet Sauvignon he and his wife, Thea, planted in 2007.

Starting with raw, sagebrush-covered land near Benton City, Upchurch and storied viticulturist Dick Boushey scripted this estate vineyard down to the irrigation, vine orientation and grape clones.

The resulting Cab is a champion As the founding winemaker and a partner at DeLille Cellars since 1992, Chris Upchurch had the early opportunity to work with the best vineyards on this bench on the south end of the Yakima Valley. Now, Upchurch has the advantage of nearly 30 years of experience on Red Mountain and he knows how to finesse the terroir.

One of the challenges that growers across the Red Mountain American Viticultural Area deal with is the lack of water. The appellation gets only about 5 inches of rain per vintage. But Upchurch has two sources of water: the local irrigation district and an on-site well. Combined with a precise irrigation system, Upchurch has

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the advantage of controlling the delivery of water down to the spoonful whenever it’s needed in the sandy soil.

use during fermentation, but he does favor new French oak barrels from the center of France for each wine’s pre-bottling rehearsal.

Just as in a movie, the struggle through adversity is what makes the story — and the wine — great.

All of this combines to create widely regarded wines with a remarkable ability to age.

He often tastes through older vintages of Red Mountain wines and states he has “no dead soldiers” — no failed bottles — in the cellar.

Searing summers, chronic winds and freezedried winters are among the other plot twists on Red Mountain. The unrelenting sun comes across the bench to its hottest part of the day at about 2 p.m., so Upchurch planted the vineyard in an orientation that provides equal amounts of sunshine on both sides of the plant. This allows for even ripening of grapes that take

“

With only 850 cases per vintage on Red Mountain, Upchurch recently disclosed that he is ready to expand.” fullest advantage of Red Mountain’s heat and arid conditions. He uses the Guyot method of pruning, a technique that can protect the vines from Eastern Washington’s notoriously cold winters while also limiting each vine’s annual production to about two pounds of fruit, a level that ensures quality.

And, as an underlying theme, Upchurch is dedicated to sustainability. The vineyard is certified by LIVE (Low Input Viticulture and Enology), a nonprofit organization that supports environmentally and socially responsible winegrowing in the Pacific Northwest through research-based standards. Upchurch also has achieved Salmon-Safe certification from the West Coast nonprofit program that works with agriculture to protect water quality, watersheds and habitats.

All of these elements wrap up into the stunning conclusion in the bottle.

In reviews, Red Mountain Cabernet is known for its flavor profile of dark fruit: ripe blackberries, black cherries, black currants, plum. Those deep flavors are backed by famously high tannins and a surprising amount of acidity.

Upchurch doesn’t have a preferred yeast to

With a wink, he claims Red Mountain is the envy of his winemaking friends in Bordeaux.

This an area unlike any other in Washington and is why Red Mountain grapes are treasured in wineries across the state, fetching as much as $5,000 per ton.

Wineries such as Betz, Leonetti, Quilceda Creek, Seven Hills and Woodward Canyon have helped put Washington state’s interpretation of this varietal on the world wine map.

In 2009, Columbia Crest used its 2005 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon — with a retail price of $27 — to achieve the No. 1 ranking in the world by Wine Spectator. A 2003 Cab

by Quilceda Creek ($85) placed No. 2 on the magazine’s list in 2006.

Upchurch has about 15 acres of densely planted vines, most of which is Cabernet Sauvignon — now the state’s signature variety. Any grapes he doesn’t use for his label are sold to DeLille Cellars in Woodinville.

His control of quality in the vineyard and cellar lead to the tasting room, where bottles of red range from $30 to $78 — prices that are in line with the top producers in Washington and are an absolute bargain compared with California’s Napa Valley, which routinely command more than $100 per bottle. Upchurch wines are available in retailers across the state, as well at many top restaurants, but be warned they sell out quickly upon release.

With only 850 cases per vintage on Red Mountain, Upchurch recently disclosed that he is ready to expand. He plans to plant a vineyard at nearby Candy Mountain, one of Washington’s newest appellations. He has worked with vineyards there and knows what to expect from the fruit. This means a sequel to Cabernet Sauvignon is on the horizon.

Andy Perdue co-founded Great Northwest Wine LLC and has written about wine since 1995. He lives in the heart of Washington wine country.

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Spring 2022 • Great Northwest Wine | 11

COLUMN l Swirl, Sniff & Sip

Merlot a Northwest stalwart M

erlot was a shining star among the Northwest’s red wines 25 years ago when the core staff of Great Northwest Wine magazine launched the first issue of a wine magazine — KEN Wine Press Northwest ROBERTSON — aimed at serving the wine lovers, winemakers and grape growers of our region.

More by chance than design, our second issue of Great Northwest Wine magazine takes another in-depth look at Northwest Merlot. It was a fortuitous choice. After evaluating 114 Northwest Merlots, two panels of judges came away impressed by the Merlot grown in our region during vintages 2016 through 2020.

I would add, as a judge at both tastings, our region’s Merlot makers are more skilled than ever. (Our report on this newest set of wines begins on Page 54.)

That judging earlier this year prompted me to look back at the quarter-century-old report in the first issue of the now-defunct Wine Press Northwest by the late Bob Woehler — the Northwest’s second wine writer to have a regular daily newspaper column. At the time, we managed to assemble 45 Merlots drawn from 35 wineries — all in Washington.

Considering there were roughly 70 wineries in Washington at the time — contemporary reports don’t always agree on the number — it was certainly a fair representation of Washington Merlot, which was then by far the majority of Merlot produced in the Northwest.

The wines were ranked on a 100-point scale popularized by both Robert Parker and Wine Spectator, with the equivalent of gold-medal wines scoring 90 points and above, silver medal wines 83-89 points and bronze medal wines 7582 points. All but one of the entries would have earned a medal, and the laggard missed out by only one point.

The six wines rated above 90 points all are names any longtime wine buff is likely to be familiar with, although Preston Wine Cellars of Pasco, the state’s third bonded winery, has closed permanently and its vineyards have been removed. But their 1993 Reserve — then a $30 wine — topped those ratings at 92 points.

Another six wineries were clustered at 90 points and all became industry stalwarts:

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Walla Walla Vintners 1995 Washington, $22, (partly Spring Valley Vineyards in the Walla Walla Valley American Viticultural Area, part likely from Pleasant Vineyards in the Yakima Valley near Prosser).

L’Ecole No. 41 1995 Columbia Valley, $29.

Chateau Ste. Michelle 1995 Canoe Ridge Vineyards (now in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA), $29-$30.

Columbia Crest 1994 Estate Series, Columbia Valley (also now Horse Heaven Hills AVA), $21.

Columbia Winery 1995 Red Willow Vineyard Milestone Merlot, Yakima Valley, $21-$22.

Kiona Vineyards Winery 1995 Merlot (now Red Mountain AVA), $16.

As one of the judges for that competition, there are a few scores that puzzle me, but that often follows the results of blind tastings. The 1995 vintages of Leonetti Cellar, Woodward Canyon, Barnard Griffin Reserve, Barnard Griffin (tulip label) and Washington Hills all were rated 88.

They represent four of the state’s most talented then, and now most experienced winemakers: Gary Figgins of Leonetti, Rick Small of Woodward Canyon, Rob Griffin of Barnard Griffin and Brian Carter, then the winemaker at Washington Hills and now owner of his own highly regarded winery, Brian Carter Cellars.

Those four already were recognized as some of the Northwest’s finest winemakers, and in the years since have burnished an unmatched record as regional rock stars in their industry.

Figgins is legendary in Washington and beyond for his brilliant red wines, especially Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Arguably the Northwest’s premier spring tasting weekend in the Walla Walla Valley is informally dubbed “Leonetti Weekend” because the region’s wine lovers who hold a place on his coveted list, which allows them to buy his limited release bottlings, flock to Walla Walla to pick them up.

Along the way, these wine enthusiasts also stop at wineries throughout the Yakima Valley, Red Mountain and the Tri-Cities to restock their wine cellars depleted over the previous winter.

Small’s “Old Vines” Cabernets and stellar Chardonnays regularly rate among the Northwest’s best and are coveted for their exceptional and consistent quality.

Griffin has exhibited an incredible touch for

making just about every grape variety grown in Washington into an award winner. For nearly two decades, his Rosé of Sangiovese has sold out annually to the Northwest’s appreciative wine drinkers. From the 2008 to 2021 vintages, seven times it has won the sweepstakes award as the best rosé at the nation’s largest judging the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.

As a result, he’s been credited with helping to spark the Northwest’s recent “Rosé Revolution,” a resurgence among consumers in the dry rosé made in the style popular in France’s Rhône region.

Carter has since established himself as one of the Northwest’s finest makers of red and white wine blends. His white Rhône-inspired blend (Oriana) and his red blends, made from grape varietals originally from Bordeaux (Solesce), Rhône (Byzance), Spain (Corrida) and Tuscany (Tuttorosso), all are perennial award winners.

WINE WORD: Puncheon There are at least four definitions, depending whether it is used to describe winemaking, carpentry or tools. To a winemaker, it’s generally a type of wine barrel, “commonly found in Australia and New Zealand,” according to The Sotheby’s Wine Encyclopedia

by Tom Stevenson. A puncheon’s capacity is 119 gallons, or 450 liters, although other sources say it can vary between 72 to 120 gallons. The word sometimes is used to describe the amount of wine such a cask contains.

It can also be a form of punch or a stamping tool. A carpenter might tell you it’s a short, upright piece of wood used in framing, as in over the top of a door or window, reaching to the ceiling level. But it’s also the term for a heavy slab of timber, usually used for flooring, with a rough-hewn face.

Once again, toast the French as the source of the word’s origin.

Ken Robertson, the retired editor of the Tri-City Herald, has been sipping Northwest wines and writing about them since 1976.

Spring 2022 • Great Northwest Wine | 13

COLUMN l Ellen on Wine

Barnard Griffin rosé again leads NW producers at San Francisco Chronicle judging F

amily-owned Barnard Griffin Winery in Richland, WA, rose to the top of the field of 176 rosé wines as the 2021 Rosé of Sangiovese captured the sweepstakes award at the 2022 San ELLEN Francisco Chronicle LANDIS Wine Competition in Cloverdale Calif..

“Beats a nail in the foot!” quipped founding winemaker Rob Griffin. “I’m pleased that we won with a robust color.”

It marked the seventh time since 2008 that Griffin, a graduate from the University of California-Davis winemaking program, has produced the top rosé at the nation’s largest wine competition. This winter, judges from across the country swirled, sipped and spit more than 5,800 entries from nearly 1,000 wineries during the four-day competition, held at the Cloverdale Citrus Fairgrounds in California’s Sonoma County.

A total of 431 medals were bestowed upon wines produced by vintners in Washington, Oregon and Idaho. The impressive haul for the Pacific Northwest wineries and growers included 16 best-of-class designations, 41 double gold medals, 71 gold and 273 silver medals.

The Barnard Griffin 2021 rosé ($14) from the Columbia Valley American Viticultural Area lit up the judges’ palates.

While he’s adjusted the color over time, this winter marked the 14th time in the past 17 years that Griffin’s rosé program earned at least a gold medal.

Griffin says that his wife/ co-owner

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Deborah Barnard and daughters Megan Hughes (assistant winemaker) and Elise Jackson enjoy keeping things rolling at their lively, engaging “circus” — which includes the winery tasting room in Richland and satellite tasting room in Vancouver, Wash.

WA grapes turn into 12 BOC awards Winemakers in Washington — and beyond — continue to use grapes grown in the Evergreen State to achieve national success.

Walla Walla-trained winemaker Aaron Peet came to national prominence during the 2019 Chronicle judging when he collected 10 gold medals on behalf of Cellardoor Winery in Lincolnville, Maine.

In 2022, he produced three best-of-class awards for winery owner Bettina Doulton, who buys West Coast grapes and has Peet and his wife, Christina, turn them into award winners in the Polar State.

This time, the Washington-grown 2018 Malbec and 2017 Syrah-led Aurora Red Wine finished atop their categories at the Chronicle.

(Their 2019 Teroldego came from California’s Lodi region.) There were six other gold medals made from Washington vineyards, including a Grenache rosé. Expect at least a few of these Peet-produced golds to turn into Platinum this fall, adding to Cellardoor’s career total of 17 in the past three years.

Ste. Michelle Wine Estates pulled in best-ofclass honors for the racy, citrus-scented 2019 Sauvignon Blanc ($15) under its H3 project.

The vines for this striking gem are rooted in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA (hence the H3 label).

Other highlights from Ste. Michelle’s portfolio in Washington included four gold medals for 14 Hands, led by their flagship 2018 Hot to Trot red blend, and Columbia Crest’s remarkably priced Grand Estates program, which earned gold medals for its 2020 Chardonnay, 2018 Gold Red Wine and 2018 Syrah.

The Mercer Estates rich, cassis, blackberry, tobacco-accented 2018 Small Lot Cabernet Sauvignon ($32) with finely grained tannins earned a BOC accolade. The 2018 Reserve Cavalie, a Right Bank Bordeaux-inspired red, received a gold, as did the Subsoil 2018 Cab ($17).

There was a best-of-class award for the husband/wife team of Justin and Katy Michaud, whose citrusy, white-fruit focused Michaud 2020 Riesling ($22) enlivened judges’ palates

in the medium-dry Riesling category.

Among medium-sweet Riesling, Spokane’s Latah Creek Wine Cellars won for its energetic 2020 Riesling ($12). The Conway family pulled in a second BOC with their perfumed, vibrant, palate-pleasing 2020 Orange Muscat ($16) from the Yakima Valley. Founding winemaker Mike Conway and his wife, Ellena, established Latah Creek in 1982. Their daughter, Natalie, joined the team in 2005 as winemaker.

Her 2020 A Toast to Best Friends White Blend ($15) also earned a double gold.

Family-owned L’Ecole No. 41 gained bragging rights for its smooth olallieberry, plum and spice-scented 2019 Columbia Valley Merlot ($27), which brought another BOC back to the Walla Walla Valley. It’s approachable now and promises more time ahead, too.

Barrage Cellars in Woodinville also hit the jackpot with two best-of-class awards by Kevin Correll. There was multi-layered, varietally spot-on 2015 Cease & Desist Cabernet Franc ($37) and the velvety, well-defined and juicy 2015 Blacklisted Merlot ($32).

In the Red Blend Merlot-leading category, the Cedergreen Cellars silky, Bing cherry and fall spice-tinged 2012 Thuja ($29) scored BOC honors. Underlying oak adds depth while staying in the background, and subtle crushed black peppercorn notes linger nicely on the finish.

Justin Michaud’s day job is with Coyote Canyon Winery in Prosser, Wash., where he produced eleven five gold medals, an effort led by a double gold for the H/H Estates 2017 Michael Andrews Red Wine.

Peet’s alma mater, College Cellars of Walla Walla, reeled in a trio of double gold medals for its 2018 Clarke Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, 2018 Clarke Vineyard Petit Verdot and 2020 Anderson Vineyard Roussanne. Both vineyards pay tribute to previous instructors, and the wines were made by students under the direction of viticulturist Joel Perez and winemaker Tim Donahue, who recently resigned to become a consultant.

Barrister Winery in Spokane picked up three gold medals, led by the double gold for the 2018 Petite Sirah, its first commercial bottling of the bold Rhône variety.

Restaurateur/vintner JD Nolan of Schooler Nolan adds to the award-winning reds on his wine list at Fat Olives in Richland via the double gold for the Merlot-led 2018 Reserve Red

COLUMN l Ellen on Wine Under Precept Wine’s Battle Creek Cellars brand comes a vivacious NV Yamhela Vineyard Blanc de Noirs ($45) best-of-class winner. This exhilarating gem is crafted from fruit in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA, and it’s loaded with Rainier cherries, lemon zest and crisp pear fruit while boasting a tiny, persistent bead.

In the Syrah/Shiraz $35 to $39.99 category, the Garvin family’s Cliff Creek Cellars took home the top prize for its floral, juicy blackberry, bacon and oak nuanced 2017 Estate Rob Griffin, the dean of Washington winemakers, and his winemaking daughter, Megan Hughes, team up for one of the best rosés in the U.S. Syrah. This deep, well-balanced wine comes from their Wine from Mercer family plantings and gold Sam’s Valley Vineyard in the Rogue Valley, a medals for 2018 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon site they established in the early 1990s grown to and 2018 Reserve Syrah off the Hedges faminearly 70 acres under vine. ly’s vines on Red Mountain.

The Schmidt Family Vineyards bold and rich 2018 Estate Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon ($40) Precept-owned Gruet, the renowned sparwas voted best of its class. Divine aromatics kling wine house in New Mexico, featured lead to black plum and black currant with hints Washington fruit in the non-vintage Brut of leather and oak spice amid well-integrated ($16.99) that merited a double gold. tannins. Their remarkably diverse program also Hamilton Cellars on Red Mountain received led to double golds for its 2020 Sparkling Rosé a double gold for its 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon, and nonvintage Wilderness White in addition to a fitting tribute by the winemaking team of golds for the 2020 blush, 2018 Reserve Malbec Charlie Hoppes and Mitch Venohr on behalf of and 2020 Sauvignon Blanc. the late Stacie Hamilton.

Patrick Spangler in Roseburg, who earned Mike Scott of Martin-Scott Winery, downOregon Winery of the Year in 2018, achieved a stream from Wenatchee, earned a double gold BOC for his succulent 2018 Carménère ($39). for its 2018 Needlerock Vineyard MontepulciaRed and black fruit at the core join a twist of no ($32), which is only the most recent acclaim multi-colored peppercorns, and the mouthfeel for his work with the obscure Tuscan red. Port is heavenly. His 2018 Cabernet Franc earned a Townsend Vineyards on the Olympic Peninsula gold medal. used its 2019 Grenache from the Harry and David Vineyards, which hired Rattlesnake Hills for a double winemaker Linda Donovan a decade ago to gold. complement its delicious culinary gift baskets Above the Curve Vineyard, a and boxes, now offers plush, mouth-filling 2019 tiny project near Prosser, pulled Merlot ($21.99) that topped its group. There off a rare double when the 2020 was also a double gold for its 2020 Reserve Old Vine Sèmillon made by Pinot Noir and gold for its 2020 Pinot Noir.

Ron Bunnell received a gold Brent Stone’s work inside the bottle for King medal while Kennewick artist Estate yielded a trio of double gold medals — Sara Nelson earned a gold 2017 Estate Brut Cuvée, 2020 Rosé of Pinot medal under the “Modern Noir and 2019 Pinot Noir. There were also Illustrations” category for golds for the splashy 2020 Sauvignon Blanc packaging. program, the NEXT 2018 Red ($13) out of Washington’s Columbia Valley and the Soldier Oregon wineries finish 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon ($23), which adds up atop 8 categories to six gold medals from the cellar of the 2021 Pacific Northwest Winery of the Year.

Oregon tallied eight best-of-class awards, inMaragas Winery north of Bend reached north cluding three in packaging into Washington and across to Southern Oregon categories — two of those for grapes it transformed into three double gold

by King Estate Winery medals and one gold, led by its 2015 Anna products.

Petite Sirah ($60), 2016 Swingin Zinfandel

($45) and 2017 Chardonnay ($42). The 2016 Reserve Tempranillo from the Applegate Valley received the gold.

2Hawk Winery earned four gold medals — two of them double golds for the 2017 Darow Series Tempranillo and 2019 Darow Series Viognier.

Furioso Vineyards in the Dundee Hills continued its rise with double golds for its 2019 Trovato Vineyard Pietro Pinot Noir and 2019 Trovato Vineyard Gina Pinot Noir, the latter in the elite $67-and-over category.

Iris Vineyards winemaker Aaron Lieberman continued his award-winning run when his Aréte 2018 Chardonnay earned a double gold medal. His 2020 Pinot Gris was voted best of show at the 2022 McMinnville (Ore.) Wine Classic.

Erath Winery, Ste. Michelle’s storied brand in Oregon, saw its 2020 Rosé earn a double gold — topped only by Barnard Griffin’s sweepstakes winner.

Planet Oregon by acclaimed Soter Vineyards returned a double gold for its 2020 Rosé Bubbles ($24).

Valley View Winery in Southern Oregon garnered a double gold for its 2020 Red Red Wine ($18). Rellik Winery’s dry 2020 Raven Rosé earned a double gold, while its Syrah-led Odin’s Shoulders Red Wine received a gold.

Another historic Rogue Valley producer, RoxyAnn, was awarded a double gold for its 2017 Petite Sirah and a gold for the 2018 Claret. Schultz Wines, also in Southern Oregon, worked with acclaimed Steelhead Run Vineyard for its double gold 2020 Grace Pinot Gris and gold 2018 Shepherd Syrah.

Walla Walla Valley producer Zerba Cellars in Milton-Freewater received gold medals for its 2018 Barbera and 2018 Cockburn Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon.

2 Bad Labs leads Idaho medalists 2 Bad Labs Vineyard in Lewiston, Idaho, was judged to be home to the country’s most delicious Sèmillon, a 2020 example of the lesser-known white Bordeaux grape. Owner/ winemaker Paul Sullivan and his wife, Heidi, planted vineyards in the Lewis-Clark AVA in 2012 and now produce 4,000 cases a year. They raised their children in Oregon, along with many four-legged family members, and two of their pups frequently got into mischief, which inspired the winery name.

