Written by Seattle Wine Gal: Barbara Evans (@SeattleWineGal on Twitter)!
The pressure’s on! I get less than 5 minutes on national television to ‘plug’ the second largest producing wine state in the country. With 700+ wineries, and thousands of wines, this will be far from easy! It’s really quite an exciting opportunity however, and I look forward to being able to get people excited about our incredible juice!
Here’s the scoop folks…
I received an email last week inviting me to join Kathy Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb on the TODAY Show Friday October 21st (the 10-11am segment). With a very short time-slot, I have been scrambling to figure out how to best represent Washington wine and wineries! I am hoping to get the opportunity to share a few important things about WA wine.
- Most people from out of state don’t know that if you hop across the Cascade Mt range outside of drizzly Seattle, they will be met with sunny-year-round, cloudless, semi-desert in the Eastern part of the state. The climate makes for STELLAR grape growing, and the latitude is similar to those of Northern European wine growing regions. Washington wine has been rated among the best in the world, and is known for big juicy reds!
- If I could emphasize anything about Washington wines, I would take out my megaphone and shout down from the mountain tops “Washington Wine is by Far The Best Bang for Your Buck”! Excellent Value Across all Price Points. WA State has so many awesome small production wineries. Many of these little known houses produce wines that are extremely high quality, with far lower price points for the quality than California and European wine. This is awesome news for the consumer!
- Since 2005, there has been a string of excellent vintages, this current one being extremely noteworthy- Now is the perfect time to try WA wine!
It was tough trying to come up with 4 bottles of wine to represent all of WA wine. I wanted to represent a winery that told an incredible story, a small production winery in an up and coming wine growing region, and older more established ‘staple’ winery, and a winery that creates wines that are somewhat uncharacteristic of WA wine. Here are the wineries, and why I chose them.
‘O’ Chardonnay ‘08 $13.99
Chardonnay absolutely shines in WA state. If you haven’t had Chardonnay outside of California, it should be on your to-do list! Most WA Chardonnay trades in those big buttery oaky characteristics that you see in CA Chard for a clean, crisp, lighter, more delicate wine.
O Wines was founded in 2006 by Stacy Lill and Kathy Johanson. Proudly Women owned and operated, O Wines is a non-profit winery (100%) donated to fund school scholarships for low-income high potential youth. Click HERE to order this wine! And HERE to learn more about their great cause!
Gramercy Cellars ‘Third Man’ 2009 GMS (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre) $45
One type of wine that can be left highly under-rated are blends! WA state has created some of the most beautiful Grenache blends, which is a grape that originates from France, but grows spectacularly here in WA. I would stress to TODAY viewers to not shy away from blends, seeing them as lower quality. On the contrary, they are some of the most well made wines in the world!
A Walla Walla winery (say that 10 times fast), Gramercy Cellars deliberately avoids making big fruity wines and instead strives to create elegant restrained and un-manipulated food focused wines. Gramercy’s GSM is a superb example of where Rhone (France) style blends in Washington state are, and should be, headed. It is a blend of the following grapes: 50% Grenache, 30% Syrah, and 20% Mourvedre (pronounced ‘moo-ved’). Click HERE to order this wine!
Hard Roe to Hoe: Shameless Hussy Merlot ‘09 $25
Merlot is one of WA most beautiful wines in my opinion (my very favorite in fact), and it is also one of the top 3 most widely produced in the state. Washington Merlot is far from wussy, and drinks nothing like a California or Bordeaux Merlot. Rich in cherry and berry flavor, they are big bold fruity wines, and in my opinion absolutely scrumptious! Step aside Sideways, Merlot is here to stay and will not take back seat!
This particular Merlot comes from an increasingly noteworthy wine region in Washington state- Lake Chelan. Most wines from Washington come from Yakima, Coulmbia Valley and Walla Walla, but here is one winery that produces extremely amazing wines, quite far from the major grape growing region. Wine makers Don and Judy Phelps are the perfect example of our states small family owned wineries. They are hard working, loving, funny, and passionate about what they do. It’s easy to support local family owned wineries when the family is as wonderful as this one! Click HERE to order this wine!
L’Ecole No. 41 Syrah 2008 $25
Ahhh… Washington Syrah, how I love the! Ever so dark, rich and concentrated, with smells and tastes of black berries, tobacco, leather, and coffee.
What a unique winery, with amazing award winning wines! Situated in a little school house in Walla Walla Wa, this winery is staffed with super nice people, who pour seemingly endless samples of top-notch, very highly rated, yet affordable wines. One of my all time WA favorites and “go-to’s”, L’Ecole N°41 is one of Washingtons oldest ‘staple’ wineries. Order this wine HERE.
It is so sad to me that I can’t bring more wines with me. Washington has so very many incredible wineries that I’d love to introduce you to. If you are from WA, or know our wines, please feel free to list your favorites in the comments; if you aren’t from here, list wines I should try from your neck of the woods!
Barb, congrats on being asked to represent Washington wines on the Today show! I don’t envy you having to choose only four. I think you hit the nail on the head when you talked about value and quality. As an avid wine drinker in Washington State who’s had to cut down expenses in this crappy economy, I’m able to enjoy high quality wine at great prices and not feel guilty. $20 can buy you a damn fine bottle of wine here. Plus, a day spent wine tasting at many of our boutique wineries is fun and cheap entertainment.
First, congrats!
So awesome to see WA wine getting the attention it deserves!
