IMHO … there are several reasons for more wine owners and wine lovers not posting more on Washington wines.
First and foremost … California (various areas) have a more established wine industry and has been followed for decades. The Washington wine industry is still in its infancy.
Second … California winemakers are much better at self-promotion plus there are very few winemakers with a “following”
Third … The Walla Walla region is far removed from Sea-Tac and the distance does not lend itself to “day” trips.
Fourth … Washington has become a hodge podge of numerous wine varietals … when one thinks of Napa - they think of cab, Sonoma - pinot, chard and zin … Washington tries to make a little of everything.
Fifth … my experience has been Washington wines (especially Bordeaux type Blends) - take much longer to enter a drinking window.
All this being said … the vast majority of my cellar is in fact from Washington State as I was lucky enough to discover the wines almost 2 decades ago.
There is a whole lot of really good wine being made on the west side of the cascades, between Woodinville and Seattle. It isn’t like Walla Walla is the only place that makes wine in WA.
I think this is a big point of why WA doesn’t get more attention on this board. Most of what is in the market outside of the NW is the REALLY big producers. You’re not often going to find the small to medium producers (2-3,000 cases or less) in many of the markets. Most of the interesting and “soulful” wines from WA are being produced by the small to medium producers, and those are the types of wines that would get attention on WB.
Todd, if you do reach out to Time & Direction (Steve Wells) or Devium (Keith Johnson), you can let them know that I participate both on the board and in BerserkerDay if they want to ask me any questions. I know them (and their wines) well.
Great points indeed. The availability of WA wines in So Cal is not that comprehensive as Chris points out, and John’s point is well taken.
That said, there seem to be a number of WA consumer posters on here; and a number of folks have posted about specific producers over the past decade, some of whom have gotten traction and some have not.
And this board certainly seems to shed light on plenty of small producers whose wines never make it into much distribution outside their local area or at all.
I don’t have the answer why there are not more WA winery posters and I wish that there were - the more the merrier. Hopefully that will change overtime . . .
Great points as well. Let me address a few things here:
Though the state of CA is more established, there are regions within CA that are relatively ‘new’ compared to Napa and Sonoma and these have managed to do ‘okay’ - places like Paso and SBC
There seem to be plenty of WA winemakers who enjoy ‘self promoting’ - heck, look at Charles Smith . And many have followings - just not here.
To me, this may be the biggest issue - yes, you can ‘get there’ but not that easily. What makes Napa/Sonoma so attractive to most is the ease at which you can get there from major metropolitan areas. Walla Walla - not so much so. But that means Woodinville should have more ‘known’ wineries.
There is a big challenge as well - as I know here in SBC. What is WA ‘known for’? Well, as you and others point out, LOTS of different varieties, not just one or two. And since Pinot and Chardonnay are never mentioned as varieties the region is ‘known for’, that is a ‘negative’ for many who seek out burgundian varieties.
There seem to be plenty of WA wineries that show well enough upon release that this should not be an issue at this time.
As you probably know, I started posting on the RP board well before I started my own brand. I dig the ‘subject’ of wine and interacting with folks about it. My goal of being on there and here has been to offer ‘alternative viewpoints’ from a winemaker’s perspective.
Have I ‘found new clients by being present here.’? Of course. But that was and is not ever the point of being on here. And I’ve found a lot more ‘wine friends’ on here than new clients . . .
Obviously you’re busy this time of year, but if you get out near Hood River it’s definitely worth visiting the winery up on Underwood Mountain. Michael is a cool guy and is thoughtful and passionate about what he’s doing.
Just quickly on the Walla Walla/distance issue. We love going to Walla Walla – in part I think because it is not easy to get to so it tends to be less crowded. That means that you can have a really in depth conversation with the winemaker(s) and their staff, and get to try a wide variety of wines at a relatively leisurely pace.
However, for those who want something closer, Woodinville is really quite accessible. And there are many many WA wineries with tasting rooms there, including many that are also present in WW. I was back in Woodinville recently and it really reminded me of Napa/Sonoma 20 or so years ago – lots of activity; lots of people; lots of cafes and restaurants. And there are many wineries there who make their wine in the area or onsite, though the grapes usually come from other parts of the state.