For full results from the 2022 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, visit WineJudging.com.

Ellen Landis is a certified sommelier, journalist and wine judge based in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Spring 2022 • Great Northwest Wine | 15

COLUMN l Behind the Tasting Bar

Reserving judgment on reserve wines “S ince this wine is labeled as ‘Reserve’ that means I have to love it — right?”

Novice wine tasters often wonder what a term means but are hesitant to ask. It is APRIL common for people REDDOUT who are new to wine to shy away from admitting what they have not yet learned.

Later, as people get more into wine, as they start learning and feeling comfortable with the lingo, feeling more relaxed while visiting tasting rooms and exploring wine lists, they have fun learning all the wonderful things this niche hobby offers.

Suddenly, something that was once incredibly intimidating becomes delightfully enchanting. Then the questions start flying. It’s a great milestone!

(Pro tip: When you are starting out or branching out, pose your questions to someone who is crazy about wine. They will joyfully answer your questions for hours.)

So let’s explore the term “reserve,” which is “riserva” in Italy and “reserva” in Spain. This is a confusing topic for various and valid reasons because it means different things depending on where you are in the world.

In Italy and Spain, “riserva” or “reserva” have specific meanings and Wine Folly is a great source for facts and information. Spanish wines labeled as such are required to spend six months in oak barrels and three years in bottle prior to release. In Rioja, the Tempranillo-based wines that carry the “Gran Reserva” designation must spend two years in barrel and three years in bottle. Italian regulations differ from region to region. In some parts, it’s only two years of aging. A Barolo must be aged three years. For a Barolo Riserva, it’s five years, but for a Barbaresco Riserva it’s just four years.

In the United States, there is no legal definition of a “reserve wine.” The Washington State Wine Commission formed the Washington Wine Quality Alliance in 1999 and attempted to create labeling standards, including defining the term “reserve.” Among the goals, starting with the 2000 vintage, was that “reserve” would only appear on the label of 10 percent of a Washington winery’s total production or on 3,000 cases of the particular variety, whichever

16 | greatnorthwestwine.com

is greater.

It was an effort applauded by many in the industry, including San Francisco Chronicle columnist Gerald Boyd. “This move by the WWQA is pro-consumer because it provides information to help wine-buyers make informed purchases,” wrote Boyd, a longtime journalist and educator who now lives on the Olympic Peninsula.

Unfortunately, interest among Washington state producers waned, and the standard was not officially adopted. The term remains open to interpretation so the vintner can label a wine “reserve” based on its own criteria. I can almost hear a few “ahhhs” of discovery as you read that. I’m going to bet at least one of you is thinking, “That’s why I didn’t like the reserve wine at so-and-so winery.”

“

Thank you for the feedback on my column in the inaugural issue. I was flattered that you took the time to communicate your thoughts — both positive and negative. Yes, I touched a few nerves.”

Exactly! Just because an American winemaker deems a certain wine a “reserve” does not mean your palate will agree. Sometimes newbies assume if the wine is a “Reserve” that they are supposed to love it/prefer it, and feel discouraged if it falls short of their expectations.

The good news is because there are so many reasons to call it “reserve” that it is perfectly acceptable and downright encouraged for you to ask the reason for that word being used on a label. Consider it an invitation to learn something new.

A “reserve” label in the U.S. might indicate that very little was produced and is in limited supply. A “winemaker’s reserve” could indicate it was their personal favorite of the vintage.

Perhaps a winemaker designates one block or row of the vineyard to make this wine, so to set it apart from the rest, it’s labeled “reserve.”

They may have handled the fruit differently on the crush pad and held the wine back from the rest of the lot, reserving it so that it shines on its

own. Maybe the “reserve” wines were aged in higher-quality barrels or — to borrow the Old World criteria — they have been aged longer than the other wines from that vintage.

Maybe the winemaker has experimented with a new fermentation vessel or technique and finds it superior to their traditional program, so they call it “Reserve.”

I encourage you to ask questions about labels and inquire about the Reserve status when you can. An enthusiastic host in a tasting room will tell you the story, and I’m betting it will be entertaining.

When you are enjoying wines at home with friends, do a blind tasting and see if guests can pick the “reserve” wine out of the lineup or do a blind side-by-side with the 2017 Syrah against the 2017 Reserve Syrah from the same producer. Based upon my years at the tasting bar, I predict only about half will prefer “the reserve” because of palate variance.

Long-time colleague Andy Perdue might have said it best in a 2018 column for The Seattle Times: “My general rule … is that if I really liked the regular bottling, then the reserve of that wine is going to be special. I find it worth buying a reserve-level wine if I know a winemaker’s style, or if I enjoyed his or her reserve wines in the past.”

Words to live by!

Thank you for the feedback on my column in the inaugural issue. I was flattered that you took the time to communicate your thoughts — both positive and negative. Yes, I touched a few nerves.

Until next time, keep sipping, swirling, sniffing and learning.

April Reddout is a professional wine judge and hospitality expert who was the wine program director at the Walter Clore Wine & Culinary Center in Prosser, Wash., and the guest services manager for Col Solare on Red Mountain. She can be reached at ReddoutWineConsulting.com.

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COLUMN l The Wines That Made Us

I

Story The wines headerthat place made phere us i

grew up around wine. My late grandfather, Bob Woehler, began writing about Northwest wine in the 1970s when he was assigned to cover the opening of Preston Premium Wines in Pasco, LIZ MOSS WOERMAN Wash., and their wunderkind winemaker, Rob Griffin.

Incidentally, Rob has been my boss for the past 13 years – a job I applied for at the “gentle urging” of my grandfather. (He set up the interview and drove me to it.)

I believe my grandfather realized on that fateful day at Preston in 1976 that he could swindle someone into paying him to write about, and consume, wine. The dream job. His column, “Woehler on Wine” ran in the Tri-City Herald for 32 years. There were also quarterly columns in Wine Press Northwest magazine and a short-lived podcast (aptly named The Bobcast) that ended when he passed away in August 2011.

In the decade since, wine in the Northwest has gotten bigger and better. I think he’d be pleased to see me still at Barnard Griffin, as it was one of his favorite producers. I’m sure he’d have a lot to say about my schooling through the Wine & Spirit Education Trust and would be the first to offer up a practice tasting or two.

I imagine he’d be disappointed in hard seltzer grabbing some of wine’s market share, but who in our industry isn’t!?

What I don’t know, however, is what wine he would tell me started it all.

What was the wine for my Grandpa? What wine changed the course of his life, made him dedicate years and miles and many, many moments of time waxing poetically (well… poetry wasn’t necessarily his strong suit) about fermented grape juice?

And so, the genesis of this piece and hopefully many more, unraveled in front of me: I want to sit down with members of the Washington wine industry and get to know the wines that made us.

In an “I’ll show you mine if you show me yours” sort of spirit, it is apt for me to go first.

I probably have a few answers, and new wines crop up all the time that reaffirm my faith-in-beverage: A gorgeous Tokaji that finally made me

18 | greatnorthwestwine.com

understand how something dripping with honeyed, lush sweetness could also make your mouth pucker with a strong underpinning of acidity – a balance that I had read of but never tasted until then.

A ridiculous sur lie Riesling in a very heavy bottle — just so you know it’s good (eye roll) that I tasted a year into our ongoing pandemic and thought, “Yes. This is everything it needs to be,” and “F*$! yeah! Riesling!”

“

Good wine is more than itself.

It usurps the sensory notes around it and plants itself deep within a person, sealing that moment in time.”

A tawny Port as old as my mother (don’t worry Mom, I won’t share the vintage) that was so exquisite I adjusted my budget to get my hands on another.

A Washington Malbec that was so peppery the tasting room attendant told me they rubbed the inside of the barrel with black peppercorns (they absolutely did not), its color so unmistakably magenta that it nearly glowed.

A Viognier from Barnard Griffin in 2010, paired with a shrimp cocktail of such divine proportions that to this day is the best food/ wine combination I can remember. (My grandpa was at that dinner. I wonder if he felt the same?)

But if I had to choose one, as is the idea of this piece – I know what it would be. I’m a little embarrassed to say it… but we’re all friends here.

The wine, for me, was Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc; probably sometime in 2010, when I was the ripe old age of 22.

My boss at the time had mentioned it in passing (Hi, Kim), and for some reason I decided to buy a bottle for myself. It was an extravagant wine purchase for me, because at that time I either took wine from my grandpa, my mom — who also worked in the industry — or bought it at a very nice price at work. Paying full retail?!

I. Would. Never.

I cracked the screw cap open, threw it in a tumbler (the gracelessness and pragmatism of youth) and was instantly gobsmacked by one of the most aromatic wines I had ever swirled.

Something clicked. As I moved it around the glass, it became clear what I was smelling. To me, it wasn’t cat piss (sorry) or gooseberry or grapefruit. It wasn’t the lush Kiwi landscape or the influence of the Awatere River on the Marlborough vines. It was my grandparents’ house in Kennewick on Fourth Avenue, in the middle of summer – mid ‘90s.

My grandma was in the kitchen, wooden bowl in hand, making “Roquefort salad” (pretty sure it was just Litehouse Blue Cheese dressing and iceberg lettuce, but whatever), while my grandpa kneeled beside the pool — vigilantly protecting the clear, chlorinated 72-degree water from a barrage of 100-degree days. It was the walk down the grass toward him and the smell of the sun-drenched tomato vines wafting along the way.

In 2010, far from my grandparents’ house in time but near in space, my friends and I drank that first bottle with hunks of Beecher’s No Woman cheese and thin salt-laden grissini, overlooking a golf course.

I’ve recreated this pairing time and time again — it isn’t the best — but it doesn’t have to be. Every glass is me, as an 8-year-old, walking near the tomato-filled garden at my favorite place in the world on Fourth Avenue. Then, I’m transported to that warm summer evening overlooking the golf course and the freedom that is being 22 years old on a patio with your best friends, the subtle sounds of the Two and a Half Men theme song floating through the air (to our knowledge this was the only show our neighbors would deign to watch).

Good wine is more than itself. It usurps the sensory notes around it and plants itself deep within a person, sealing that moment in time.

And, if it’s mass-produced like Kim Crawford is, it plays those notes anytime you ask. What luck that one time I decided to buy that wine, that now I can drift into wonderful places of my past anytime I’d like.

Liz Moss Woerman, who studied creative writing and English at Washington State University prior to starting the Wine & Spirit Education Trust Diploma program, can be reached at liz@barnardgriffin.com Editor’s note: This is the first in a series

by Liz Moss Woerman. She is the director of hospitality and direct-to-consumer manager at Barnard Griffin Winery in Richland, Wash.

She represents the third generation of her family to be a part of the Washington state wine industry.

PHOTO COURTESY OF XXXXXXXXXXX

Photo caption place here photo caption place here.

Spring 2022 • Great Northwest Wine | 19

ANALYSIS l Gem State Report

Idaho wine industry feels impact as nation’s fastest-growing state

By Jim Thomssen

B

usinesses typically monitor two or three major indexes throughout each year to help guide them toward success. For example, bankers pay attention to the “Three Cs” of credit — capacity, character and collateral — when they put loans on the books.

Another three C’s — competition, climate and coronavirus — created problems for Gem State winemakers throughout the 2021 vintage.

Some areas were more affected than others, but these three factors swirled around the entire industry.

Competition Competition wasn’t limited to customers, wine club members and blind judgings in 2021. For the fifth year in a row, Idaho was the fastest-growing state in the nation. As most Idahoans will tell you, there are a lot of new people moving in and making their presence felt. A large percentage of these immigrants are from our wine-loving neighbors in Washington, Oregon and California, so the demand for Idaho wine is going up.

With all these folks needing places to live, the competition for land is driving up real estate prices and threatening prime agricultural land for growing grapes and other food items.

Canyon County, where 80 percent of Idaho’s wine grapes are grown, is looking to change the county master plan to help protect the agricultural focus of the area by codifying what can happen in areas zoned for farming use.

The vines below Bitner Vineyards tasting room were saved from a high-end housing development in 2021 when the owners of Lanae Ridge Vineyards stepped in and purchased the land that Bill Broich, founding winemaker for Ste. Chapelle, once referred to as a “worldclass site for Chardonnay.”

There’s competition for labor, too. As more houses go up, the need for construction crews continues to drive up wages and lures seasonal farm laborers into full-time construction jobs.

Free markets are like that, however those seasonal workers are the lifeblood for the vineyards and winemakers at harvest time.

Area farmers moved forward with a technological solution, just as they have in the past.

At least two state-of-the-art Pellenc mechanical harvesters arrived in Idaho vineyards to help

20 | greatnorthwestwine.com

bring in the grapes. Skyline Vineyards, the breadbasket for much of the Idaho wine industry, added one to its existing fleet of harvesters.

The owners of Lanae Ridge, Koenig and Scoria vineyards teamed up to invest in the other, spreading out the cost of an item that can run upward of $500,000.

While hand picking has long been the preferred harvesting method requested by winemakers, the 2021 vintage prompted some to adapt to machine-picked fruit. One challenge is that if you haven’t trained your vines to be harvested by machines, then there’s a risk of an increase in damaged fruit and material other than grapes (MOG) arriving on the crush pad.

Again, the accelerated acquisitions of expensive equipment prompted by labor shortages made a difference to the 2021 vintage.

Competition among peers in the wine business also cast a spotlight on Idaho wines in 2021. The annual Seattle Times ranking of its top 20 Northwest wines of the year saw four Idaho wines earn a spot, led by Telaya Wine Company’s 2018 Syrah at No. 2. A Carménère

by Clearwater Canyon Cellars came in at No. 4. The Cinder Wines 2020 Cinsault Rosé was No. 7 and Sawtooth’s GSM made it at No. 13.

That Telaya 2018 Syrah took best best-of-show honors at the 2021 Cascadia International Wine Competition as well.

The Masters of Wine and Master Sommeliers judging the TEXSOM International Wine Awards in Texas were wowed by entries from Clearwater Canyon and Cinder, and Two Bad Labs Vineyard in the Lewis-Clark Valley brought home a best-of-class award for its Sèmillon.

Closer to home, Hat Ranch Winery topped the record field of 180 entries at the 2021 Idaho Wine Competition with a stellar 2018 Cabernet Franc from grapes grown by Rivaura Vineyards along the banks of the Clearwater River near Julietta. Such recognition in blind judgings near and far continues to prove Idaho produces world-class wines.

Climate Climate issues played a role as well in 2021.

It was a hot year.

David Wilkins, associate professor at Boise State University’s department of geosciences, monitors and maintains 22 weather stations in vineyards throughout Idaho. His initial data

confirms that the first heat spike appeared June 3 and returned June 20, but the real run of consistently hot temperatures blazed from June 26 to Aug. 17.

During that almost two-month period, maximum temperatures exceeded 95 degrees every day. Some vineyards experienced 37 days above 100 degrees. Keep in mind that most grape varieties will shut down their vines when the temperature goes beyond 95 degrees.

With that kind of heat, yields were down in 2021 from 30 to 60 percent, depending on the vineyard.

Earl Sullivan, owner/co-winemaker at Telaya, said, “The heat provided some of the most challenging production chemistry that I have ever had to deal with, but we also saw some of the best fruit — Syrah, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc — that I have ever seen.”

Harvest for the 2021 vintage started much earlier than usual, with some varieties picked in mid-September. Crush was completed well before the end of October. Historically, harvest end dates in the Snake River Valley — not including ice wines — have been as late as mid-November, so 2021 was an exceptional year.

With yields down because the vines were stressed, a number of winemakers reached into Washington to help meet the surging thirst in Idaho for wine.

COVID-19 Like every single thing in our lives, COVID-19 butted heads with Idaho winemakers. Tasting room teams were stressed beyond breaking limits regarding the evolving guidelines, and patrons often arrived with their own interpretations of those rules. For folks who want to say “Yes!” to clients, it was a trying year as they spent time at the intersection between public health regulations and great customer service. Despite Idaho’s reputation as a conservative state, retail wine shops were classified as “essential businesses,” so they never were forced to shut down during the pandemic.

Across the state, wine sales were up significantly year-over-year based on the tax data provided to the Idaho Wine Commission, and 13.8% of the wine consumed in Idaho was produced by Idaho vintners.

Since opening just before 9/11, Ilene Du-

ANALYSIS l Gem State Report dunake has owned and operated A New Vintage Wine Shop in Meridian. Reflecting on the past two years in wine retailing, she said, “My customers are 99% awesome! Every business will always have that one person who you just can’t appease. I will never know the situation they’re in before they walk through the door. It simply is not my place to judge them.”

Even with the challenges inherent in retail sales, new wine shops popped up such as Swirl Wine Bar in Nampa and 2C Wine Down on Indian Creek Plaza in Caldwell.

The Idaho Wine Commission survived substantial financial setbacks — namely backto-back years without the popular Savor Idaho festival and a reset of the excise tax structure via the state Legislature.

It all points to an exciting future for Gem State wines, no matter what the world throws at them. Full of innovative spirit and surrounded by knowledgeable and cooperative growers, the next few vintages in Idaho are something to look forward to.

Retired banker Jim Thomssen now is known as The Idaho Wine Ambassador. The Minnesota native earned a business degree at the University of Puget Sound with the help of professor/wine economist Mike Veseth prior to moving to the Snake River Valley in 1994.

An aging Sunnyslope vineyard with ties to the Symms family and Ste. Chapelle Winery has been purchased by Jay Hawkins, owner of nearby Lanae Ridge Vineyard in Caldwell, Idaho.

PHOTO BY JIM THOMSSEN/IDAHO WINE AMBASSADOR

Spring 2022 • Great Northwest Wine | 21

FEATURE

Platinum Awards factor into scholarships for future growers, winemakers culture, enology and the appreciation of wine.”

By Brad Smith

G

RANDVIEW, Wash. — For decades, there has been an ongoing debate among winemakers as to the true value of the awards given to wines that have been submitted for judging.

In 2003, Y.E.S. began a scholarship program laser-focused on assisting viticulture and enology students, and in the past two decades, the group has awarded future grape growers and winemakers nearly $115,000 in funding.

One organization here in the great Northwest has dedicated its mission to turning those medals into promising careers by furthering the education of students in viticulture and enology programs in Washington, Oregon and British Columbia.

The source of that funding? Y.E.S. uses proceeds from its learning experience activities with the largest contributor being the annual Platinum Dinner that celebrates “The Best of the Best” — wines that earned top honors at Great Northwest Wine magazine’s Platinum Awards.

In 1976, the Yakima Enological Society was formed just as the modern era of Washington wine industry was beginning to grow, and seven years before the Yakima Valley American Viticultural Area was established by the federal government. The stated goal of Y.E.S. was “to support and provide education, interest in viti-

Students at Yakima Valley College have received more than $46,000 worth of scholarships from this program since 2007. In an

Proceeds are presented to colleges and universities as scholarship dollars for their winemaking programs, turning Platinum Awards into promising careers.

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area dominated by agriculture, these funds are a lifeline for students completing their college degrees. The funds are typically disbursed to the schools in December or January.

“The funding fills a scholarship dead zone, reaching students in the moment mid-year when funds are needed,” says Trent Ball, chair of Yakima Valley College’s Agriculture Department. “This assists students who are already at least one quarter into their process, as well as second-year students as they strive toward the finish line.”

More than 20 students in Ball’s program have received Y.E.S. scholarships during the past 14 years. The list includes Samantha Mallery, a 2019 recipient of a Y.E.S. scholarship who is on track to finish her associate’s degree this spring. She has already landed a job as enologist for famed Owen Roe in the Yakima Valley.

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FEATURE l Brad Smith “Participating in and completing the programs at YVC has completely transformed my professional life,” Mallery says. “I was fortunate enough to go from being a local bartender and server to a happy harvest intern.

From being an intern, I was offered a position as an enologist. This scholarship allowed me to be able to work toward the completion of this program.”

Now that she is nearing completion of her associate degree, she plans to progress into YVC’s new Bachelor of Applied Science in Agriculture degree program starting in fall 2022.

Roy Lewis, immediate past-President of the Yakima Enological Society, says the Platinum Dinner offers not only the opportunity to raise scholarship funds but also gives society members the chance to “meet the recipients, hear about their successes and provide networking opportunities with the winemakers showcasing their wines at the Platinum dinner.”

By invitation, Platinum Award-winning wineries provide wines for the annual dinner, and those acclaimed winemakers interact with attendees throughout the event.

Scholarship recipients are invited to the dinner to share their experiences. The silent and live auctions that evening provide for the scholarship funds of the not-for-profit Yakima Enological Society — completing the circle from Platinum Awards to promising careers.

Scholarship program beneficiaries include Yakima Valley College, Walla Walla Community College, Washington State University Tri-Cities, British Columbia’s Okanagan College, Umpqua Community College in Oregon and Central Washington University.

This year, the Y.E.S. Platinum XX Dinner is scheduled for Saturday, May 14, at Yakima Country Club. It begins with the winemakers reception and greeting where Platinum-winning wines are served with hors d’oeuvres, followed by dinner featuring five courses paired with 2021 Platinum wines. A seat for the dinner is $165.

