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Washington State: Taking Off

When I traveled to Washington in 1990 for what resulted in a review published in Issue 69, there were forty-two working wineries in total, four in Walla Walla, all of which I was able to visit in just a few days. Today there are over 500 wineries and 100 in the Walla Walla AVA. In the early days Riesling was king, accounting for over 50% of vineyard acreage and Merlot was a major player among the red wines. Today Riesling has fallen below 20% and Merlot is primarily a blending grape. In 1990 I was not offered a single Syrah to taste! Today Washington is one of the leaders in the production of world-class Syrah, much of it coming out of the Walla Walla AVA. Also, we are beginning to see more and more Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, both of which seem to thrive in the Columbia Valley. In the future, I would expect to see some of these bottled as varietal wines, that is how good they can be. In 1990 the city of Walla Walla appeared to be dying; now it is in the midst of a renaissance thanks to the booming wine industry, and it is now well established that great Bordeaux-style wines can be produced in eastern Washington. With vineyard property in Napa Valley at a premium, when it can be found, and with plenty of land still available in Washington at relatively inexpensive prices, wealthy winery owner wannabees are just beginning to descend on eastern Washington and Walla Walla in particular.

As Pierre Rovani noted in Issue 154, the weather is ideal for grape growing. There is plenty of sunshine, a long growing season, virtually no chance of harvest rainfall, and control of the water supply through drip irrigation. The main challenges are winter freezes—such as occurred in 2004. While growers are better equipped than ever to deal with this problem, in Walla Walla Valley nearly the entire crop was ruined. Only the tiny handful who buried their vines prior to winter and those vineyards at the highest elevations were spared total loss. One of the nicer stories is that large producers such as Chateau Ste.-Michelle sold fruit to wineries who would otherwise have had no wine in 2004. As a result, there is not much Walla Walla AVA wine in the 2004 vintage but plenty of Columbia Valley wine.

Most of the wines tasted for this report are from the 2004 and 2005 vintages. As noted above, the Walla Walla AVA was harmed by winter freeze in 2004. Some producers described 2004 as challenging, but this is relative. By any standard, it was a very good year. Almost everyone described 2005 as virtually problem free, some even going so far as to say it was a “perfect” vintage. Both vintages have much to offer for lovers of Bordeaux-styled reds and full-bodied Syrahs. As the following notes strongly attest, Washington State is now one of the worlds’ most exciting viticultural regions.

-- Dr. Jay Miller