Finally, if you really don’t want to go far from the airport, you can visit the small wine tasting area in SODO, where Rotie, Sleight of Hand, Waters, Latta, and a few others (including Full Pull) have very nice tasting rooms.
Heard!
Thanks for the shout outs about my chenin - I see you, Berserkers!
Harvest 2021 is here now (we brought in Merlot for BAER on Monday) which means I’m busy but … I’ll make an effort to read and post with more frequency going forward. Honestly I tend to use instagram more for my vineyard updates and label shots of miscellaneous fun wines I’m drinking. I need to learn how to better use this board as a resource! And maybe I can rally some of my Washingtonian winemaker friends to chime in, too.
I’ve used this a bunch of times at airports in their network.
Usually, I have them put a ‘Caution Extra Oak’ on my Chapoutier styro boxes though.
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One thing I have heard (maybe someone here can confirm it) is that although there may be 1000 wineries or so in the state, I thought the fruit is still - in the main - coming from the large corporate sources. So different labels, but the same stuff inside. Like the AnheuserInBev victory strategy…
Not sure what you mean by “large corporate sources”. Certainly, there are large well known vineyards that sell grapes to a number of wineries, but I’m not sure that this is much different from other domestic wine regions. Certainly the wineries that have grape contracts with the vineyard owners/managers generally have a strong say in at least some aspects of things like canopy management, and certainly picking dates, etc.
Also aren’t most wine regions a “drive” away from a city?
Piedmont is a drive from Milan.
Beaune is a drive from paris
even Napa is like 1.5 hrs from SFO?
Rioja from Madrid/SSB?
Tuscany from Florence?
Mosel+ from Frankfurt?
Chilean wine regions are 2-3 hrs from Santiago
etc…
I don’t know of many wine region that sits plop next to a major city airport … except maybe Bdx is kinda close?
Well, using Milan as the place to compare to Piedmont isn’t all too fair when the third biggest city in Italy is 45-60 minutes from Alba and it’s not like Siena is small either for Montalcino. To quip on Beaune, there’s also a TGV that makes things much easier than trying to drive from De Gaulle.
Walla Walla is a young region and is growing. But, it’s still not that easy to get to. It’s basically 4 hours from Portland, Sea-Tac, or Boise. There’s absolutely top notch wines being made there, but it is an effort and passion to get there.
Yes, Alaska flies there. But, if I want to fly to Walla Walla and not drive, I have to go to Sea-Tac and take two flights to get there. That’s still effort that can be put into going to Napa instead and go in with all of the food and debauchery that Napa is there for.
Just because the big wineries own the vineyard or have the primary contract on a vineyard, doesn’t mean they have any influence on the winemaking choices made once the fruit is picked, and in many cases, the smaller wineries that are getting fruit from those vineyards still make the picking date decision. One of my vineyard sources is like that, St. Michelle has the primary contract on all the Grenache, but doesn’t want it all, so the vineyard sells what they don’t want. I make the choice when my rows get picked, and I make all the winemaking decisions. A wine I make will be nothing like a wine St. Michelle might make from the same vineyard.
We spent a little over a month living in Walla Walla earlier this year. We mentioned the board to many and I would say many are lurkers. We found many exciting new projects…Matt Austin at GroGrain. Peter Devison at Devison (shared spaced with Rasa) and Billo the master at Rasa. I would put these on par with many of the great CA wines. The people were great, food exceptional and we liked it so much we are probably moving there after more than a decade in Napa. With regards to the distance from Seattle…they have a few flights a day from Walla Walla airport…and there are many good wineries when you land.
If there’s a tgv to Beaune. There’s a flight to walla walla
But yah. I just mean to me, personally, a weekend trip to Tuscany. Or Piedmont. Or beaune. Didn’t feel all that different than a weekend to walla walla.
Personally, I find taking a high-speed train more relaxing than waiting in an airport or driving the same amount of time, but that’s just me😄.
My main point is that one does kind of have to want to go to Walla Walla to visit it and make a point of going there. That has its positives and negatives for sure, but it likely is a contributing factor for why there isn’t greater amounts of posts/discussion on Washington wines here. The biggest is that people just need to post!!!
Edit: if this thread did anything, it certainly motivated me to open a Reynvaan Syrah tonight
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. And many have followings - just not here.