Registration information is at YakimaWine.org.

Brad Smith is a certified sommelier, professional wine judge and personal chef who worked 12 years at Yakima Valley College teaching winery viticulture and enology programs. As a marketing consultant, Brad has worked with numerous Northwest wineries and businesses with projects from developing culinary programs to digital marketing. He can be reached at CellarDoorConsultants.com.

PHOTO BY BRAD SMITH

Samantha Mallery, enologist for Owen Roe and winery technology student at Yakima Valley College, stands in YVC’s new tasting room on its Yakima campus. She is flanked by nine of the Platinum Award-winning wines crafted by students at the Yakima Valley Vintners teaching winery.

Walla Walla Community College Enology & Viticulture students who earned a Yakima Enological Society scholarship: 2019-20: Elizabeth Law, owner, Lacewing Cellars, Walla Walla, Wash.

2018-19: Alexander Mesick, assistant vineyard manager, Vitis Terra Vineyards, Amity, Ore. 2018-19: George-Anne Robertson, winemaker, Yellowhawk Cellars, Walla Walla, Wash.

2017-18: Tyler Morrison, assistant winemaker, L’Ecole N° 41, Walla Walla, Wash.

2016-17: Christina Rivero, enologist, Waterbrook Winery, Walla Walla, Wash.

2015-16: Chris Wright, assistant winemaker, Thurston Wolfe, Prosser, Wash.

2014-15: Kate Brehm, owner/winemaker, Tillie Wines, Snohomish, Wash.

2014-15: Ben Stuart, winemaker, Burnt Bridge Cellars, Vancouver, Wash.

2013-14: Joel Sokoloff, vineyard manager, Soter Vineyards, Carlton, Ore.

Yakima Valley College Yakima Enological Society Scholarship recipients 2007-09: Carolina Warwick, co-owner/co-winemaker, WIT Cellars, Prosser, Wash.

2010-13: Braden Mortensen, assistant winemaker, Two Mountain Winery, Zillah, Wash.

2010-13: José Licano, vineyard technician, Zirkle Fruit, Co., Prosser, Wash. Teo Petropoulos, vineyard manager, Noel Vineyard 2012-14: Jacqueline Beard, quality and product development manager, Bale Breaker Brewing Co., Moxee, Wash.

2012-14: Jensena Newhouse, former tasting room manager, Treveri Cellars 2013-15: Enrique Reyna, Ste. Michelle Wine Estates Emilse Osorio, former distiller, Wildridge Vineyard & Winery Lura Jansen, assistant tasting room manager, Milbrandt Vineyards Ryan Anderson, Four Feathers Wine Estates Sam Mosman, vineyard manager, Lonesome Spring Ranch Luis Rivera, QI tech, Ste. Michelle Wine Estates Josh Aznaran, assistant winemaker at Wahluke Wine Co. Amie Thornton, wine tracker, Ste. Michelle Wine Estates Artemio Ramirez, vineyard technician, Inland Desert Nursery Samantha Mallery, enologist, Owen Roe Paul Nunez, branch manager, Semios, Richland, Wash.

Ryan Wyatt, assistant winemaker, Precept Wines Ryan Sexton, Coventry Vale Leyla Gonzalez, Mercer Estates Jeremey Clarke, enologist, Wahluke Wine Co. Spring 2022 • Great Northwest Wine | 23

FEATURE

Long path of Andrew Riechers leads to early acclaim for Audeant Wines

By Tamara Belgard

S

ALEM, Ore. — When you start a wine brand to build something that will span generations and sustain a community rather than building something to merely make money, suddenly, everything is possible. This is the backdrop of Audeant, winemaker Andrew Riechers and proprietor Teal Walker.

They named their brand for the Latin concept of taking risks as part of an adventure. It’s a name aptly chosen by the team to serve as a beacon for how they would continue to take risks in their approach to both winemaking and vineyard sourcing.

It also can serve as a metaphor for Riechers’s path to his own wine label. It’s also a way to connect the collective experience of stepping into the unknown with Walker.

The results are remarkable, predictable and nearly immediate. In just under three years since their inaugural release, the Audeant portfolio has consistently received high acclaim from top wine publications for its classically produced, elegant wines. Last summer, they took top honors in London at the Decanter World Wine Awards for the Audeant 2017 Pinot Noir, earning a platinum medal and 97 points.

“I try not to calibrate my feelings on the wines I make around their critical reception,” Riechers says, “but for the work to stand out in that crowd, to that group of tasters was a remarkable recognition, I’m very grateful.”

A blend of Nysa, Luminous Hills and Carlisle’s Crest vineyards, the $50 bottle proved to be one of the highest-rated wines in the world

with only 179 of the 18,094 entries into the Decanter judging achieving the status of platinum.

The panel of more than 160 experts included 44 Masters of Wine and 11 Master Sommeliers, and they spent 15 days evaluating wines from 56 countries.

“We are beyond excited to see our wines appreciated by the world’s most influential and experienced wine industry professionals,” Walker said. “We started Audeant with the intention of making wines that would rival the best in the world, and in just a few short years since our first release, here we are. I am so proud of Andrew and send a thank you to all the judges that weighed in at the Decanter World Wine Awards.

It is truly an honor.”

From ‘Candyland’ back to Willamette Valley Riechers will humbly tell you that he’s a twotime college dropout. And though he has studied both enology and viticulture, he is perhaps more a student of life. His experiences have taken him to some of the finest wine regions, producers and mentors.

“I am happy with that path,” Riechers says.

“I backfilled the textbook knowledge along the way and applied experiential knowledge.”

He grew up in Eugene, practically around the corner from the vineyards of King Estate. It was where he was first impressed by the process of growing vines, a notion he romanticized at the time, but he was determined to escape his hometown and headed to Santa Barbara, Calif., where he studied viticulture and oenology.

One job led to another when he landed an assistant winemaking position at Sanguis in Santa Barbara.

Matthias Pippig was making what Riechers believed to be idiosyncratic, thoughtful wines — “pushing the wine envelope.”

In those early days, while simultaneously working harvest and studying, he knew he had found his calling.

The 2019 vintage highlights the logo and font hand drawn by local artist Shiela Laufer.

24 | greatnorthwestwine.com

“Working with my hands and all

my senses, that never ending variability, it was all so appealing,” Riechers says.

He returned to Oregon for personal and professional reasons. He likes green things, the rain, the seasons. Ultimately, he appreciates the variables of harvest in the Willamette Valley.

“Santa Barbara is like Candyland, you can grow anything you want, pick when you want.

You have to be an idiot to not make good wine there,” Riechers says.

Already friends with Jim Prosser of J.K. Carriere, he worked harvest for Prosser and stayed in Oregon for a couple of years before setting off to work harvest in New Zealand and then in Burgundy in 2010.

Having only the vaguest conception of what natural wine was, Riechers went to work for someone on the forefront of that movement — Claire Naudin of Domaine Naudin-Ferrand.

“The way wine is thought about in France is legacy — a sustaining model that sustains families through generations,” Riechers said. “It’s not just building a thing to make money, but with the intention to sustain a community.”

After the 2010 harvest, he traveled through France, tasting wines and experiencing Alsace, the Rhône, Burgundy, Beaujolais.

“I came back broke but rich in experience,” he says.

A turnpoint at Antica Terra He began to think about making Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in Oregon. It wouldn’t be for a big brand, but he knew he wanted more exposure and experience. An invitation to work harvest for Maggie Harrison at Antica Terra, one of the West Coast’s cult producers of Pinot Noir, changed his life, leading to five years and a role as assistant winemaker.

“Maggie’s tone sets the tone for the place,” Riechers says. “She has the best taste — it’s the best compliment I can give her. She seeks out the most beautiful food and the most tender way to host guests at the winery.”

The culture of Antica Terra — both how business and how hospitality is conducted — left an impression on him.

He describes Antica Terra as a “curious place,” an environment where the team was encouraged to seek out the answer to the question: What’s possible? He learned to develop a curiosity and sensitivity to possibilities.

FEATURE l Tamara Belgard “Some wineries are myopic; they don’t drink a lot of other wines,” Riechers says. “At Antica Terra, we were drinking a lot of idiosyncratic wines from all the tiny corners of the world to further our understanding and appreciation.”

To Riechers, the real takeaway was how they allowed their vulnerability and sensitivity to be affected by the work they were doing.

“There was no dogma,” Riechers says.

“Those people are making some of the greatest wines coming out of this corner of the world.”

Riechers inspires Walker to invest Walker, a graduate of Indiana University’s business school, and her partner already were fans of Antica Terra wines, but it was in 2015 when they fell in love with the beauty and rawness of the Willamette Valley as well as the sense of community apparent at every winery they visited. Seeing so much growth potential, they briefly discussed investing in a small piece of land in the valley. But she never imagined that it would lead to her starting a winery.

“That all changed the following day,” says Walker, “when we showed up at Antica Terra expecting to meet Maggie Harrison, and instead, in walks her assistant winemaker, Andrew.”

The one-hour planned tasting spanned more

than three hours. After returning to her Chicago home, Walker kept in touch with Riechers and subsequently flew back to Oregon to meet with him, look at land and agreed to join forces and start a small brand.

Riechers would make all of the winemaking decisions. Walker, with her background in hightech, would focus on the business. They did not immediately find the home for Audeant, so they decided to source fruit from a few special sites in the valley — relationships they’ve maintained.

Parrett Mtn. parcel yields 17 acres of vines The North Willamette Valley’s diversity of vineyards and a variability of vintages are reflected in the approach of Audeant Wines. They have 12 acres of vineyard on Parrett Mountain — coincidentally (or not) — around the corner from J.K. Carriere, where Riechers’s wine journey began. Intrigued by cool-climate viticulture and high-elevation sites, Riechers searched for some place special before purchasing this property, which rises to 1,100 feet in elevation.

Not only because he felt the site would make compelling wines, but he also thought it to be important with the impacts of climate change.

“I’m interested in wines that are growing

in the margins,” he says. “They have the most tension, the most acidity. This marginal site just had a certain appeal.”

It’s a rocky site, with a range of aspects, including east- and southeast-facing slopes dominated by Nekia soil. Audeant will be receiving its first fruit in 2022.

Jessica Cortell, who worked with Riechers at Antica Terra, manages the viticulture for Audeant, as well as consulting on blocks of purchased fruit. Their single-vineyard bottlings are made from some of the top vineyards in the region – Seven Springs, Nysa, Luminous Hills – sites revered for their terroir transparency.

“She’s a savant,” he says. “She has this innate sensitivity; she walks into a place where things are growing and just gets it. She’s dedicated in how she treats her people and growing healthy vines. There really wasn’t any other choice.”

Even Audeant’s labels are thoughtful and purposeful. He met Shiela Laufer, a Portland artist, and discussed aesthetics as well as their mutual appreciation for the work of the late Andrew Wyeth. The logo and Audeant script is simply Laufer’s handwriting and drawing. The two single-vineyard wine labels are from paintings Laufer made for them.

“Oregon is basically a kaleidoscope of poten-

PHOTO COURTESY OF AUDEANT WINES

Andrew Riechers received international acclaim last summer from judges in London.

Spring 2022 • Great Northwest Wine | 25

FEATURE l Tamara Belgard tial expression, a range of color, whether that’s vintage to vintage or site to site,” Riechers says.

Tastings are by-appointment only, orchestrated through Walker, and always one-on-one with Riechers. While building methodically, Audeant quickly is making a name with collectors and critics as a top-tiered producer crafting some of the world’s finest examples of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. May they dare.

Audeant Wines 2019 Pinot Noir, $60 A complex wine with brambly blackberry and black cherry notes, underlying citrus and herbs, perched on a finely grained stony ferrous framework. Made from 20% whole clusters with sub-13% alcohol, the wine tells a different story than the sappy, staining palate and expansive finish seem to indicate.

With no formal tasting room yet, guests experience Audeant wines by private appointment only.

26 | greatnorthwestwine.com

Audeant Wines 2019 Luminous Hills Vineyard Pinot Noir, $70

Audeant Wines 2019 Seven Springs Chardonnay, $75

From two blocks at this dramatic vineyard in Yamhill-Carlton, planted high in the foothills of the Coast Range, it provides tart red and blue fruit, black tea and inviting elements of forest floor. Silky and intense, yet approachable with a lovely lingering finish.

Riechers and Walker created a Chardonnay of astounding depth and resonance from this special place in the Eola-Amity Hills. Expect flint, green apples, ripe quince, dried honeysuckle and roasted nuts. The core of fruit and textural components slowly unwind in this beautifully balanced, all-too quaffable wine.

Audeant Wines, 9675 Hopewell Road NW, Salem, OR 97304, Audeant.com, (773) 255-1184.

Audeant Wines is open by-appointment only.

Audeant Wines 2019 Nysa Vineyard Pinot Noir, $85 From 31-year-old, own-rooted vines planted in deep Jory soil of the Dundee Hills, elements of blackberry, violets, white pepper and savory charcuterie capture your imagination. Bright and ethereal, the wine achieves a lovely balance emphasizing the distinctive character of the site.

Tamara Belgard is a freelance journalist based in Portland with decades of experience detailing the Pacific Northwest wine industry.

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FEATURE l Oregon Wine Tales

Glass shortage, supply chain bottles up Northwest wineries

By Sophia McDonald

A

my Prosenjak was at a leadership seminar in 2018 when someone asked her to write down the No. 1 problem she faced as CEO of A to Z Wineworks in Newberg, Ore. Her answer: getting enough glass bottles.

That answer turned out to be prophetic.

Although procuring enough bottles has long posed a challenge, it’s become a critical problem since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic — one that is flowing into consumers’ glasses in the form of wine shortages and price bumps.

The scarcity of glass bottles is a result of a perfect storm of supply chain challenges, Prosenjak said. Although there are glass plants in the Pacific Northwest, most are aging, with outdated technology. As a result, many wineries began buying glass from Asia. Then those bottles were ensnared by Trump Administration tariffs, resulting in big price increases.

When exports dipped sharply at the beginning of the pandemic, many shipping companies sold off their excess containers, said Barb Robertson, Pacific Northwest account manager for Saxco International, which provides rigid containers for the food and beverage industry. When demand for goods began ramping back up, there weren’t enough containers to hold products. There also weren’t enough ocean freighters to carry items overseas.

This winter, economist/author Mike Veseth noted the astounding spike in costs surrounding the transportation of overseas containers during his annual presentation to the Idaho wine industry.

“Coming across the Pacific in 2019, it would have cost about $1,200 to ship about $50,000 worth of goods. That’s expensive, but not very expensive,” said the retired University of Puget Sound professor, citing a recent report by The Economist magazine.

“By 2021, it went from $12,000 to $15,000 to $20,000.

“Now, $20,000 to ship $50,000 of product value here? That’s prohibitive. That’s crazy,” Veseth continued. “That’s a whole lot of cost to try to absorb and creates a tremendous squeeze all along the chain.”

Veseth predicted the bottlenecks in shipping will continue “for quite a long period of time.”

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The deepening truck driver shortage made it exceedingly difficult to move containers once they arrived on U.S. soil. The American Trucking Associations recently estimated its industry has 81,000 fewer drivers than it needs.

That figure stood at 51,000 before the pandemic began, and the driver pool deficit is projected to surpass 160,000 by 2030 because of the increasing demand for freight.

This backup became so grave that some manufacturers shut down with no way to move their product, Robertson said.

Glass plants have also faced a string of other problems, including labor shortages, shutdowns because of COVID-19 outbreaks, a lack of raw materials and increased costs because of environmental regulations.

The glass shortage is wreaking havoc on wineries.

“Most wineries can only hold one vintage at

a time in their facility. Maybe two,” Prosenjak said. “If you have harvest, and then it’s time to bottle wine and then it’s harvest again and you haven’t bottled the wine, you’re out of space.”

An uneven supply means stopping and starting during bottling, which disrupts the normal workflow and leaves employees scrambling to find storage for labels, corks and other necessities.

Business owners are spending much more time and money sourcing bottles.

“We used to use one Northwest company to source glass,” said Caitlin Holesinsky, co-owner of Holesinsky Vineyard and Winery in Buhl, Idaho. “Now, we’re having to use four different ones.”

And when wineries can find bottles, “glass costs four times what it used to,” she added.

This year, Holesinsky is planning ahead, snapping up glass whenever it’s available and stockpiling it at her winery near the southern end of the Snake River Valley. Not every winery has the luxury of space or cash flow to do that, she said.

Prosenjak sees little relief in sight.

“Not only can people not get glass now, it’s on backorder,” she said. “I expect it’s going to take at least a few years for this situation to resolve itself.”

There’s a trickle-down effect for consumers, who are beginning to see the cost of their favorite wines go up. Prosenjak points out that the price of everything — including labor, grapes and other supplies such as boxes — is rising, so the bottle shortage isn’t entirely to blame.

But it certainly isn’t helping.

“We’re taking a piece of (those increased expenses) by reducing our profit margins, but we have to The price of glass has pass some of it along,” she said. skyrocketed during the When wineries can’t bottle, pandemic, with some they also can’t get their products wineries reporting a on shelves, leading to outages in bottle costs four times stores. more than previously.

“That’s really distressing to the companies involved,” Robertson RICHARD DUVAL IMAGES noted. “They spend a lot of time

getting on a retail shelf, and a grocery store isn’t going to want to keep a hole on that shelf forever. If you’re out (of wine) for a period of time, you’re going to get moved.”

If consumers can’t find a wine, they’re likely to move on to another brand. There’s no guarantee they’ll come back.

Consumers may also notice that the bottles they buy look a little different. Because wineries sometimes must take whatever they can get.

They’re pouring Bordeaux-style wines into Burgundy bottles. Green glass may be swapped for clear. Bells Up Winery, an ultra-boutique producer in Newberg, Ore., recently bottled its 2021 rosé in Bordeaux-style magnums because it was unable to get enough clear glass in Burgundy-style bottles.

It’s possible the glass shortage will eventually provide another incentive for wineries to move away from bottles and consider alternative formats, such as pouched, boxed, canned or keg wine. At Holesinsky, they have been putting wine in pouches for about 10 years because customers love to take them on outdoor trips.

And in addition to the convenience, the format doesn’t pose the same safety hazard as glass, and they are more eco-friendly.

Switching to alternative packaging isn’t an easy pivot, though. It takes different machinery to pouch or can wine, which means hiring a variety of bottlers or purchasing new equipment.

The cost for pouching machinery has doubled since Holesinsky made its original investment.

(There’s also a can shortage, which doesn’t help.)

Although there is growing acceptance of alternative packaging, many consumers remain skeptical, especially for higher-priced wine.

Wineries also must rethink their distribution and marketing strategy with alternative formats, Robertson pointed out.

Because cans and pouches go in different spots on store shelves — or in refrigerator cases — vintners need to make sure there are spaces for these new products before they can count on selling them.

While the packaging conundrum plays out, Robertson encourages wine lovers to keep supporting their favorite wineries and seeking out their products, even if they disappear for a little while.

“This is a very stressful time for people in the industry,” Robertson said. “People need to be patient.”

RICHARD DUVAL IMAGES

Wines are ending up in various shapes and styles of bottles, often in nontraditional formats, as a result of the glass shortage.

Sophia McDonald, based in Eugene, Ore., has provided coverage of the Pacific Northwest wine industry for more than three dozen newspapers, magazines and trade publications, including TheAtlantic.com, Wine Enthusiast, Eating Well and Cheese Connoisseur.

Spring 2022 • Great Northwest Wine | 29

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TH W E S T

By Eric Degerman

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OODINVILLE, Wash. — As DeLille Cellars celebrates 30 years of historic achievements in 2022, its storied wine program and business never have been better.

Five years ago, our team named DeLille Cellars as the 2017 Washington Winery of

CEO Tom Dugan, left, and winemaker Jason Gorski have teamed up to take DeLille Cellars to new heights in Woodinville, Wash.

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DeLille Cellars

the Year. Now, with an impressive three-story modern chic destination and next-gen leadership from winemaker Jason Gorski and CEO Tom Dugan, DeLille Cellars stands as Great Northwest Wine magazine’s Pacific Northwest Winery of the Year for 2022.

The horizon seems to be lit with continued greatness as they add to the legacy of their winery’s founders, who partnered early on with many of the state’s top vineyards and acquired talent along the way.

“The founders are the foundation,” Gorski says. “We’re not here without them, and we operate the business for them.”

Last fall, a group of the Pacific Northwest’s leading wine buyers and sommeliers met in Hood River, Ore., and voted the DeLille Cellars 2018 Harrison Hill — a product of Cabernet Sauvignon vines planted in 1962 — as Best Red Wine for the Great Northwest Invitational Wine Competition.

The year before, The Seattle Times selected

PACIFIC NORTHWEST – Winery of the Year | DeLille Cellars the 2019 Chaleur Blanc as its top Northwest wine — rare recognition for a white wine. An example of what Washington vines can produce, the Bordeaux blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Sèmillon was the first white wine made by founding winemaker Chris Upchurch under the DeLille Cellars brand in 1995.

“By the beginning of 2019, I was fully transitioned to the director of winemaking, but Chris still gives me unsolicited advice,” Gorski says with a chuckle.

Gorski’s versatility was on full display last fall at The Invite, where the DeLille 2020 Rosé and 2020 Chaleur Blanc also earned gold medals.

Last spring, the DeLille 2018 Four Flags, a production of Cabernet Sauvignon devoted to four Red Mountain vineyards — Ciel du Cheval, Klipsun, Upchurch and DeLille’s 20-acre Grand Ciel — achieved a double gold at the Cascadia International while the Rhône-inspired 2018 Doyenne received a gold medal.

During the “Rhône gems” tasting conducted by Great Northwest Wine for now-defunct Wine Press Northwest magazine, the 2020 Roussanne off Ciel du Cheval finished as the top white and earned a double gold.

Gorski’s 2018 Signature Syrah also was awarded a double gold, while the DeLille 2019 Métier — a blend of Grenache, Mourvèdre and Syrah — added a gold medal.

Then last fall at Great Northwest Wine’s Platinum Awards, the 2018 Four Flags went Double Platinum and earned 97 points. The 2018 D2 Red Wine — which is nearly 50% from Red Mountain — also went Platinum.

A brand built with Bordeaux in mind The first two wines created by DeLille Cellars were the 1992 Chaleur Estate and the 1992 D2, but the seeds were planted when longtime Seattle wine merchant Jay Soloff sat next to Greg Lill at a Rotary meeting in 1987. Soloff and Upchurch, a colleague in the wine trade, already had a small sparkling wine project together.

A few years before, Greg’s father, Charles, a successful businessman, acquired 10 acres along pastoral Woodinville-Redmond Road. For credibility, they hired a respected consultant — the late David Lake, a Master of Wine and the winemaker at nearby Columbia Winery. (It was Lake who urged DeLille to take over Ste. Michelle’s contract with the Newhouse family that owned historic Harrison Hill Vineyard.)

“Chris was an amateur winemaker, and Dad basically funded us to start with,” Greg Lill says. “In 1992, there was Columbia, of course the Château (Ste. Michelle), French Creek Cellars and I think Facelli started the same year as us. What’s happened in Woodinville and what Washington has grown up to become is pretty remarkable, and a lot of industry people say that we’ve helped with that.”

DeLille’s success ultimately attracted the attention of Sam Bronfman and Bacchus Capital Management, a private equity firm with offices in New York and San Francisco. His family founded the Seagram spirits and wine empire, and Sam oversaw the premium wine division RICHARD DUVAL IMAGES

until it was part of the package that sold for $8 billion in 2000. A decade later, Bacchus entered the Northwest wine industry by first investing in Oregon’s Wine by Joe operation, led by Joe Dobbes. The purchase of storied Panther Creek Cellars in Oregon and investment in DeLille came in 2013.

“Sam wanted to get back into the wine industry and was looking for great smaller brands that needed expertise and capital to help them grow,” says Dugan, whose four years with Bacchus began in 2010, not long after graduating from Colorado College with an economics degree. “In the case of DeLille, here was this phenomenal brand that was highly respected in the sommelier community but not as well known — and it should be.”

Bacchus’s involvement in DeLille came with majority ownership, according to Greg Lill, a minority shareholder along with his sister, Pat Lill-Jorgenson, Upchurch and Soloff. Recently, Greg and his wife, Stacy, recast the historic home of DeLille Cellars into ultra-boutique Château Lill.

“In 2014, I was planning to leave investment banking and private equity for business school,” Dugan says. “At the time, DeLille was also looking for a vice president of operations.

When I spoke to Sam about business school,

Spring 2022 • Great Northwest Wine | 31

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By Eric Degerman

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PACIFIC NORTHWEST – Winery of the Year | DeLille Cellars he, along with Chris, Jay, and Greg, convinced me to move out to Seattle for a year to help them at the winery.

“That one year turned into what will be eight this August, and included becoming GM and COO before Greg stepped down,” added Dugan, who now also sits on the Washington’s National Park Fund board of directors.

A real-estate company purchased the 20acre former home of Redhook Brewery for $24.5 million in 2017. The next year, DeLille Cellars and Sparkman Cellars boldly announced plans to move in, with Dugan overseeing the 30,000-square-foot remodel to accommodate Gorski’s annual production of 30,000 cases and create an experience for visitors.

The synergy sparked by DeLille’s success near the languid Sammamish River has inspired others. This past winter, Fidélitas, Latta, Long Shadows Vintners and Mark Ryan said they will open tasting rooms across the parking lot from the former brewery. The entire campus is across the street from Château Ste. Michelle, tucked among three icons — the Herbfarm Restaurant, Willows Lodge and Columbia Winery.

“All of the founders have been very active as owners, but most recently, less so in dayto-day operations with our move to Redhook,” Dugan said. “I think they’ve all enjoyed the growth and success, and I’ve always felt pretty honored that they felt comfortable to step back and hand the reins over to us.”

Garden State Winemakers While Gorski and Upchurch grew up in New Jersey, they came from different backgrounds.

“His dad was a nuclear engineer and wine was part of his upbringing,” Gorski said. “Not me. I grew up in the farmlands.”

Wrestling got Gorski into Duke University, where he finished third at the Atlantic Coast Conference championships as a freshman and became team captain. Toughness and perseverance served him well after he fractured his jaw as a sophomore and broke his neck during his campaign as a junior.

“I had one relatively healthy season, but I earned two degrees in four years while working 30 to 40 hours a week to pay for books and feed myself,” Gorski said.

Along the way, he worked at a family-owned farm where wine was served with supper.

“It was part of their family ritual,” he says.

“At the age of 19, I was in charge of picking the right wine for dinner, and it was always French — because we were on the East Coast.

I started to learn as much as I could about wine and thought about it as a career because I’ve always enjoyed making things with my hands.”

Upon graduation in 2002, he turned his

Spring 2022 • Great Northwest Wine | 33

PACIFIC NORTHWEST – Winery of the Year | DeLille Cellars been inspired by the famous Right Bank blends in Bordeaux.

For those who want to splurge a bit for a stylish red wine from Washington state, D2 is for you, retailing for $50.

In the past eight years of the Platinum Awards, DeLille has received five Platinums for D2. It represents such storied vineyards as Boushey, Ciel du Cheval, DuBrul, Klipsun, Harrison Hill and Red Willow. Thanks to the backing of Bacchus and a string of warm vintages, DeLille has steadily grown the program.

biology degree into a winemaking job at Four Sisters Winery in New Jersey. Romance led him to Washington state, where he interviewed at Hedges Family Estate to be assistant winemaker but landed on the white wine team at Château Ste. Michelle. After four years in Woodinville, he spent three years in Walla Walla with Serge Laville at Spring Valley Vineyard, another Ste. Michelle brand.

In 2011, the long line of assistants who departed from DeLille to earn acclaim with their own projects ended when Upchurch hired Gorski to replace Chris Peterson, who went on to fame with Avennia and Passing Time. “(Upchurch) always said, ‘When you join the winemaking team, you are here to contribute, not just perform work orders,’ ” Gorski says.

“Everybody brings something to the table. I think that’s the most important characteristic at DeLille — the culture of craftsmanship, working together, treating the wines as if they are your own and honoring the legacy of people who have come through here.”

When asked about some of the best wines he’s made at DeLille, Gorski answers quickly.

“One that really sticks out is the 2011 Chaleur Blanc,” he says. “It had been a few years since I worked with Sauvignon Blanc, and it was a really challenging vintage, but that wine is always a standout. I took satisfaction in knowing that I didn’t completely mess it up.”

While he harbored some doubts about his ability upon his arrival at DeLille, Bob Betz

34 | greatnorthwestwine.com

— a renowned Master of Wine and founder of Betz Family Winery nearby — did not.

“He told me, ‘Jason, I know you are going to do great there,’ ” Gorski says. “At that point, I thought, ‘If he has that much confidence in me, who am I to second-guess myself?’ ”

Growth of DeLille coincides with Gorski, Dugan D2 can be viewed as the program made possible by Bacchus Capital Management. The success and growth of D2 pays tribute to the beauty of Merlot grown in the Columbia Valley, and this flagship wine for DeLille has long

Production of D2 from the 2012 vintage was 5,500 cases. Gorski bottled nearly 19,000 cases from the 2018 vintage. The stately 2018 Four Flags ($75) is closing in on 2,000 cases — all off famous Red Mountain.

Just as Upchurch delegated responsibility to Gorski along the way, he says he leans on winemaker Nick Bernstein and a cellar team dominated by women — Sarah Jackson, Page Kafonek, Sophie Louaillier and Cornell-trained Mari Rossi, now the assistant winemaker. Beginning with the 2019 vintage, the names of Gorski and Bernstein both appear on the back labels.

“When I started here, we made 8,000 cases and eight wines,” Gorski says.

“We have many more wines and many more cases now. I’m not an owner, but

PACIFIC NORTHWEST – Winery of the Year | DeLille Cellars

GNWW 2022 PACIFIC NOR

TH W E S T

Visiting DeLille Cellars 14300 NE 145th St. Suite 101 Woodinville, WA 98072 (425) 489-0544 Hours: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day DeLilleCellars.com === How the Pacific Northwest Winery of the Year is chosen The Winery of the Year is selected based on longevity, quality, reputation, industry involvement, facilities and other considerations.

A winery may win the award once. ===

Jason Gorski is the director of winemaking and viticulture at DeLille Cellars.

I think of these wines as if they are mine and our incredibly talented winemaking team.”

Dugan’s résumé now includes restaurant management as a result of opening The Lounge at DeLille, which involved a complete renovation of the space that served as Redhook’s pub. Bacchus and DeLille’s owners showed the confidence to commit to opening a restaurant a year into the pandemic, while the cuisine is the result of a trusted relationship with executive chef Michael C. Toni, who catered DeLille’s events for two decades and came up with innovative takeout dinners in the early days of the pandemic.

It’s an elevated experience at the new DeLille Cellars tasting gallery, complete with the rooftop that allowed guests to relax outdoors with friends during the masked stages of pandemic.

“We lost a little bit of the romance when we left the château, but the

majority of people love the space, and we try to provide an experience similar to what’s being done in California and Oregon,” Dugan said.

“There are three stories and plenty of space.

We sometimes walk people through the winery, which we couldn’t do before.”

And now, wine lovers can use the popular Burke-Gilman and Sammamish River trails to easily bike or walk to DeLille.

Thirty years ago, the four founders — Greg Lill, his late father, Charles, wine merchant Jay Soloff and aspiring winemaker Chris Upchurch could only dream about the wine touring destination that Woodinville would become with 130 producers pouring within a short drive of each other.

In many ways, none stands taller now than DeLille Cellars.

Eric Degerman is the owner and CEO of Great Northwest Wine LLC. He can be reached at eric@GreatNorthwestWine.com

Past Pacific Northwest Wineries of the Year 2021: King Estate Winery, Eugene, Ore. 2020: Clearwater Canyon Cellars, Lewiston, Idaho 2019: Palencia Wine Co., Kennewick 2018: Long Shadows Vintners, Walla Walla 2017: Reustle-Prayer Rock Vineyards, Roseburg, Ore. 2016: Walla Walla Vintners, Walla Walla, Wash.

2015: Maryhill Winery, Goldendale, Wash.

2014: Stoller Family Estate, Dayton, Ore. 2013: Château Ste. Michelle, Woodinville, Wash.

2012: Thurston Wolfe Winery, Prosser, Wash.

2011: Zerba Cellars, Milton-Freewater, Ore. 2010: Vin du Lac, Chelan, Wash.

2009: Wild Goose Vineyards, Okanagan Falls, B.C. 2008: Dunham Cellars, Walla Walla, Wash.

2007: Elk Cove Vineyards, Gaston, Ore. 2006: Barnard Griffin, Richland, Wash.

2005: Ken Wright Cellars, Carlton, Ore. 2004: L’Ecole No. 41, Lowden, Wash.

2003: S umac Ridge Estate Winery, Summerland, B.C. 2002: Columbia Crest, Paterson, Wash.

How the regional wineries of the year are chosen Regional wineries of the year are selected by Great Northwest Wine based on blind tastings, visits, accolades and other considerations. A Winery of the Year must have completed five vintages. For a Winery to Watch, the criteria for the ownership/ winemaking program is five commercial vintages or fewer.

Pacific Northwest Winery of the Year DeLille Cellars, Woodinville, Wash.

Washington Winery of the Year Westport Winery Garden Resort (Aberdeen) Washington Winery to Watch Liberty Lake Wine Cellars (Liberty Lake) Oregon Winery of the Year Chris James Cellars (Carlton) Oregon Winery to Watch Vino Vasai Wines/The Potter’s Vineyard (Newberg) Idaho Winery of the Year Holesinsky Vineyard and Winery (Buhl) Idaho Winery to Watch Rivaura Estate Vineyard and Winery (Juliaetta)

Spring 2022 • Great Northwest Wine | 35

PACIFIC NORTHWEST– Winery of the Year | Winery Name

Skagit Crest Vineyard & Winery Featuring Award-Winning Estate Wines

2021 Platinum Judging Double Platinum - 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Platinum - 2018 Estate Pinot Noir

Visit our website for wine selections and wine club information! www.skagitcrest.com Open Saturday-Sunday | April-October:Noon to 6:00 PM November-March:Noon to 5:00 PM Tasting Room- 105 North First Street, Suite 1, La Conner,WA 98257 Vineyard & Winery - Sedro Woolley, WA (By Appointment)

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36 | greatnorthwestwine.com

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Open to Wineries in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and British Columbia

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2022 W A S H I N G T O N W I N E R Y O F T H E Y E A R 2022 W A S H I N G T O N W I N E R Y O F T H E Y E A R

GNWW 2022

Westport Winery Garden Resort Xxxx Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx a lot of different wineries, and I’ve never seen a diversity of clientele like this.”

By Eric Degerman

A

BERDEEN — It’s been a remarkable voyage in Grays Harbor County for the Roberts family, a project of depth and layers that lives up to its billing as Westport Winery Garden Resort.

“We were in a remote location, and we knew if we were going to be successful, we needed to create a destination and multiple reasons for people to come here,” says Blain Roberts, who previously owned a famous dive business on Maui with his wife, Kim. “We also needed to treat our consumers so well that they become our sales people and recruit their friends and family to come do business with us.”

Bosso arrived from Woodinville not long after he helped turn Orenda Winery into Wine Press Northwest’s 2020 Washington Winery to Watch. He took over the cellar from the Roberts’ son, Dana.

“We are grateful for our continued relationship with John Bookwalter as our mentor and wine consultant,” Kim says. “Mark has built upon that foundation to take us up to the next level.”

The résumé of Bosso, who served in the Peace Corps, includes working for Erica Orr at Baer Winery and Javier Alfonso of Pomum

Kim and Blain have reinvented themselves several times. Even though Blain grew up as a lifeguard in Southern California and Kim in Marysville, Wash., they met in the harbor of Westport in the early 1980s. Kim captained a charter boat in the summers as a Washington State University architecture student when Blain was having a boat built for his business in Hawaii. Three decades later, they recast themselves in Grays Harbor with two adult children, all four embarking on an adventure for 21 acres of forested land.

“We bought the property and we asked the ag agent what to do, and he suggested we open a winery,” Blain says. “We decided to do that, even though we knew nothing about wine.”

Last year, the family christened their nonprofit International Mermaid Museum. Pandemic be damned, the fanciful exhibit attracted 83,000 visitors to the 21-acre campus along Highway 105 that features demonstration gardens with sculptures from dozens of regional artists, the on-premise Sea Glass Grill and an Ocean’s Daughter Distillery.

“It ultimately comes back to making great wine and being a Washington winery,” says Kim, whose four-year term on the Washington State Wine Commission ended in 2014.

PHOTO BY GREG JACOBS/CAPTURE.SHARE.REPEAT

Critics and consumers — Westport Winery Garden Resort is owned and operated by the Roberts family, led by Blain, Carrie and Kim. Their business was named savvy or inexperienced — apWashington Winery to Watch in 2011, and they used six Platinum medals last fall to become the 2022 Washington Winery of the Year. preciate those efforts. In 2021, Westport earned six Platinum Awards from Cellars/Idilico. Bosso already knew first-hand Labels on their bottles bring a sense of whimGreat Northwest Wine, giving the 15-year-old how valuable it was to work with highly decosy, tell stories and showcase regional artists, but brand a career total of 30, moving them into a rated Elephant Mountain Vineyards and sister judges at international wine competitions don’t tie for seventh on the all-time list. site Sugarloaf Vineyard. Both are owned and know any of that. And the acclaim continues to farmed by Joe Hattrup and now serve as the Westport earned its Platinums using a variety come in waves, year after year. breadbasket for Westport Winery. of approaches, ranging from Malbec and the “People assumed we were a joke because our rare Italian red Sagrantino, a rosé of San“Westport doesn’t have a speciality, but it has bottles didn’t have a brown label with a brick giovese off famed Red Willow Vineyard, two a broad appeal, and that’s a strength,” Bosso building on it,” Blain said. expressions of Riesling and the locally sourced said. “Kim tells a story that starts with introsparkling cranberry. It’s a deliciously eclectic Kim looks back and says, “Not knowing what ducing people new to wine with the fruit wines portfolio. you can’t do meant there were no boundaries, and there’s a progression that happens almost but the year before we opened, we went to evuniformly with all of the wine club members.

“There are only a few routes to the coast, ery Washington Winery of the Year and quietly Before you know it, they are drinking dry reds so many people have to come by this winery,” visited them to see what they were doing.” says winemaker Mark Bosso. “I’ve worked for and dry whites.”

38 | greatnorthwestwine.com

WASHINGTON – Winery of the Year | Westport Winery Garden Resort Keeping it all together has been daughter Carrie, the general manager, CFO and their best friend.

“We’re family, and we fight. Not viciously, by any means,” Kim says. “We walk together every morning. We work together every day, and we share an office. We travel together.”

And their tasting room staff guides and educates customers.

“We treat everybody with respect and just as regular people,” Blain says. “We’re not pretentious in any way. We understand that trying wine and buying wine is a choice. All we can do is help them make the right decision, and we have so much variety that I tell people, ‘You’ve just got to come back because there are things you are not going to have time to try that they would like.’ ” The lineup in the tasting room includes a deliciously dizzying array of spirits developed

by Bosso with mother and daughter in on the blending trials.

“I’m constantly thinking about wine, which is business for me, but I can drink spirits without it feeling like work,” Kim says.

Acclaim for her wines hasn’t stopped in 2022, which includes bottlings by Bosso. At the Los Angeles Invitational, Westport received best of class, double gold medals and 97 points for the 2018 Courage Sagrantino from Inland Desert Vineyard and the Maritime Riesling from Elephant Mountain Vineyard. In Sonoma, the International East Meets West judges awarded best of class to the Duckleberry Grunt, a deliciously balanced and fun blend of blueberry and Gewürztraminer that Bosso did put together and features artist Jill Neal’s rendition of Mrs. Bigfoot with a tattoo of Sasquatch on her lower back.

“Since 2008, our guests have made this the most popular wine on our list,” Kim points out.

Twice, the Sea Glass Grill — with its menu developed by Kim, a trained chef and baker — was recognized by USA Today as a top-five winery restaurant, most recently in 2017. That same year, Sonoma-based Winery and Vineyard Management magazine featured Westport in its series of 20 Most Admired Wineries in North America. And the family’s fans voted Westport as Best Northwest Winery Destination on Seattle’s KING-TV Evening Magazine for eight straight years.

“That was so cool,” says Kim, who during that stretch also authored her Aloha Jones Mystery Series spanning three novels.

Along the way, regional non-profits associated with Westport’s myriad labels have received more than $500,000 from the Roberts family.

“That money in Grays Harbor makes a big difference,” says Kim, whose shared belief with Blain in karma also helped inspire her

to become a certified yoga instructor after her battle with cancer.

There have been other hardships, starting with the vineyard they planted twice on the recommendation of experts.

“We could grow beautiful vines but never harvested a single cluster,” Kim said of the failure that she turned into her 15-acre garden, plant nursery and pitch-and-putt golf course.

A couple of years ago, they closed their satellite tasting room in Cannon Beach, Ore., but continue to operate a rental cottage in nearby Seaside for club members and guests.

Lessons learned from their short-lived cider project were applied to the Ocean’s Daughter Distillery.

So Kim formed a 501(c3) nonprofit and selected a mermaid theme to link her family’s life-long connection to the ocean while highlighting Blain’s collection of underwater photography and artifacts from ocean-loving friends. Proceeds are dedicated to promoting ocean ecology.

“I invited 10 interesting women who are leaders in the community who I didn’t know well — but I respected — to serve on the board of directors,” she says. “All but one accepted.”

Covid-19 delayed construction and the opening until March 29, 2021 — International Mermaid Day. Fanfare for the museum was sudden and unexpected. It also changed their fortunes.

Her estimate was 10,000 visitors per year — about 42 visitors a day. Even that seemed unrealistic, particularly during a pandemic.

“Our highest day last summer was 1,282 visitors,” she says with a smile. “I’m hoping we’ll get 100,000 visitors in 2022. We had 83,000 last summer, and we missed the first quarter.”

The immediate success of the International Mermaid Museum has helped the Roberts family to deal with the on-going aftermath - financially and spiritually - of the fire that claimed the building that housed their young distillery and some key pieces of their businesses.

PHOTO BY KIM ROBERTS/COURTESY OF WESTPORT WINERY GARDEN RESORT

Westport Winery transitioned its unproductive vineyard into a display garden along Highway 105.

“I get bored, and I don’t have any hobbies,” Kim says.

Their trust in Bosso’s winemaking talent shows in the tripling of their barrel program and encouraging his interest in Sangiovese and Tempranillo. As they accommodated the surge of spirits production — 3,000 cases — they’ve created more demand for the 4,000 cases of wine and Bosso takes a more focused look on the lineup.

“We’ve been sold out on everything because of all the closures,” Kim says.

When they closed their Oregon Coast tasting room, those energies shifted toward the development of the distillery and to the construction of the museum, inspired by the story and success of the Northwest Carriage Museum in nearby Raymond.

“I’ve been telling people for years that in a way, the word ‘winery’ was a disservice to our company,” Kim says. “There are so many more people who could come to our restaurant and gift shop, but they wouldn’t because of religious reasons or they thought the winery would be too snooty or they had kids with them.”

“It’s been really hard to build a brand new museum, launch it, and then two months later lose a building and have to build a brand new building to replace it,” Kim says. “The fire was really hard emotionally. You lose your sense of security. We had to pivot so much last year that we got dizzy.”

Recently, Blain and Kim saw their prized chows — guard dogs Lulu and Curzon — sail across the Rainbow Bridge, but those canines who they jokingly referred to as their “Tibetan Swamp Pandas” are still featured on the label of the Little Wild Marionberry Riesling. Time will tell if young Mira will find her way onto a bottle.

This spring, Bosso and the Roberts family will release the 2019 Mermaid Merlot from Elephant Mountain — which earned 95 points this winter from Great Northwest Wine judges — to coincide with the Mermaid Festival March 26 through April 3. Just look for the 40-foot replica lighthouse halfway between Aberdeen and Westport along Highway 105.

“The sky is the limit for Westport Winery,” Bosso said. “They really have nothing holding them back. They have the fruit they need, and the facilities they need.”

Westport Winery Garden Resort, 1 S. Arbor Road, Aberdeen, WA, 98520, WestportWinery.com, (360) 648-2224.

Spring 2022 • Great Northwest Wine | 39

WASHINGTON – Winery to Watch | Liberty Lake Wine Cellars

By Eric Degerman

L

IBERTY LAKE — Leave it to a winemaking MBA to prove that investing in some of the best grapes available on the market repeatedly yields amazing returns.

In the case of Liberty Lake Wine Cellars east of Spokane, Wash., Mark Lathrop purchases from two storied families with roots on Red Mountain who are members of the Washington Wine Hall of Fame — Dick and Wendy Shaw and the Williamses at trailblazing Kiona.

If their wines were sold in a different corner of the state, Lathrop and his wife, Sarah, would feel compelled to charge more for the string of award-winning red wines he crafts at Liberty Lake.

“We promote ourselves as ‘Red Mountain class with Spokane pricing,’ ” Mark says.

Wine judges aren’t privy to vineyard sourcing, but they often get a sense for provenance behind the Liberty Lake reds. The lathrop relationship with the Shaws and vineyard manager Marshall Edwards includes Red Heaven and Scooteney Flats. From the clan at Kiona, the Lathrops pull off Heart of the Hill and Ranch at the End of the Road.

Last fall, Mark proved his point a record-setting seven times during the 22nd annual Platinum Awards. He entered seven of his red wines that had earned a gold medal somewhere in the country. Each attained a Platinum rating, led by the 2018 Scooteney Flats Cabernet Sauvignon — a $36 bottling that went Double Platinum, which means each judge on the panel awarded it a Platinum medal.

His other Platinum producers were a 2018 Malbec from Scooteney Flats, the 2018 Tempranillo off Red Heaven, a 2018 Heart of the Hill Carménère, the 2018 Reserve Syrah and 2018 Heritage Reserve Red Wine.

“We don’t enter many competitions,” he says. “You are putting yourself out there by doing that, so it can be a gut check.”

One wine that’s earned acclaim but Lathrop didn’t enter into the Platinum is the Gewürztraminer he purchases from the Williams family’s Ranch at the End of the Road.

“They are old vines from the ‘70s, so they are gnarly and pretty cool,” Lathrop says.

Another label — TAHIJA — earned a Platinum for the 2018 Candy Mountain Vineyard Sangiovese. While the Shaws have young vines on nearby Candy Mountain, the Lathrops get that fruit from the appellation’s namesake vineyard owned by Oregon Potato Co. “I was surprised by the Platinum for the Sangio, to tell you the truth,” Mark said. “It’s not something we’ve done as a winery and that was only my second vintage with it. Funny, but Sarah doesn’t like the Sangiovese.”

40 | greatnorthwestwine.com

Mark and Sarah Lathrop are producing some of the Northwest’s top wines at Liberty Lake Wine Cellars.

RICHARD DUVAL IMAGES

There is pedigree to that lot — one row from where famed Long Shadows Vintners pulls for its Saggi project. Remarkably, some of the Lathrop Sangiovese ends up as Liberty Lake’s sparkling rosé, a wine only on tap in Sarah’s tasting room. It’s made using forced carbonation with help of nearby Snow Eater Brewing Co. Production is limited; it’s released in May and sells out quickly.

“We have to do it because it’s Sarah’s favorite,” Mark says.

Not that he’ll have trouble remembering, but the 2021 vintage also goes down as the harvest when his loaded trailer suffered a flat tire on Interstate 90 east of Ritzville with 4 tons of Malbec from Scooteney Flats.

“I haul my own fruit because I want to pick up my fruit the day I want it harvested,” Lathrop says. “We don’t have any pumps. It’s all gravity flow.

“And we don’t filter the wine, so our wine is vegan,” he adds. “I know that if I see a wine that says it’s unfiltered then I’m more apt to purchase it.”

With his talent proven — he matched Maryhill Winery’s total of seven Platinum awards in 2021 — and because Liberty Lake Wine Cellars pays its bills on time, the Lathrops can boast multi-year contracts with those storied Red Mountain growers despite the increasing demand and price of their grapes.

“People always seek out the Red Mountain Cab in the tasting room,” Mark says.

Despite his growing up in Colville, Wash., and Sarah being a native of Butte, Mont., the Lathrops have long had a consuming interest in wine. After meeting in Eastern Washington University’s business school — where Mark also earned a master’s degree in music composition and played French horn — they soon began wine touring and picking up bottles along the way.

With their home in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, Liberty Lake Wine Cellars was a convenient stop, near the stateline between Idaho and Washington in the Spokane suburbs, and they enjoyed the wine made by longtime owners Doug and Shelly Smith.

In 2016, rather than see one of their favorite wineries shuttered, the Lathrops purchased the brand. Mark had no winemaking experience, but the chief financial officer of West Star Industries filled his spare time reading and researching the winemaking techniques to slowly attain an annual production of 2,700 cases.

What have the Lathrops sacrificed in the past five years?

“Well, we gave up vacations, and we don’t get out wine tasting that much any more,” Sarah says, adding with a chuckle “We drank a lot of other people’s wines before.”

One of those rare occasions is when Mark travels to West Star’s corporate headquarters in Stockton, Calif., a short drive from the Lodi region where they enjoy analyzing old vine Zinfandel. Liberty Lake has access to a tiny bit of the heat-seeking variety at Red Heaven.

All of his red wine production is done under the solar-powered roof that makes him one of the few net-zero wineries in the state.

“Tyler Williams at Kiona makes our Chardonnay, and Joseph Martedi in Woodinville makes the Riesling that we split from Red Willow Vineyard,” Lathrop says. “Aside from the Gewürz that I make, I don’t really have the equipment to make white wine the way I want to make it, but I do make the rosé in-house. It never scores well, but it always sells out.”

There are scores of hits, however, and his penchant for small lots allows for fun projects, such as incorporating a handful of new Bulgarian oak barrels into his Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot. In the meantime, more folks are pulling off Interstate 90 — a 9-iron from the lawn at Liberty Lake Wine Cellars — to taste what’s

WASHINGTON – Winery to Watch | Liberty Lake Wine Cellars left of those Platinum winners.

“After news of the awards got out, we had a wine club pickup weekend and every person who came in who wasn’t in the wine club signed up,” Sarah reported.

Mark added, “A couple of wineries placed some orders, which was kind of cool.”

At some point, the Lathrops hope to be a club-only winery.

“We’re closer than I thought we would be at this point,” Mark says. “All of our 2018s were 120-case lots — which is five barrels — and 85 cases of those went to wine club. Now, we’re up to 200-case lots so there will be a bigger gap for us, which is nice.”

During the two years of the pandemic and prior to buzz following the 2021 Platinum, their core of supporters made all the difference.

“It was the wine club that kept us afloat during COVID-19, and now on Thursdays we are open just for wine club members” Sarah said. “We do something silly every Thursday, and there’s been a great reception for it. And it’s allowed us to get to know our club members beyond the four times a year when they would pick up their club wines and that was it.”

The Lathrops continue to pay homage to the winery’s founders on many of the bottles with their label — an image of the tree that stood between the original tasting room and the body of water that is Liberty Lake. And the two couples remain friends — only now it is the Smiths who are the club members in award-winning Liberty Lake Wine Cellars.

Liberty Lake Wine Cellars, 23110 E. Knox Ave., Liberty Lake, WA 99019, LibertyLakeWineCellars.com, 509-255-9205

Spring 2022 • Great Northwest Wine | 41

GNWW 2022

ARLTON — It’s a delicious cliché to approach the wines of Christopher James Barnes and Chris James Cellars as an extension of the quintessential line of 18th century British poet William Cowper — “Variety’s the very spice of life, that gives it all its flavour.”

Consumers and judges continue to find the wines by Barnes worth remembering. He’s barely a decade into his novel and noble vineyard and estate winery west of Carlton, Ore., a project he tackled without any experience as a winemaker or grape grower prior to clearing his lot of Douglas fir and brush in 2012.

After producing three Platinum Award winners last fall, including the top-scoring Pinot Noir during the three-day judging, Chris James Cellars stands as the 2022 Oregon Winery of the Year for Great Northwest Wine magazine.

“My strategy with the business is to make a wide variety of wines with a small production of each,” Barnes says. “I’m looking to grow my knowledge and experience as fast as possible with a number of varieties.”

The approach to the wine industry at Chris James Cellars goes beyond the grape that made

Chris James recently opened a new tasting room in McMinnville.

42 | greatnorthwestwine.com

OREGON WINERY OF THE YEAR

Chris James Cellars

By Eric Degerman

C

2022

the Willamette Valley famous, even though the results of last year’s Platinum Awards prove he’s been a quick study of Pinot Noir.

“My most important motivation is that the wine has to taste good,” Barnes says. “I don’t have a dogmatic approach to it, although it hasn’t always been that way.”

The concept of variety and choice extends to the visitor’s experience developed by his wife, Beth. In the foothills of the Coastal Range, there’s the estate tasting room that’s framed by the family’s ever-growing vineyard, a veritable menagerie of grape varieties.

Yet, for those who don’t want a peaceful drive in the country along Panther Creek Road to the very end of Old Wagon Road, there’s the convenience of the Chris James Cellars satellite tasting room in historic downtown McMinnville.

“We got very lucky in finding that tasting room location in late 2020,” Beth says. “Our estate is beautiful, but a bit out of the way. You need to be specifically interested in visiting it to be in the area. The McMinnville spot has allowed us to get new people interested in our wines.”

None of this was a thought back in 2010, but his success in the world of high tech — past and present — put Chris James Cellars into rapid motion. By 2012, they established their vineyard. Four years later, he built his own estate production facility.

Christopher James Barnes grew up in Florida and became a computer and electrical engineer through Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis — IUPUI — while ultimately adding a business degree. Work took him to both sides of the country.

Soon, he and

Beth began to think about slowing down a bit, planting some vines and raising a family.

“I felt some sort of draw to Oregon even though I’d never even been here before,” he says, “but Oregon had this vineyard potential that was still reasonably priced and something I could achieve.”

Somehow, he saw his destiny as an extension to Old Wagon Road just off Panther Creek, the namesake stream that Ken Wright made famous decades ago for Pinot Noir. Soil analysis revealed what Barnes sensed was under that surface on the edge of the Yamhill-Carlton American Viticultural Area. What was mistakenly classified Peavine series turned out to be Oregon’s acclaimed Jory soil type.

“I had test pits dug, and it was almost all volcanic soil — ideal for a vineyard,” Barnes said. “The guy looked up at me from one of the pits and said, ‘So how much did you get this property for?’ ” There might have been a bit of bait-andswitch when it came to what Beth envisioned.

“When we met, I told her I’m going to retire on a vineyard,” he says. “I think she had a very different view of what I was talking about. I think she thought I was going to sit on a porch with a view of the vineyard. Now she runs the company, and I make the wine.”

His four barrels from Wädenswil clone berries from Carl Muska’s vineyard in the Eola-Amity Hills emerged as the No. 1 Pinot Noir in the 2021 Platinum Awards, a unanimous choice for Platinum — earning a Double Platinum. It qualified for the 22-year-old event and achieved near perfection in the eyes of the judges — 99 points — after a gold medal at the SavorNW Wine Awards on Cannon Beach.

“Carl Muska is a good friend of mine,” Barnes says. “He sells that specific fruit to only one other winery, and there’s some competition for it.”

The Chris James Cellars 2018 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir also achieved a Platinum, earning 95 points after winning gold medals at SavorNW and the Oregon Wine Awards.

“As an engineer, we’re taught to question everything, so I’m a contrarian, which can be annoying to people,” Barnes says, “but I’ve always been interested in trying to do things differently. And I don’t really think that Pinot is holy and the only thing I should focus on.”

His 2020 estate Sauvignon Blanc picked up a Platinum after gaining entry several weeks earlier at the Great Northwest Invitational at

OREGON – Winery of the Year | Chris James Cellars

Old Wagon Road Vineyard, the estate planting for Chris James Cellars in Carlton, Ore., is just west of two famous sites — Gran Moraine Vineyard, owned by Jackson Family Wines, and Resonance Vineyard of Maison Louis Jadot.

PHOTO COURTESY OF CHRIS JAMES CELLARS

the Columbia Gorge Hotel in Hood River, Ore., where it won best of class after earning a double gold medal. For Barnes, the big trick with the white Bordeaux grape is preserving the type of thiols he wants — in his case, the type of sulfur compound responsible for tropical tones — and that starts with increased levels of nitrogen in his vineyard.

“Sauvignon Blanc has been my biggest challenge with winemaking because it’s a very delicate wine, and it requires me to be very, very technical,” he says. “And I want to have the best (expletive) Sauvignon Blanc in Oregon.”

In the first quarter of 2022, he’s already produced a growing number of Platinum-qualifying wines. His 2018 estate Dolcetto, which nearly garnered a Platinum last fall, earned a spot in the sweepstakes three months later at the McMinnville Wine Classic. The 2018 Barbera from the Walla Walla Valley and 2018 Chardonnay also claimed gold medals with McMinnville judges.

“In 2018, everything seemed to line up perfectly for the Dolcetto and I’ve been trying to duplicate that, but it’s really tough,” Barnes said. “Dolcetto naturally wants to make a lot of fruit. During one year, prior to thinning, I did the calculations and the estimate was 20 tons to the acre.”

His one acre of Lagrein stems from that desire to be different, but it also was inspired by

McMinnville winemaker Remy Drabkin’s work with that obscure Italian red, which is native to the part of Northern Italy where an ancestor of Barnes grew up.

“When I bought the property in 2011, I was very interested from the start in non-Pinot varieties, and I had her Lagrein, so I became very interested in that,” Barnes said. “I’m still learning about it, and it’s challenging doing this kind of thing in a vacuum. One of the things about Lagrein that’s crazy is you can put an oak tree into it and not really tell.”

He’s nearly doubled production in the past few years, planning to reach 3,500 cases from the 2022 vintage. Despite the pandemic, consumer interest and critical acclaim for the program prompted Chris James to expand their efforts. That led them to historic downtown McMinnville, just around the corner from Hotel Atticus.

And there are new blocks of estate grapes beyond the 2012 plantings of an acre each of Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc. By 2019, there were 10 varieties represented across 17 acres.

Among those are aromatic German varieties Gewürztraminer, Scheurebe and Huxelrebe.

The showy 2020 Cuvée Blanc that Beth entered into this year’s McMinnville judging cruised into the sweepstakes — along with the 2018 Dolcetto — and received best-of-show consideration after receiving a double gold

medal and winning the award for Best White Blend.

“I think it’s great to have these unconventional wines doing so well,” he says. “That is a fruit-forward, acid-driven Alsatian-style white that I consider a fun wine, easy to drink and enjoyable. The majority of that is the Scheurebe (70%), which is a child of Riesling and Sylvaner, and I feel Gewürztraminer is the most underrated grape in wine history.”

Last fall, they added three varieties and three acres. This year, there are plans to establish other varieties to get them to about 25 acres with other possibilities among their 62-acre holdings. Among the Pinot Noir clones is Pommard and Dijon 777 and 828 — a storied “suitcase clone.”

“I know this is not a very sexy way of describing it, but my story is that I just work very hard at all of it,” Barnes says.

Granted he doesn’t make every SKU each vintage, and he doesn’t grow them all. Beyond his vineyard, there is Zinfandel from the Columbia Gorge and Barbera, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Merlot and Syrah from the Walla Walla Valley. In total, there are nine examples of red wine from the Columbia Valley over the course of three vintages.

His most recent Pinot Noir is from Owl’s Lane Vineyard in the Chehalem Mountains

Spring 2022 • Great Northwest Wine | 43

GNWW 2022

Award Winning Wines

2022 W A S HColumbia I N G T O N W IValley N E R Y O& F Willamette T H E Y E A R Valley

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12000 NW Old Wagon Rd. | Carlton, OR. 97111 645 NEbus 3rd Street | McMinnville, ORvel97128 sinciatiusda quation prae prores evendi ctorio doloris eum accusan impostiae net enduUm quasseq uatiuntor mil molore explige 503-852-1135 503-474-7670 sae esti con cone voluptatin parum ut modis ci autatium et que perferc ilitis sant alique nest necatum fugiatiae laborro.

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ChrisJamesCellars.com

OREGON – Winery of the Year | Chris James Cellars near Newberg. At last year’s Platinum Awards, the 2018 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir was a collection from Old Wagon Road Vineyard, Muska’s vineyard and Rodriguez Family Farm — an estate planting for Alumbra Cellars and winemaking friend Elena Rodriguez.

“It’s a very fruit-forward, clean Pinot with all neutral oak,” Barnes said.

He produces the Dolcetto both as a red table wine and a sparkling rosé.

“It works out really well as a rosé because of its higher yield and higher acidity and really nice color,” Barnes said. “It’s that way for a lot of the Italian varieties, and I really don’t understand why.”

Club members get first crack at his 2021 Sparkling Chardonnay and 2021 Sparkling Sauvignon Blanc, but there are still a few bottles of the 2019 Prost, his bubbly blend of Riesling, Gewurztraminer and Müller-Thurgau.

Chardonnay has been produced from the Columbia Gorge as well as Yamhill-Carlton. He sources Albariño, Roussanne and Sèmillon from Washington’s side of the Columbia Valley. He’s moved around Washington, experiencing the Horse Heaven Hills and the Yakima Valley.

“Now that I have those relationships, I can depend upon those growers to get me the style

of fruit I’m looking for, which includes playing with white wines that I would normally get in the Willamette Valley,” he says.

Alumbra is among those connections, and the Barneses recently provided a stage for the Rodriguez family wines at the Chris James Cellars tasting room in McMinnville. Barnes met both Carl Muska and Elena Rodriguez during their winemaking studies at Chemeketa College in 2014 and 2015.

“We had places that let us do pop-ups before we had a tasting room and so it seems only fair to offer the same to others,” Beth says.

There have been partnerships, custom-crush work and clients along the way as part of the Artem Wine Co., operation Chris and Beth launched in 2015. Rodriguez views Barnes as a mentor, and young Shumaker Vineyards in the Tualatin Hills credits Barnes with helping to launch their brand.

“I’m not a rich guy throwing money at a project, and I’m very involved,” he says. “I’m the guy driving the tractor and tilling and doing the sprays to manage a vineyard. I bought an excavator and did a lot of land clearing, so I don’t have too much free time. I might play a video game or two with my son — and I love sleeping.”

Those familiar with his early bottles under the Artem brand can spot the winged bird of Chris James Cellars and the references to Old Wagon Road Vineyard. His talents also played a role in Wine Press Northwest’s 2018 Oregon Winery to Watch, Huett Cellars, and its early efforts with Pinot Noir.

“We have many, many different varieties and a relatively small percentage of that is Pinot — and for that, I’m very proud,” Barnes says.

Chris James Cellars, estate tasting room, 12000 NW Old Wagon Road, Carlton, OR. 97111 (503) 852-1135; McMinnville tasting room, 645 NE Third St., McMinnville, OR 97128 (503) 474-7670, ChrisJamesCellars.com.

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Spring 2022 • Great Northwest Wine | 45

OREGON – Winery to Watch | Vino Vasai Wines/The Potter’s Vineyard

By Eric Degerman

N

EWBERG — After spending decades traveling for work, it’s not a big deal for scientist Bill Sanchez to leave Oregon’s Chehalem Mountains and head into Washington’s Yakima Valley for grapes.

Last year, he proved that it’s well worth the effort as his Cabernet Sauvignon from historic Konnowac Vineyard near Yakima, Wash., ranked among the best in the Northwest and earned a Platinum from Great Northwest Wine.

He’s also proved that he and wife Sandy’s vineyard ranks among the Willamette Valley elite by earning a pair of double gold medals this year in the McMinnville Wine Classic, adding up to why Vino Vasai Wines/The Potter’s Vineyard is the 2022 Oregon Winery to Watch for Great Northwest Wine.

“We’ve always drunk wine, especially with the Italian cooking in Sandy’s family, and I knew about yeast cultures through my research of animal nutrition,” says Bill, who has spent 35 years in that field. “But I didn’t start making wine until 2005. I wanted to learn everything about yeast but I knew it would be a wine pursuit because I didn’t like my brother-in-law’s beer.”

And there’s a third leg to the Sanchez business model — the Clay Art Gallery — that makes for a unique Northwest wine country experience. It’s one that’s remarkably easy to get to in the hills above Newberg, just off Highway 99 and near Rex Hill. The art component is a product of Bill’s ongoing passion for pottery work that began as a high school student.

“I carried a wheel with me everywhere I moved to, and I still work with clay,” he says.

That wheel has been a part of his life from the time he grew up in Beaverton with dreams of being a veterinarian then matriculating to Portland Community College, earning two degrees from Oregon State University, a doctorate at University of Florida and becoming a professor at the University of Idaho before two decades of probiotic feed research for Iowa-based Diamond V. One of Sandy’s responsibilities with the business is interacting with regional artists whose work is displayed and for sale at this gallery overlooking the vineyard. Those pieces include pottery thrown by Bill.

“With all of the winemaking and vineyard work, Bill can’t make enough pottery to fill the art gallery, so we invite other potters we know and rotate them every three or four months,” Sandy says. “It’s not just pottery, but photography, glass, woodworking, oil painting, jewelry.

People love it. They come out and buy a piece of art while they are tasting through our wines.”

Tasting room visitors also can see the origi-

46 | greatnorthwestwine.com

nal terracotta painting by Portland artist Patrick Noe that serves as the logo for Vino Vasai Wines/The Potter’s Vineyard.

At this point, about 10% of the pieces on display in the Clay Art Gallery come from Bill’s wheel. He’s quick to point out that he’s not the only winemaking/grapegrowing ceramic artist in the Chehalem Mountains. There is Andrew Beckham, whose amphora-influenced wines are known around the world for their unique brilliance.

“Andrew is across (Highway) 99 from me on Parrett Mountain,” Bill says.

There are numerous tributes to Italy with the program Bill and Sandy continue to layer.

Vino Vasai in Italian translates to potter’s wine.

His father in-law, Dario Casciato, served as the longtime head produce buyer for Fred Meyer before retiring in 1996. Casciato became a recognizable figure because the regional grocer often depicted him and his recommendations in advertising campaigns.

As an amateur winemaker, Bill started working with Konnowac fruit. More than a decade later, he added Merlot to his program. In 2020, wildfire smoke at The Potter’s Vineyard prompted Sanchez to back away from making a red table wine from their Pinot Noir, so they picked up Sangiovese from Two Mountain, an estate planting for Konnowac vineyard manager Patrick Rawn.

“We want to get our hands on more for a Super Tuscan project,” Bill says.

Despite being a Willamette Valley winemaker, Sanchez produced one of the top examples of Cabernet Sauvignon in the 22nd Platinum Awards. The intensely flavored Vino Vasai 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon earned a gold at the McMinnville judging during the first quarter of 2021, as did the 2018 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.

Sanchez showed well with both the 2018 Estate Barrel Select 17 Pinot Noir and 2018 Estate Reserve Pinot Noir, each a double gold medalist at McMinnville. Last year, those same wines were awarded gold medals, and each was the product of a handful of barrels.

Why would a Willamette Valley winemaker work with Cab? “You don’t eat salmon every day,” Bill says with a chuckle. “There’s steak or a rich Italian red sauce, but we also tell them a softer-style Cabernet can be really approachable and versatile with food, too.”

In recent vintages, Bill has grown his sparkling wine program to include blanc de blancs as well as rosé.

Vino Vasai Vines complement their fellow members of the Chehalem Mountains Winegrowers Association, and The Potter’s

Bill and Sandy Sanchez, owners of The Potter’s Vineyard and Vino Vasai Wines Vineyard was among the featured wineries last year at Magic in the Mountains event at the tony Allison Inn & Spa. It was the first public event since the federal government established the Laurelwood District American Viticultural Area, a sub-appellation of the Chehalem Mountains.

A decade ago, just as Bill was looking to become a commercial winemaker, Newberg grower/winemaker Laura Volkman — mentored by Michael Etzel of Beaux Frères fame — reached a turning point with the vineyard she planted in 2001. It’s a high-density site with 3-foot by 6-foot spacing for 6,000 vines across 3.5 acres.

“It was 2012; land prices were dropping, there were those cool vintages of 2010 and 2011, which were tough, and she was harvesting into November,” Bill says.

Even though Bill remembers, “It felt right when we drove in here,” he asked Sandy, “Are we ready for this?”

She answered, “I’m not afraid of hard work.”

They moved in on Sept. 15, 2012, began to harvest Oct. 9 and Volkman mentored them along the way. She had populated it with Dijon 115 clones and lesser amounts of 114, 667 and 777. The Pommard typically serves as the base of the reserve bottlings.

“We made 200 cases,” Bill says. “The ’12 vintage was amazing, but other than the 2020 vintage, it’s still our lowest yield. Looking back on it, it was good for us to start with just one layer of barrels.”

For seven straight vintages, Bill continued to work full-time for Diamond V and his pottery wheel was spinning fairly regularly until early 2019 when he decided to commit to The Potter’s Vineyard full-time.

“I still consult a bit (as an animal nutritionist) and I love doing both. There’s the grind of the travel to balance the blissfulness of living and working on the farm,” he says.

Last spring, Sandy joined him in retirement

OREGON – Winery to Watch | Vino Vasai Wines/The Potter’s Vineyard after 22 years in special education in Tigard and Tualatin schools.

Early on, Volkman guided Sanchez into the Columbia Gorge for Chardonnay until historic Celilo Vineyard was sold. Since he was already venturing into the Yakima Valley’s Rattlesnake Hills for old vine Cab, he began buying Wente clone Chardonnay planted during the 1980s from Bonair Vineyard, also in the Rattlesnake Hills. If either Bill or Sandy hear a guest reference famed California Chardonnay producer Rombauer while tasting theirs, that will please the Sanchezes because they’ve decided not to chase the Chablis-style that’s become the vanguard in the Willamette Valley.

“At our scale, it’s fun to go against the grain,” Bill says. “I really enjoy the richness of that clone; we use up to 50% new French oak and there’s good acidity to start with because we pick those older vines so early.”

Recognition of their effort and the story behind their program continues to grow. Last year, researchers for Linfield University’s Oregon Wine History Archive sat down for an extended interview with Bill and Sandy.

“We are celebrating our 40th anniversary of marriage, the 20th vintage of fruit

from the vineyard and our 10th vintage of producing wine from it,” Bill says. “Sandy has always been the executor, and I’m the dreamer. She’s very smart and motivating. I give her a lot of the credit for the wine and my life.”

Last year marked the third vintage for Vino Vasai Wines/The Potter’s Vineyard to receive Bill’s full-time attention, and production from 2021 will amount to about 1,000 cases. Helping them along the way have been assistant winemaker Art Roberts and his wife Gretchen, who have been working with them for nine vintages. Their newest employee is a yellow English Labrador retriever — Terra — their chief greeter.

They are teaming up not only to build upon their own successes, but also to pay tribute to Volkman.

“Laura came to my 60th birthday party, and we want to get her back out here to see what’s going on and celebrate with her,” Bill said. “We never believed her when she told us, ‘You guys will do something special with this.’ ” Vino Vasai Wines/The Potter’s Vineyard and Clay Art Gallery, 14725 NE Quarry Road, Newberg, OR, 97132, PottersVineyard.com, (503) 504-3796.

Bill Sanchez inspecting his vines.

Spring 2022 • Great Northwest Wine | 47

48 | greatnorthwestwine.com

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Spring 2022 • Great Northwest Wine | 49

GNWW 2022

2022 I D A H O W I N E R Y O F T H E Y E A R

Holesinsky Vineyard & Winery

“She told me, ‘Wow, James, you are kind of a kook,’ ” he chuckles. “I was 21 with long hair and played bass in a band. I was just a kid

By Eric Degerman going to Primus and Phish shows, but I learned cleanliness is next to godliness and other very UHL — Last year not only served as the James Holesinsky quickly came to embrace good things. I’m not a wild yeast kind of guy, 20th anniversary of James Holesinsky’s the uniqueness of the site he grew up on — though. And while I am certified organic, I do eponymous wine program in Idaho’s west of Twin Falls and much closer to Nevada add sulfites to my wines.” largely overlooked Hagerman Valley, but it than Boise or Sun Valley — beginning with also marked a period of unequaled acclaim for The uniqueness of his site, his penchant for its elevation. At 3,770 feet above sea level, his the wines crafted by he and his chemist/wife, organics and his business — Clear Lakes Prodvineyard along the Snake River canyon rim is Caitlin. ucts — took him down a path to a program that several hundred feet higher than those near the fit his approach.

This spring, they are building upon that Idaho/Oregon border. Based on research by remarkable momentum as Holesinsky “I was making wine but also Vineyard and Winery has fun — you building a large chemical company know their tasting room team will — that financed my equipment,” James as the 2022 Idaho Winery of the Year. says. “And what we need to do to get our fruit to shine in this region “We’ve busted our ass to not just starts with treating the vineyards make a good product, but make a good like athletes where you put them product consistently,” he says. “Now, in the right position to win. And there’s that pressure to keep that pedifortunately, I have no loans. We own gree for your brand going.” everything.”

Last fall, three times they wowed It would seem that a turning point judges at the Platinum Awards for in the success of Holesinsky’s wines work with Syrah, earning Double Plattook a major step when he met inum and 99 points with the Domaine the love of his life — Caitlin. The Holesinsky 2019 Gertschen Vineyard native of Alaska earned a degree in Buhljolais Rosé of Syrah ($12) and the biomedical science from Southern Holesinsky Winery and Vineyard 2018 Oregon University in 2015 and 100% JH Syrah ($45). developed an interest in the region’s Their 2020 Sparkling Unicorn ($18) wine industry along the way. She also garnered a Double Platinum and PHOTO COURTESY OF HOLESINSKY VINEYARD AND WINERY planned to go into pharmaceutical received 94 points. That Buhljolais research, then met James through a Holesinsky Vineyard is believed to be the Northwest’s highest-elevation rosé earned its entry into the Platinum commercial vineyard at 3,770 feet altitude. mutual friend during a trip to Idaho. via golds at the 2021 Drink Pink Vino Their shared interests include snowboarding Great Northwest Wine, Holesinsky Vineyard is International Rosé Competition and Florida’s and boating. Within three months, they were believed to be the loftiest commercial vineyard American Fine Wine Competition. engaged. in the Pacific Northwest.

At the Idaho Wine Competition, the 2018 CH “It was love at first sight,” she says, “and As a tribute to his chemist-turned-farmer Syrah received a double gold and picked up a what he did — the wine and chemistry — was father, James established the vineyard in 2001 gold medal at the Women’s International Wine interesting to me as well.” with Chardonnay. The next year, the son added Awards, gaining access because it is among Clear Lakes produces disinfectants, soaps Syrah, Merlot and three Port-style varieties — the projects of Caitlin Holesinsky — hence the and other agents for the dairy industry and othSezão, Tinta Cão and Touriga Naçional. After “CH” reference. Ironically, the 2018 JH Syrah, er agricultural purposes such as horse supplea few years, he planted Cabernet Sauvignon, as in James Holesinsky, only received a gold ments and lotions.

Riesling and then Muscat as he transitioned medal at the Idaho judging. There were also his father’s land from a dairy farm to a winery golds awarded to the 2020 IdaPeach Sangria “When I arrived, we had five wines,” she sourcing primarily from their estate vineyard and 2020 Unicorn. said. “We were both involved in Clear Lakes, but also some in nearby Hagerman. but I stepped away from that when I had our The first Holesinsky Platinum came in 2020 son and decided to help with the winery and “Everyone thought I was crazy by planting for the 2018 Pinot Noir. Last spring, their handle the marketing. Now that we’re getting Syrah,” he says.

2019 Pinot Noir earned a gold at the Cascadia close to 30 different wines, there’s a lot more International, adding another layer of support Holesinsky took the chemistry that he to do.” for their winemaking while also displaying the learned from his father and, at the age of 21, versatility of their site.

It’s a good thing that James doesn’t list many enrolled into the University of California-Davis hobbies. program for winemaking. One of his instructors The 2020 Billy Brew, which features Charwas renowned geneticist/winemaker Carole donnay and peaches from old-growth orchards, “The winery isn’t work for me,” he says. grabbed gold at the Cascadia and Savor NW Meredith.

“It might be playing in a basketball league,

B

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Wine Awards. That Cannon Beach judging also returned a gold for the 2008 Port Hoser, a fortified bottling of classic Portuguese varieties that spent 12 years in barrel.

IDAHO – Winery of the Year | Holesinsky Vineyard & Winery the golf course or shooting a gun for another dude, but I love being a viticulturist, and I love winemaking.”

Along the way, the Holesinskys also elevated the profile of Clear Lakes. Their company in nearby Filer helped the community in the early days of the pandemic by creating hand sanitizer. Ordinarily, Clear Lakes would make 500 gallons of sanitizer in a month. At one point of the pandemic, the Holesinskys ramped up production to 5,000 gallons per day and operated a drive-thru to help first-responders and their community.

The Holesinksys are proud of their organic approach to viticulture, which includes abstaining from synthetic herbicides and fertilizers.

Their silica-laden volcanic soil features rhyolite and is accompanied by basalt and breccia rock. The Lake Bonneville flood led to loam soil loaded with potassium, setting the table for wine grapes that boast elevated levels of acidity while still containing high pH. Those conditions helped the Hagerman Valley earn its reputation for producing some of the nation’s best watermelon in the early 1900s.

“We’ve done a lot of improvements in our vineyard management and developed our own trellising systems,” James says. “We’re hanging our Chardonnay at 12 tons per acre (in Oregon, it’s much closer to 3 tons per acre) and when we use stainless steel it comes through so clean and so rich with almost Sauvignon Blanc like flavors. So we’ve developed our own style with it.

“It also helps that we’ve invested in a new refrigeration system so that I can really manage the fermentation of the white wines,” he added.

“We’re really trying to go to the next level.”

The Holesinskys now bring in Malbec from Kerry Hill Vineyard, an organic, bee-friendly site west of Caldwell. Gewürztraminer also is part of the non-estate program, yet they’ve recently purchased 150 acres next to their winery and are using geothermal water without a drip system to irrigate. In some respects, it might be easier to buy Syrah from Washington state, and the Holesinskys were given that offer.

“We’re not interested in fruit that’s not from Idaho,” he says. “About 90 percent of what we produce is from the Hagerman Valley.”

And while other Northwest vineyards reported smaller crops because of winter damage and the June “heat dome,” the 2021 vintage told a different story for Holesinsky.

“We brought in 140 tons last year, and we were maxed out,” he says. “While everyone was struggling, our vineyards never produced more because of our trellising system and our own way of pruning. It’s worked out well despite the pandemic.

“Our growth has taken us from over 10,000 cases to 14,000 to 15,000 cases,” he added.

“And we’re selling everything out of our tastdiculous and they didn’t want to sell any of our ing room and in Boise. We’re not taking on any other wines because of it,” Caitlin says. “What more wholesale business.” many people don’t realize is that James is the only man in the company. It’s an eye-catching Interestingly, they adjust their marketing bottle, and we’re fun. We’re not stuffy. We’re approach based on the style of the wine and the approachable, and that’s who we are. And audience. For example, there is the Domaine we’re selling 6,000 cases of those wines at Holesinsky brand for the 2019 Gertschen Vinearound $17 a bottle.” yard Buhljolais Rosé of Syrah. It’s a screenprint white label that’s along the lines of what you While the wines are serious, there typically might expect to see from an Old World producis levity surrounding the Holesinskys. Their er, and it’s a look that particularly appeals to Liquid Quack Sparkling Moscato is another Sun Valley consumers who might otherwise not example. Its Facebook campaign features the pay attention to an unknown Idaho brand.

Holesinsky family’s pet duck — Mr. Quackers — and there’s a bubbly version of the IdaPeach On the other hand, there’s the clear bottle now. featuring a fanciful pink unicorn rearing up on the front of the Sparkling Unicorn Rosé “We’re trying to bridge that gap with some of Syrah. Inside, its serious side showed with things,” James says. golds at the prestigious Sunset International The success of Holesinsky Vineyard and Wine Competition, Drink Pink Vino InternaWinery comes down to the terroir, the organic tional Rosé Competition and the American Fine approach and their shared backgrounds in Wine Competition. Billy Brew, named for their chemistry. They hope the growing acclaim for dog, is a low-alcohol Chardonnay that’s co-fertheir program — originally inspired by James’s mented with peaches, slightly fizzy and sealed late father — will help with their petition to with a crown cap. the federal government to establish the 1,000 Then there’s the case of the IdaPeach Sangria Springs American Viticultural Area. A research program. The Holesinskys have heard the paper on the Bonneville flood, authored by criticism surrounding the label for that wine, James’s sister, will be the centerpiece to their yet the blend of Chardonnay and peach has a proposal to create another sub-AVA of the significant following, which explains its 3,000Snake River Valley and serve as a memorial to case production — one of the largest bottlings Frank, who died in early 2020. in the Idaho wine industry, its spot on shelves Time will tell if Frank’s grandson, Henrik, of Albertsons and on-tap support in Boise. Few who will be 5 this year, is in line to pick up for can deny that it’s delicious; there’s balance to his mom and dad someday. the off-dry approach, and the price is $14. The “He already has quite the palate,” Caitlin red version, with a similar production level, is says. $16.

“Those IdaPeach Sangrias are great introductory wines for people who are not wine Holesinsky Vineyard and Winery, drinkers,” Caitlin says. “Too many people think 1498 Valley Steppe Drive, Buhl, Idaho 83316, wine is pretentious and snooty.”

Holesinsky.com, (208) 539-8360.

And the HolesinPHOTO COURTESY OF skys quickly point HOLESINSKY VINEYARD AND WINERY out their IdaPeach brand — featuring a young woman dressed akin to Daisy Duke holding an oversized peach in front of each breast — was created by a fun-loving breast cancer survivor. Interest in IdaPeach prompted the Holesinskys to create a line of merchandise around that brand.

“I’ve only had one person tell me Caitlin and James Holesinsky earned three Double they thought it was Platinums in 2021 from Great Northwest Wine. sexist, that it was ri-

Spring 2022 • Great Northwest Wine | 51

IDAHO – Winery to Watch | Rivaura Vineyards and Winery

By Eric Degerman

J

ULIAETTA — It was last fall when it became clear the Hewett family’s early efforts in the historic Lewis-Clark Valley with Rivaura Vineyards and Winery warranted recognition as Great Northwest Wine magazine’s 2022 Idaho Winery to Watch.

Then came a string of top awards for Rivaura at Sip magazine’s Best of the Northwest judging, followed by news that Napa-based Wine Business Monthly magazine named Rivaura as one of its nine Hot Brands in the U.S. It’s just the third time in 18 years for an Idaho winery to be spotlighted by the national publication.

The Hewett clan has come a long way in a short period of time, and while the property has been in the family for generations, their young wine project started with a snapshot that attracted the immediate interest of three leading figures in the Walla Walla Valley — winemaker Billo Naravane, the Master of Wine behind Rasa Vineyards, Whitman College geologist Kevin Pogue and Steve Robertson, a visionary grower and vintner in The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater.

“My dad sent them a picture, and they said, ‘We want to come see this spot,’ ” says Lane Hewett, who shares in the winemaking with his cousin, Vince. “They told us, ‘You guys should definitely do this,’ and they helped us from the beginning by taking soil samples and telling us what varieties should go where.”

There’s definitely magic surrounding the site that’s been in alfalfa and cattle. At the Sip judging staged in Seattle, Rivaura received double gold medals for its 2019 Viognier and 2020 Cabernet Franc rosé, while the 2019 Grenache received a gold. It was the 2019 Viognier that first attracted the admiration of Wine Business Monthly.

Last year, that rosé — made by both cousins — earned a gold medal at the 2021 Idaho Wine Competition. At the same judging, Tim Harless, winemaker/owner of Hat Ranch Winery, used Cabernet Franc off Rivaura to win both best red wine and best of show at the Gem State competition.

“It’s quite possibly the most beautiful-looking European hillside vineyard that is not in Europe,” Harless says. “I’ve never been to any place that looks so beautiful.”

And the name stems from when the three generations of Hewetts were establishing their vineyard along banks of the Clearwater River.

“They were planting one day, looked out across the vines with the river and the sun a certain way, and someone said, ‘It seems as if there’s a special aura here,” Lane says. “With the river here and that aura, there’s a sense that this is a destination, and it speaks of where we were supposed to be. So we combined ‘river’

52 | greatnorthwestwine.com

Lane Hewett, left, and his cousin, Vince Hewett, recent graduates of two of Washington state’s top winemaking schools, are the driving forces behind Rivaura Estate Vineyards and Winery in Juliaetta, Idaho. and ‘aura.’ ” All of their wines are pulled off their young vines, 27 acres so far, near the confluence of the Clearwater and the Potlatch rivers, about a 20-minute drive upstream from Lewiston and about 90 minutes east of Walla Walla. At around 800 feet elevation, their vines might be the lowest in state. Rivaura planted its attractive Viognier in 2016 as part of the family decision to transform some of their holdings on opposite sides of the Clearwater into wine production starting in 2014.

“Most grape varieties that need a lot of heat do well out here, especially Bordeaux and Rhon̂ e varietals,” Vince says. “Syrah does very well with the heat but also does well in our most rocky and sandy soils. Plus the lower trellis puts these vines just 24 inches off the ground giving the fruiting zone extra heat off the exposed rocks and sand. This helps reduce the vigour and stress out the berries to get a depth of flavors such as dark purple fruit, olive tapenade, and hits of minerality.”

Few in the Northwest wine industry realize that the L-C Valley is a banana belt. Its growing degree days line up with those of the Walla Walla Valley and the Yakima Valley’s Rattlesnake Hills, and the vines in this region avoid the winter damage that has plagued other parts of Idaho in recent years.

“My grandfather and father were in construc-

SHANE COURTNEY PHOTOGRAPHY/COURTESY OF RIVAURA ESTATE VINEYARD AND WINERY

tion, and now all of a sudden there’s this crazy thing,” Lane chuckles.

In fact, the two cousins were attending the University of Idaho in nearby Moscow when the family got serious.

“We would come back on the weekends and help with the irrigation and the trellising and they would tell us, ‘If you guys want to do this and keep it within the family, we could do something really good,’ ” Lane says.

Until that point, Lane planned to enter the world of media relations. Vince’s path was headed toward engineering school.

“We were both going into careers that we

IDAHO – Winery to Watch | Rivaura Vineyards and Winery were pretty excited about,” Vince says. “The vineyard was going in no matter what we were doing.”

They soon enrolled in Walla Walla Community College’s acclaimed viticulture and enology program. Lane worked the 2016 harvest at Saviah Cellars in Walla Walla, graduated from Walla Walla in 2017 and headed to Hat Ranch in the Snake River Valley for two years.

Meanwhile, Vince went on to Washington State University to earn a four-year degree in spring 2019. His résumé includes Muret-Gaston Winery — where he worked for a pair of proud Cougars in Kyle and Amy Johnson — and Artifex, the acclaimed custom-crush facility in Walla Walla.

That’s where the Rivaura wines continue to be made and where they

Harless, the former Air Force pilot at Hat Ranch, credited Lane’s winemaking skills and his family’s fruit for last year’s best-of-show entry.

“We only got 2.8 tons of Cab Franc, and that was one of the three or four times when a load of fruit rolled through our place, and you just know it’s special,” Harless remembers.

Even though Lane spent two years in the Hat Ranch cellar, that Cabernet Franc was the first and last time that Harless — or anyone else — would get their hands on Rivaura fruit because the Hewett family was gearing up for growth.

“Lane arrived to me as an exceptionally trained guy, and I told him, ‘Lane this is your fruit and you grew up with it,’ so he picked the lane he wanted — no pun intended — and it was like bowling with bumper lanes,” Harless said. “He pulled from what he learned at Walla Walla Community College from (winemaking instructor) Tim Donahue.”

And while the two cousins each wear the title of assistant winemaker, Vince takes the lead in the vineyards and the cellar.

“He’s more into science and the winemaking, and I’m a bit more into marketing and sales and doing the talking,” Lane says.

The family’s background in construction shows up in its modern rustic tasting room.

“We were looking for a Walla Walla vibe, and it really puts you in a spot that you don’t see in Idaho,” Lane says.

Ask any of the competition judges, and the Hewetts don’t need that picturesque setting to help them sell their wines. In 2018, the family had a short-term goal of 1,200 cases when they first opened to the public.

“But we ran out after six months and shut down the tasting room,” Lane says. “As soon as the 2019 vintage, we were making closer to 3,500 cases, and we have in bottle 4,500 cases from the 2020 vintage.

“With our 30 acres, when everything comes on line we can do 5,500 cases, and we don’t really want to be more than 6,000 cases,” Lane adds. “That seems like a good point where we can still focus.”

And earlier this year, the Hewetts unveiled a portfolio of beers that are brewed just below the tasting room. Vince, 26, a snowboarder, is also a brewmaster.

“Yeah, it’s a little crazy of us to add that, but we wanted to be able to sell some beers because not everyone who comes out here with their friends drinks wine,” says Lane, 25, an avid golfer. “So then we thought, ‘If we’re going to offer beer, let’s make it ourselves,’ and all of a sudden my dad started ordering all the equipment. So it’s cool that we have River Ranch Brewing Co., at Rivaura. You can get a dual experience.”

Rivaura Estate Vineyards and Winery, 21622 Rivaura Lane, Juliaetta, ID 83535, Rivaura.com, (208) 276-3245.

meet regularly with Navarane to make decisions on the wines.

“It’s not by the numbers with him, it’s all by taste,” Lane says of Navarane. “Vince and I will look at the numbers, and all he has to do is taste and he’ll say, ‘It’s not there yet.’ ”

Wines from the Hewett family’s picturesque plantings in the Lewis-Clark Valley are attracting attention from national media.

SHANE COURTNEY PHOTOGRAPHY/COURTESY OF RIVAURA ESTATE VINEYARD AND WINERY

Spring 2022 • Great Northwest Wine | 53

TASTING RESULTS | Merlot

By Eric Degerman

Northwest Merlot remains memorable in talented hands

It’s rare for a wine writer to receive gratitude for conducting a judging focused on an already-famous grape, but Merlot could still use a PR agent nearly two decades after being miscast in the Oscar-winning Sideways.

“Thank you for holding a Merlot-focused tasting,” a vintner wrote. “One movie did so much damage to a wonderful varietal.”

Another replied, “Very cool to give Merlot a look in this way!”

At this point, it’s difficult to imagine Cabernet Sauvignon as anything other than the marquee attraction in Washington state. And while Merlot’s star power dimmed some after that movie came out in fall 2004, it’s hanging on as the second-most important red grape in a state that ranks No. 2 in the country for wine production.

And as our comparative tasting showed, some of the region’s most respected producers are doing a marvelous job with Northwest Merlot. There were 114 examples submitted, and Abeja — one of Walla Walla’s iconic brands — finished No. 1 with a delectable bottling from the 2019 vintage that features four historic vineyards across the Columbia Valley.

“No doubt there was a Sideways effect in the broad market, but that phenomenon isn’t something most artisan wineries experienced,” said Amy Alvarez-Wampfler, who shares the winemaking duties with her husband, Daniel. “At Abeja, we have a longstanding, loyal following.

The movie did not sway our customers, and our Merlot sales have remained strong.”

A 2009 study at Sonoma State University in California indicated the market for Merlot fell by 2% in the four years following Sideways. In Washington state, the numbers continue to tell a somewhat sad story about the variety. By 2006, Cabernet Sauvignon became king in Washington when it overtook Merlot in tonnage. In 2016, Washington winemakers harvested 48,400 tons of Merlot, well behind the whopping 71,100 tons of Cab. Granted, overall production in the state’s wine industry has dropped because of economics as well as vintage conditions, however by 2020, tonnage of Merlot in Washington had fallen by more than half from 2016 with 22,775 tons crushed. And if the trend continues, Syrah — at 18,230 tons in 2020 — will likely overtake Merlot in Washington. (The state’s 2021

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grape report will be available this spring.)

During the 2020 crush in Oregon, Merlot (1,596 tons) was far behind both Syrah (4,058) and Cabernet Sauvignon (3,881). And while Merlot is not on the radar of most Willamette Valley producers, Southern Oregon vintners deserve credit for crafting some of the Northwest’s best examples.

“People are actively looking for Merlot,” said Patrick Spangler of Spangler Vineyards in Roseburg. “They might still remember what was said about Pinot Noir in Sideways, but when that movie came out, Merlot was already getting dragged down by some of the stuff that was coming out of California, so in some ways (Sideways) did the variety a favor.

“I’d say in the past three years people who come into the tasting room have really been asking for Merlot, so it’s coming back — especially if you give them something good to try,” Spangler added.

The small screen also played a part in some of the “meh” Merlot from California as growers rushed to meet demand after the 60 Minutes segment in 1991 on the so-called “French paradox” linking good health to moderate consumption of red wine.

Many times throughout our tasting there were repeat performers, especially when it came to vineyard sources and historic plantings.

Allan Brothers-owned Sagemoor Farms played a supporting role in at least six gold medals with fruit from Bacchus and Dionysus — vines along the White Bluffs American Viticultural Area with roots that dig back into the 1970s — and/or Weinbau on the Wahluke Slope.

“Bacchus and Weinbau are both well-suited to Merlot, but the ‘X-factor’ is the grower,” says Daniel Wampfler, hired at Abeja in 2016 after eight years as winemaker at Dunham Cellars. “We have a strong relationship with the Sagemoor team.”

Red Mountain, the second-smallest AVA in Washington, helped at least nine wineries earn a gold medal or better. Among the contributing vineyards are those owned by Jim Holmes, Dick Shaw and the Williams family of Kiona — all having earned induction into the Washington Wine Hall of Fame.

Fruit from Joe Hattrup’s Elephant Mountain Vineyard in the Rattlesnake Hills of the Yakima Valley led to a trio of gold medals. Napa-trained

viticulturist Ed Kelly at Stillwater Creek Vineyard in the Frenchman Hills along the Royal Slope also was credited with growing grapes for three gold medals.

As a variety, particularly when grown in the Columbia Valley, Merlot now stands rather tall with broader shoulders. On the tannin scale, Merlot routinely checks in as bolder than Cabernet Sauvignon and plays so well in proprietary reds with Syrah, the fleshy and ripe Rhône used to build midpalate texture.

“It’s true that Merlot has more muscle than it once did,” said Daniel Wampfler, whose three years at Columbia Crest included work on the team credited with the 2005 Reserve Cab that Wine Spectator ranked No. 1 in the world in 2009. “We often blend Merlot into our Cabernet for structure and Cabernet into Merlot to add a touch of softness.”

Last fall, Team Wampfler’s 2020 Washington State Chardonnay won best of show at the Great Northwest Invitational Wine Competition, an event judged by some of the Northwest’s leading wine buyers.

This winter, Abeja stood out again — this time for Merlot. The same bottling also merited a glowing review in Forbes magazine alongside other examples of Merlot from famous Washington brands.

“Abeja is known as a Cabernet Sauvignon house, and that’s been the focus of our large-format programming,” Daniel Wampfler said, “but we recently released a magnum of the 2020 Washington State Chardonnay for the first time, and that’s been popular, so who knows? A big bottle of Merlot may be next!”

Our judges for this tasting were Roger Cockerline, winemaker, Neher Family Wines, Milton-Freewater, Ore.; Philippe Michel, founder, Oak Traditions, associate, Metis Northwest, Walla Walla; Mike Rader, Great Northwest Wine panelist, Kennewick, Wash.; April Reddout, Reddout Wine Consulting, Kennewick, Wash.; Ken Robertson, Great Northwest Wine columnist, Kennewick, Wash.; and Gordy Venneri, winery consultant, Neher Family Wines, Milton-Freewater, Ore. The socially distanced judging was staged Feb. 18 at the Clover Island Inn overlooking the Columbia River in historic downtown Kennewick.

Editor’s note: Neither Cockerline, who gained fame for his work with Bunchgrass Winery, nor Venneri — co-founder of Walla Walla Vintners — evaluated their own entry during our tasting.

TASTING RESULTS | Merlot

Double gold medal | 98 points Abeja 2019 Merlot, Columbia Valley $50.00 One of the Pacific Northwest’s first destination wineries continues to prove the bottlings from this bucolic property in Walla Walla are worth seeking out as the husband/wife winemaking team of Daniel Wampfler and Amy Alvarez-Wampfler produced our tastings most delicious example of Merlot. While there’s significant influence from Abeja’s estate vineyards (26%), the major contributions hail from two 40-yearold plantings near the White Bluffs of Sagemoor — Dionysus (42%) and Bacchus (26%). Ciel du Cheval contributes some Red Mountain muscle, too. A third of the barrels were new French oak, and the 20-month regimen shows beautiful integration. Its panoply of black and blue fruit, led by black cherry and black currant, makes room for light toast, mocha and a pinch of earth. The plummy structure teases out the smooth tannins that are carried along by Marionberry and capped by Baker’s chocolate. At last fall’s release party, The Kitchen at Abeja paired this bottling with braised beef, mashed potatoes and a shallot compote.

“And it was sensational,” Amy says.

(688 cases, 14.5% alc.)

Double gold medal | 96 points Château Ste. Michelle 2017 Canoe Ridge Estate Merlot, Horse Heaven Hills $24.00 Ste. Michelle first planted this site in the Horse Heaven Hills in 1991, and for the first 35 years of its life, all of the 559 acres were managed by Mimi Nye. The label reflects the winds that swirl up from the Columbia Gorge, which provide natural pest control and help Canoe Ridge Estate achieve its Salmon-Safe designation. Brian Mackey and his red wine team deftly use a blend of

new French and American oak to create a remarkably balanced and concentrated expression of Merlot that offers dark red fruit, toast and baking spices. (2,491 cases, 14.8% alc.)

Double gold medal | 96 points Owen Roe 2019 DuBrul Vineyard Merlot, Yakima Valley $56.00 The Shiels family of Côte Bonneville fame also sell a portion of their grapes to some of Washington’s winemaking illuminati. That includes David O’Reilly, a longtime supporter of the Yakima Valley, going back to his days as an Oregon winemaker. It’s a classic expression of Washington Merlot in its theme of dark cherry, blackberry, cola and notes of rose petal. There’s harmony to the cassis acidity and ageworthy tannins that leave room for a sprinkling of cocoa in the finish. (110 cases, 14.1% alc.)

Double gold medal | 95 points Tamarack Cellars 2017 Merlot, Columbia Valley $30.00 Danny Gordon continues to maintain the high standards of founding winemaker Ron Coleman with this darkly purple beauty from the brand that pays tribute to Walla Walla airport’s historic World War II firehouse. Napa-based Vintage Wine Estates invested wisely in Washington as its two brands in the state produced three of this tasting’s top examples of Merlot. This one comes loaded with blackberry, plum and blueberry, while underpinnings of cedar are easily detected amid the balanced tannins. (1,000 cases, 14.3% alc.)

by the t o l er M numbers

Here are a few statistics involving Great Northwest Wine’s comparative tasting of Merlot: • Total entries: 114 • Double gold medals: 10 (9%) • Gold medals: 29 (25%) • Silver medal: 70 (61%) • Bronze medal: 5 (4%) • Average price per bottle: $34.68 • Mean price: $33 • Average price for gold medalist wines: $37.23 • Total cases represented in this judging: 477,392 • Average production: 4,187 cases • Average production of gold medal winner: 588 cases • Mean production of gold medal winner: 186 cases • Average alcohol by volume: 14.36% • Average alcohol by volume among gold medals: 14.39% • What it would cost to buy one bottle of each wine judged: $3,979

American Viticultural Areas represented: 19 Columbia Valley (42), Yakima Valley (14), Walla Walla Valley (11), Red Mountain (10), Horse Heaven Hills (8), Lewis-Clark Valley (3), Rattlesnake Hills (3), Royal Slope (3), Snake River Valley (3), Washington State (3), Applegate Valley (2), Umpqua Valley (2) Ancient Lakes of Columbia Valley (1), Eagle Foothills (1), Oregon (1), Rogue Valley (1), Southern Oregon (1), Wahluke Slope (1), White Bluffs (1).

Gold medals won by AVA Columbia Valley (17), Horse Heaven Hills (5), Rattlesnake Hills (3), Red Mountain (3), Walla Walla Valley (3), Yakima Valley (3), Applegate Valley (1), Oregon (1), Royal Slope (1), Umpqua ​​ Valley (1), Washington State (1)

Spring 2022 • Great Northwest Wine | 55

TASTING RESULTS | Merlot

Double gold medal | 98 points Neher Family Wines 2019 Principal Red, Columbia Valley $32.00 Two of the Walla Walla Valley’s most respected winemakers — Roger Cockerline of Bunchgrass fame and Walla Walla Vintners co-founder Gordy Venneri — work in tandem on this ultra-boutique label for the Neher family. Labeled as a tribute to the late Richard Neher, a longtime high school principal, the proprietary name would indicate that this is a red blend. However, in this instance, both barrels were filled with Merlot from venerable Sagemoor. The fanciful nose shows a discreet use of oak and hints of a fresh bag of Twizzlers cherry licorice. On the palate, its well-balanced structure and lower profile of alcohol combine to offer complete enjoyment of cherry, blackberry and blueberry flavors, providing a lengthy finish. These wines are extremely limited, and sales are limited to the Neher family’s Clay in Motion pottery salesroom in Milton-Freewater, Ore. (50 cases, 13.6% alc.)

Double gold medal | 97 points Welcome Road Winery 2019 Merlot, Rattlesnake Hills $30.00 Leigh McMillan is in her second decade as a Washington winemaker, and she’s recently invested more deeply in her relationship with Yakima Valley vineyards managed by Patrick Rawn. Black cherry cola, vanilla bean and a light amount of toast lead the descriptors of this dark drink that’s backed by a harmonious interplay of silky tannins and boysenberry acidity. Our judges believe its drinking range will stretch out a decade. Get a bottle or two while you can because Welcome Road now operates two tasting rooms — West Seattle and downtown Bellingham — as McMillan and co-owner Kristen Dorrity only recently decided to increase production. (26 cases, 14.7% alc.)

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Double gold medal | 96 points Mellisoni Vineyards 2018 Stillwater Creek Vineyard Barrel Select Reserve Merlot, Royal Slope $150.00 The 2021 Washington Winery of the Year opened 2022 by producing one of the top Merlots in this tasting. Rob and Donna Mellison doted on these eight barrels of juice courtesy of Napa-trained viticulturist Ed Kelly. The hedonistic presentation of dark red fruit comes with elegant tannins and sensational acidity. “They really dialed in on the balance,” remarked one judge. And while it’s easily the most expensive wine in the tasting, the Mellisons won’t have any trouble selling it in their showpiece tasting room with a postcard view from above Lake Chelan’s south shore. (192 cases, 15.7% alc.)

Double gold medal | 96 points The Miscreant Project 2018 The Right Bastard, Columbia Valley $19.00 Best Buy! TruthTeller Winery’s Chris and Dawn Loeliger recently launched this quirky, nicely priced tier and credited assistant winemaker Keith Whisenhunt with the winning blend of Merlot (80%) and Cabernet Sauvignon that emerged as one of the tasting’s highest scoring wines and a unanimous choice for a gold medal. It was no surprise considering its pedigree — Stillwater Creek and Kiona vineyards. There’s blackberry, vanilla and a fresh strip of cedar in the aromatics, which turn jammy on the palate, joined by black cherry and finish with dark plum. For those familiar with the brand, it goes down as Miscreant Affirmation #09. (93 cases, 14.4% alc.)

Double gold medal | 95 points Abacela Winery 2018 Estate Merlot, Umpqua Valley $26.00 While the Jones family’s storied site continues to earn international acclaim for its work with Iberian Peninsula varieties, Fault Line Vineyards and seasoned winemaker Andrew Wenzl add more proof that Southern Oregon deserves to be in the discussion of approachable Merlot. And while the historic establish-

ment of Tempranillo continues to attract much of the attention, these 3.6 acres of Merlot were part of that original 1995 planting. The selection of 10 barrels yields floral notes and dark purple tones akin to plum and blueberry, showcased in a smooth structure that’s capped by toothsome black currant acidity. (256 cases, 14.3% alc.)

Double gold medal | 91 points Coyote Canyon Winery 2018 Coyote Canyon Vineyard Merlot, Horse Heaven Hills $33.00 In 2020, winemaker Justin Michaud turned owner/grower Mike Andrew’s 2017 Merlot grapes into a Double Platinum, his first with the variety, so this showing for the bottling from 2018 displays consistency. There’s enticing brightness in the nose with pie cherry, candied blueberry and pinches of nutmeg, cardamon and cedar. Tasty notes of blackberry and blueberry are quite accessible on the palate, which is smooth and plummy as mocha and white pepper extend the long finish. (50 cases, 14.3% alc.)

Gold medal | 94 points Brian Carter Cellars 2016 Willard Family Vineyard 1 Merlot, Yakima Valley $65.00 Each vintage, renowned Woodinville blender Brian Carter singles out a variety that he will bottle on its own. Vastly underrated Willard Family Vineyard, a breadbasket for some of Washington’s largest producers, received “The One” treatment across four select barrels during the vintage that followed up the Northwest’s warmest growing season. Rewarding aromas of nicely ripened blackberry, blueberry and cherry pick up touches of pepper and cinnamon toast that are cast in a mouthful of balanced pleasure.

(100 cases, 14.5% alc.)

Gold medal | 94 points Five Star Cellars 2016 Merlot, Walla Walla Valley $42.00 One of the early graduates of Walla Walla Community College’s winemaking program, Matt Huse continues to draw from some of

TASTING RESULTS | Merlot

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TASTING RESULTS | Merlot

the storied vineyard owners in the Walla Walla Valley that his father, David, came to know as a John Deere dealer. Many in the valley charge more for the wines they make from the same grapes, and this stately example of Merlot displays remarkable complexity with its theme of dark raspberry, Bing cherry and dried fig.

Barrel spice and light toast remain in balance with the structure, capped by a silky finish.

(240 cases, 14.5% alc.)

Gold medal | 94 points Seven Hills Winery 2019 SHW Founding Vineyard Merlot, Walla Walla Valley $50.00 History continues to smile upon this vineyard near the state line between Oregon and Washington, site of the Walla Walla Valley’s original planting of Merlot by the McClellan and Hendricks families. The effort and excitement sparked Casey McClellan to matriculate to the University of California-Davis and become the valley’s first classically trained winemaker, and this bottling signals his penultimate vintage with the brand he created. It ranks among the most layered and age-worthy of this tasting with its notes of cassis, blackberry and mocha that are followed by pencil shavings, bell pepper and a pinch of earth. Beveled tannins and juicy acidity make for a bright finish. (200 cases, 14% alc.)

Gold medal | 94 points Yakima Valley Vintners 2016 Austin Sharpe Vineyard Dean’s List Merlot, Columbia Valley $30.00 The next generation of the storied Mercer family in the Horse Heaven Hills grew the grapes for another delicious effort by Yakima Valley College students, who have produced nine Platinum Awards in the school’s history.

Undoubtedly this is a hit in the college’s new tasting room in Yakima because it’s loaded with cherries and chocolate within a quaffable structure. A hint of herbaceousness adds a nice touch of complexity, and the finish of cassis brings lingering brightness. (63 cases, 13.9% alc.)

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Gold medal | 92 points Sherman Winery 2017 Merlot Reserve, Horse Heaven Hills $38.00 Here’s the definition of a true “reserve” program — winemaker Brad Sherman’s best two barrels of Merlot from Destiny Ridge Vineyard.

The prized planting of Alexandria Nicole Cellars owner Jarrod Boyle in the Horse Heaven Hills paves the way for a nicely structured red that exudes tones of mocha, dark cherry and strawberry fruit leather backed by mint and ground cinnamon. A late tug of tannin is akin to nibble of blueberry skin, which gets swirled into a long trail of blackberry juice. (50 cases, 14.6% alc.)

Gold medal | 91 points Basalt Cellars 2018 Merlot, Washington State $32.00 Soon after launching the brand, Lewis-Clark Valley winemakers Rick Wasem and Lynn DeVlemming won best-of-class at the Tri-Cities Wine Festival for their 2004 Merlot.

Considering their Merlot-led 2018 Rim Rock Red earned a 2021 Platinum and with fruit sources such as Sagemoor-managed Bacchus and Weinbau, as well as Willard Family Vineyard in the Yakima Valley, odds were that this bottle would score this well. It’s an oak-lover’s delight as pervasive tones of toasted walnut, mocha and vanilla play well with blackberry, plum and Marionberry. The fruit explodes on a palate akin to cherry skin tannins and elderberry acidity, and the pleasant finish brings along roasted coffee and milk chocolate. (122 cases, 14.9% alc.)

Gold medal | 95 points Growers Guild Wine Co. 2019 Merlot, Columbia Valley $16.00 Best Buy! Among the bright spots in our comparative tasting was this young second label for Owen Roe that has winemaker Jacki Evans’s fingerprints all over it. There’s a remarkable elegance to its profile of black cherry, black currant, violets and cocoa, framed by de-

licious acidity and silky tannins. Longtime fans of David O’Reilly’s Sharecropper Pinot Noir program know he routinely overdelivers with his second labels. (1,000 cases, 14.1% alc.)

Gold medal | 94 points Be Human 2019 Merlot, Columbia Valley $17.00 Best Buy! One of the least expensive examples of Merlot also ranked near the top, thanks to Ivy League-trained winemaker Joshua Maloney and the Aquilini family’s vast plantings across Red Mountain and the Horse Heaven Hills. The Cornell graduate’s use of American oak, 33% new wood, adds vanilla, chocolate and baking spice to the profile of blackberry, plum and violets, which come together for a creamy approach and enjoyable farewell.

(2,885 cases, 14.5% alc.)

Gold medal | 93 points Auclair Winery 2018 Right Blend Red Wine, Red Mountain $40.00 Charles Auclair’s continued fascination with Red Mountain for Bordeaux varieties — red and white — pays off again as usual, however the Woodinville winemaker’s blend barely qualified for this comparative tasting with Merlot accounting for 75% of the bottling. His three best barrels of Merlot from Heart of The Hill Vineyard were joined by a barrel of Cabernet Franc from Artz Vineyard — both sites now controlled by the Williams family of Kiona renown. Blackberry and blueberry aromas include a sprig of mint from the Franc before cherry candy and blackberry burst through on the flavors. Its tannin management is splendid, while the squirt of black currant and scrape of vanilla in the finish impart delicious longevity.

(100 cases, 14.5% alc.)

Gold medal | 93 points Spangler Vineyards 2016 Merlot, Oregon $29.00 Not long after it was released, Patrick Spangler earned a Platinum for his work with this 2016 Merlot. Now, the 2018 Oregon Winery of the Year has qualified it for another round at the

TASTING RESULTS | Merlot

Platinum Awards by earning a gold medal this winter. There’s remarkable brightness to the dark red fruit, which plays well with the charming profile provided by the barrel influences of baking spice and toast. One judge described it as “a gold immediately on the nose,” which complemented the mouth feel of tannins, acidity and fruit. (193 cases, 13.9% alc.)

Gold medal | 92 points Baer Winery 2017 Star Merlot, Columbia Valley $36.00 Lisa Baer’s continued support of Stillwater Creek Vineyard on the Royal Slope paved the way for Woodinville winemaker Erica Orr to turn this into gold. Orr’s restrained use of French oak (22% new) allows for the focus to remain on the fruit. Its elegance begins in the nose of Bing cherry, cassis and pencil shavings.

A flavorful blend of cherry jam and boysenberry shine from start to the long finish of cherry pie filling. (448 cases, 14.8% alc.)

Gold medal | 91 points 14 Hands Winery 2018 The Reserve Merlot, Horse Heaven Hills $40.00 Keith Kenison, who has enjoyed a 30-year career with Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, produces these wines below the northern slopes of the Horse Heaven Hills, and it’s a 100 percent expression of Merlot from the Horse Heaven Hills above. Remarkable layers of Bing cherry, Marionberry jam and toast pick up a stream of Montmorency cherry juice to check the hedonistic entry to the palate, making for a finish that shows a purity of fruit. Suggested pairings include a New York strip, venison or braised lamb, while Ste. Michelle also points out there are 135 calories in a 5-ounce glass. (503 cases, 14.5% alc.)

Gold medal | 92 points Cloudlift Cellars 2017 Panorama Merlot, Columbia Valley $30.00

Gold medal | 90 points Sherman Winery 2018 Merlot Reserve, Horse Heaven Hills $38.00

Furniture craftsman Tom Stangeland takes a Right Bank approach with this vintage of his Panorama, which focuses on Merlot (78%) from Arianses Vineyard on the Wahluke Slope and highly decorated Elephant Mountain Vineyard in the Rattlesnake Hills of the Yakima Valley, which also contributes the Cabernet Sauvignon (11%) and Petit Verdot (2%). The addition of Cabernet Franc (9%) from Wise Brothers — not far from Elephant Mountain — adds to the elegance, making for a glass that exudes notes of raspberry, spice box and dark chocolate. Smooth tannins and an undertone of earthiness give this remarkable balance and complexity that’s well worth the trip to his studio south of downtown Seattle. (110 cases, 14.3% alc.)

Brad Sherman of Michael Florentino Cellars in Woodinville launched this label to showcase the Bordeaux-inspired wines he crafts with Jared Welchel, and they selected their top barrels of Merlot from Destiny Ridge Vineyard to earn gold medals for bottlings from the 2017 vintage as well as this one from 2018. Medium toast gives way to an expression of Marionberry, blueberry, rose petal and lavender aromas.

Silky tannins allow for full enjoyment of the blackberry and plum flavors, capped by mocha and Rainier cherry juice. These wines are also available at Sherman’s Old World Tasting Room just south of the West Seattle Bridge. (55 cases, 14.6% alc.)

Gold medal | 95 points Barrister Winery 2018 Bacchus Vineyard Merlot, Columbia Valley $33.00 The Bacchus planting at historic Sagemoor Vineyard contributed to a number of the top wines in our exploration of Northwest Merlot, and the Spokane triumvirate of owner/winemakers Greg Lipsker, Michael White and Tyler Walters again showed how the gentle vibrations from the adjacent train trestle help to create boldly flavored reds with phenomenal mouth feel. The 32 months in barrel lead to a Merlot featuring integrated tannins, rewarding spice and layers of black fruit. (256 cases, 15.6% alc.)

Gold medal | 93 points Hightower Cellars 2018 Merlot, Red Mountain $33.00 Tim and Kelly Hightower have gone Platinum with Merlot in 2020 and 2021, and they’ve qualified for this fall’s 2022 judging with this bottling from the 2018 vintage. While their estate Out of Line Vineyard serves as the foundation, there’s also a significant contribution from E&E Shaw Vineyard — recently purchased by the Gamble family. All of the clone 14 and 15 fruit was off the vine by Sept.

28. The blending of barrels from France and Hungary with American oak leads to layers of complexity, ranging from blackberry and plum to mocha. A deep cherry note runs underneath and throughout. While the tannins are stately, the Hightowers still achieve the balance long associated with their program. (269 cases, 14.7% alc.)

Gold medal | 93 points King Estate Winery 2015 Weinbau Vineyard Merlot, Columbia Valley $50.00 While the 2021 Pacific Northwest Winery of the Year is nationally known for Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris, Ed King’s team — led by Brent Stone — also does award-winning bottlings of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and this Merlot. Here is the only expression from

Spring 2022 • Great Northwest Wine | 59

TASTING RESULTS | Merlot

the 2015 vintage to go gold in this tasting, but its sourcing from Sagemoor farms at Weinbau Vineyard on Washington’s warm Wahluke Slope helps explain its high score. Light toast, Bing cherry, almond extract and dusty minerality are among the hallmarks in this Merlot, which shows delicious acidity, skillful tannin management and a knockout cherry-pom finish.

It’s consumer-friendly and will be a hit at a dinner party. (284 cases, 13.5% alc.)

Gold medal | 93 points Winescape 2017 Merlot, Columbia Valley $30.00 A research scientist in his previous life, Phillip Butterfield now focuses his attention on crafting wine along Spokane’s South Hill in the Glenrose neighborhood. His work with Merlot produced a pair of gold medals in our tasting, with this 2017 bottling nudging past his 2018, and it’s another product of Bacchus Vineyard in the recently established White Bluffs appellation. There’s a feminine feel to this Merlot as its fuchsia appearance leads to charming red fruit tones akin to Chelan cherry, red currant and boysenberry with a dusting of baking spices. “There’s amazing balance with this wine,” remarked one judge. Suggested pairings include short ribs, roasted mushrooms and grilled vegetables. (152 cases, 15.3% alc.)

Gold medal | 92 points Cathedral Ridge Winery 2018 Merlot, Columbia Valley $34.00 This Hood River, Ore., producer has been on a roll of late, exemplified by its four Platinums in 2021 — all for work with red Bordeaux varieties.

Some of it can be attributed to owner Robb Bell’s exploration in Washington vineyards for some of the red wines. Now, Sonoma-based winemaker Michael Sebastiani gets to incorporate prized Elephant Mountain Vineyard in the Yakima Valley into his Merlot. The profile is dark, ripe, smooth and long, loaded with blackberry, plum and blueberry, supported by mocha and some savory sage.

Enjoy with braised ribs, flatbreads or a falafel burger. (550 cases, 14.3% alc.)

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Gold medal | 92 points Januik Winery 2018 Merlot, Red Mountain $35.00 Mike Januik’s standing in the Washington wine industry allows him to cherry-pick among the state’s premier plantings. Here, fruit from historic Ciel du Cheval, managed for the Holmes family by Kade Casciato, joins berries from two vineyards in the vast portfolio of Washington Wine Hall of Fame inductee Dick Shaw — Obelisco and Quintessence. And this bottling’s provenance helps explain the sense of majesty to a structure that’s brimming with black cherry, plum and cassis. The use of only French oak barrels, half of them new, helps frame the tannins and add a sense of chocolate that doesn’t cloak the delicate secondary notes of rose petal and earthiness. (632 cases, 14.4% alc.)

Gold medal | 91 points Winescape 2018 Merlot, Columbia Valley $32.00 The Butterfields used Merlot from Bacchus Vineyard to win best of class at the 2020 Washington State Wine Competition, and their expression from the 2018 vintage now has earned a gold medal before its official release.

An enticing blend of Bing cherry and Marionberry is joined by toast, clove and vanilla.

The approach is brilliant and polished as the structure lends itself to suggested pairings with marinated flank steak or pad Thai. (214 cases, 15.3% alc.)

Gold medal | 93 points Northstar Winery 2019 Merlot, Columbia Valley $41.00 Well into his third decade as the winemaker, David “Merf” Merfeld produced one of the most promising Merlots of our judging as Northstar celebrates the 20th anniversary of its vinification facility south of Walla Walla. A pair of Walla Walla Valley vineyards — Anna Marie and Spring Valley — were blended with acclaimed Shaw on Red Mountain and Four Feathers near Cold Creek. Black cherry notes are joined by blueberry, chocolate and nutmeg along the way. Interestingly, Cabernet Sauvi-

gnon from Ste. Michelle’s own Cold Creek Vineyard accounted for 24% of the finished wine, helping to polish the muscular tannins that get bathed in Marionberry juice. Enjoy it alongside pork ribs, prime rib or roasted chicken rubbed with herbs. (5,971 cases, 14.5% alc.)

Gold medal | 92 points Cougar Crest Estate Winery 2017 Estate Merlot, Walla Walla Valley $34.00 David and Deborah Hansen, who met as students at Washington State University, grow Merlot at two of their three estate vineyards.

But here, Debbie, the winemaker, focuses on fruit from Cougar Hills near historic Seven Hills Vineyard — home to the Walla Walla Valley’s first commercial planting of Merlot.

Blackberry and a thin trail of smoke give way to a big pop of cherry fruit. There’s no distraction of tannin as the long and bright finish is reminiscent of blueberry/pomegranate juice.

It’s a wine worth seeking at any of the Hansens’ four tastings rooms, a list that includes Woodinville, downtown Spokane and downtown Dundee, Ore. (186 cases, 14.1% alc.)

Gold medal | 95 points Westport Winery Garden Resort 2019 Mermaid Merlot, Rattlesnake Hills $31.00 Great Northwest Wine made its decision to name Westport as the 2022 Washington Winery of the Year two months prior to this comparative tasting, and winemaker Mark Bosso helped us look smart by crafting one of the top-scoring examples of Merlot. It’s also one of the most youthful. In recent years, the Roberts family has deepened its relationship with grower Joe Hattrup, and that’s paid off with access to his highly decorated Elephant Mountain Vineyard.

It has yielded a Merlot featuring intensely extracted black cherry and dark plum as vanilla bean and ground nutmeg bring a bold structure with big fruit to support. One judge wondered if this came from venerable Portteus Vineyard — another site in the Rattlesnake Hills.

A portion of the sales of this award-winner are

TASTING RESULTS | Merlot

donated to the International Mermaid Museum. Enjoy it with the Garlic Dijon-Encrusted Prime Rib at the on-premise Sea Glass Grill.

(157 cases, 15% alc.)

Gold medal | 93 points Schultz Wines 2017 Steelhead Run Vineyard Blessed Merlot, Applegate Valley $32.00 Greg and Debbie Schultz farm Merlot organically at their Glory Oaks Vineyard in Southern Oregon, but here they spotlight the versatility of Steelhead Run Vineyard — a dry-farmed site renowned for Rhône varieties — and the winemaking of Medford’s Linda Donovan at Pallet Wine Co. It’s dark, lovely and coming into its own, loaded with blackberry, smoky plum, dried fig and violets. Bittersweet chocolate tannins and Bing cherry strike a balance that will play out well for the rest of the decade. (138 cases, 13.5% alc.)

Gold medal | 92 points Yakima Valley Vintners 2018 Dean’s List Merlot, Columbia Valley $30.00 In the nomenclature of Yakima Valley College’s winemaking program, the “Dean’s List” reference indicates the bottling of a reserve wine. Of the nine career Platinum awards won by students of Trent Ball and instructor emeritus Brad Smith, five were from the Dean’s List. Now, the 2018 vintage has qualified for

this fall’s 2022 Platinum Awards, thanks to its layers of blackberry, black pepper and red bell pepper and structure of plum jam with light chocolate. Smith, who also has a culinary background, suggested serving this with grilled flatiron steak and sautéed mushrooms.

(26 cases, 13.6% alc.)

Gold medal | 91 points Fortuity Cellars 2019 Merlot, Yakima Valley $32.00 Lee and Emily Fergestrom built their winery in the Yakima Valley, and they only source grapes from the Yakima Valley. The Rawn family’s Copeland Vineyard is less than 9 miles to the west as the crow flies, and young winemaker Alexis Sells helped produce one of the tasting’s most fruit-forward Merlots.

Dark red fruit aromas are led by black cherry, currant jelly and nutmeg. There’s richness, depth and concentration on the palate, making for a remarkably heavy and plummy mouth feel that’s backed by bittersweet chocolaty tannins. While this bottling isn’t scheduled to be released until summer, it’s already outstanding.

And it’s a remarkable follow up to Fortuity’s 2018 Merlot, which topped Sip Magazine’s Best of the Northwest 2021 judging. (92 cases, 13.5% alc.)

Gold medal | 91 points Palouse Winery 2018 Dineen Vineyard Mirage Merlot, Rattlesnake Hills $42.00 Vashon Island winemaker George Kirkish pulls from several vineyards in the Rattlesnake Hills above the Yakima Valley, but he focuses on Dineen Vineyard — meticulously farmed

by Patrick Rawn — for his Mirage project.

There’s a sense of dusty lavender to the dark blueberry and black cherry notes, backed by pleasing touches of nutmeg and toast. The jammy midpalate picks up a tasty bite of Craisin, giving it a great deal to offer. (106 cases, 13.97% alc.)

Gold medal | 91 points Washington Hills 2018 Merlot, Columbia Valley $9.99 Best Buy! The first time our panel staged a comparative tasting for a magazine was in 1998. The focus was Merlot, and one of the best was the Washington Hills 1995 Merlot.

Twenty-two years later, this Precept brand ranks among the most delicious Merlots, and the price has remained $10. Its fruit-forward nose of blueberry and plum includes a whiff of a coastal breeze. There is much more complexity acquired on the palate, where the superb tannin management offers cherries, dark berries and a slice of red bell pepper. It’s fruity, pleasant and an easy drink. (2,899 cases, 13.9% alc.)

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Estate Vineyards & Winery Tasting Room: 21622 Rivaura Ln, Juliaetta, ID 83535 | events@rivaura.com | rivaura.com Spring 2022 • Great Northwest Wine |

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3X WINERY OF THE YEAR & 3X WINEMAKER OF THE YEAR Ma r y h i l l s h o w c a s e s re g i o n a l l y i n s p i re d fo o d a l o n g w i t h a p p ro a c h a b l e , a w a rd - w i n n i n g w i n e s i n G o l d e n d a l e , S p o k a n e , Va n c o u ve r a n d Wo o d i nv i l l e , Wa s h i n g t o n . Fa m i l y o w n e d s i n c e 1 9 9 9 , Ma r y h i l l i s p ro u d t o s h o w c a s e t h e r i c h a n d d i ve r s e fl avo r s of Wa s h i n g t o n s t a t e w i n e w i t h p a s s i o n , p a a e n c e a n d b a l a n c e . V i s i t o n e of Ma r y h i l l ’s d e s s n a a o n t a s s n g ro o m s a n d e x p e r i e n c e a w a rd - w i n n i n g w i n e s a l o n g w i t h s t u n n i n g l o c a a o n s a n d f u l l B i s t o m e n u s t o e n h a n c e yo u r w i n e t a s s n g e x p e r i e n c e .

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