I live in CA wine county(ish) and love CA wine! Why, because it’s stellar! I think many Californians get stuck in their wine of their home State, and easy to understand why. I tell people often to get out of their wine bubble, and check out WA wine.
I did a short 2 day WA wine tour, nearly a year ago. I fell in love with WA wine, which wasn’t a big surprise. The two big surprises to me were that I began to love a varietal that I do not care for normally…….Merlot. I love WA Merlot’s now! I do not like to drink others outside WA.
The second, I think Laurie and you both made excellent points about fantastic values. I bought some great wines in WA for $30.
Thanks- awesome! I too only drink WA Merlot… so glad you discovered it’s beauty. Was sort of trying to keep it a secret, but I guess I can share.
http://elsomcellars.com/
http://www.oswinery.com/
Bravo for sharing your methodology of how you chose these outstanding wines and wineries. I feel your pain in having to choose this tiny selection to share with the TODAY Show’s audience. To put it in perspective, with over 740 wineries in Washington State and each one producing numerous wines, it makes the task of choosing four bottles out of literally thousands the same as trying to find a needle in a haystack. But as the saying goes, “a rising tide lifts all boats,” so any recommendations, no matter how limited, are a great opportunity to spread the word about this wine region. Perhaps you can invite “TODAY Show” viewers to come and visit Washington wineries in person – for a chance to taste the high value, quality wines, as you so rightly point out. I think they would discover a world-class wine region that has yet to be defined by a single varietal. I agree with you about the state’s outstanding Merlot, Chardonnay, Syrah, and amazing blends, both red’s and white’s. I would also quickly add Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Riesling to the list of top varietals, followed by Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, Malbec and Viognier. And the list goes on. “TODAY Show” viewers may have to make several visits to taste them all and decide on their own favorites!
Cheers,
John Vitale
Editor and Publisher
Washington Tasting Room Magazine
Thanks so much for visiting my site, and leaving a comment, I feel truly honored! You make some good points John, and if I get a chance on air, I will urge people to come wine tasting in Washington. There’s honestly no other way to experience all we’re worth. YES on Cab, Cab Fran, and Riesling, all truly stand-out varietals. I’m also super excited to see where Malbec is headed in this state in the next decade.
Thanks again John, ~B
Wine has a 3-legged stool. Crispness (acid), alcohol (ripe), flavor (full bodied). Washington state is blessed with all 3, in proper proportions. And, they are consistent, year after year.
Seem to recall a time when you were a fan of a pair of winemaking brothers, not to mention certain a Sangiovese!
The heart throb wine maker rock stars who got me drunk at 10am on my 25th birthday? Nope, who do you mean?
I LOVE Des Voigne Cellars and Cullin Hills and would recommend them to anyone who wants to know!
I love them too!
I really enjoy Dunham Cellars from Walla Walla as well as Novelty Hill/ Januik Winery in Woodinville. Also I would like to give an honorable mention to the fine people at Yummy wine bar & bistro in Seaside, Oregon.
I’m totally with you on the Dunham Matt, it was in my top 10 wineries to consider bringing on the show in fact. Been a customer and supporter of theirs for many years!
i LOVE JONES OF WASHINGTON. GREAT LITTLE UNKNOWN JEWEL.
Thanks Laureen, I guess I need to go check them out!
Good job!!! You need to stay at the Vintage Park Hotel one of these days. Washington wines is our hotel theme. Let me know….
Anthony Baliola
Front Office Manager
Vintage Park Hotel
Cool Anthony! Get asked by my followers quite a bit where to stay in Seattle, I’d love to come tour the place and maybe try Tulio! Email me at contact@SeattleWineGal.com and we’ll figure it out!
I just returned to home in Texas from taking part in crush with Pomum Cellars in Washington and could not have had a better time seeing the vineyards and meeting the farmers, sorting, crushing, pressing, punching down and learning so much.
Javier Alfonso is an excellent ambassador for all Washington wines, as well as own, which are delicious. I will be writing more about my experience, but here’s a quick preview: http://vinesleuth.com/uncorked/2011/10/behind-the-scenes-look-at-winemaking-with-pomum-cellars/
You should really consider covering Javier and his wines… amazing!
(And I promise I was not paid to say any of that!)
Lately I’ve been really enjoying ’09 Duck Pond Cabernet. There’s so many great WA Wine values it’s almost cruel to limit you to only 4 to bring. Can’t wait to see your spot-I know you’ll do a great job representing our wines. I’m glad they’re also giving some exposure to our great beers. Now, to get a little exposure for some meads and spirits (DryFly in Spokane and Sound Spirits in Seattle both make excellent products!)
Congrats Barb on such an exciting opportunity.
It’s not small production but keep in mind that many if not most of our wines are not available outside of WA.
Though it’s big production wine I think it important to mention the 2009 Wine Spectator Wine of the Year 2005 Columbia Crest Cab http://www.winespectator.com/display/show?id=43759
After that I would like to call your attention to Cadence, Tapteil and Hightower.
Just off the top of my head…
Been drinking 2008 Novelty Hill Cab lately and at 22 dollars its hard to beat. The 2008 Fielding Hills Syrah is showing syrah very nicely. The 2009 Mccrea cellars Sirroco Blanc is always a good white wine.
There is a small family owned winery just south of state line- winery was opened as a retirement dream and it is my dream to help my father retire! Cheers to amazing hand crafted wines made with love!
A winery with an incredible story?? Cave B!!! You can read all about it here: http://www.cavebinn.com/our-story.php
I’d think that would be of great interest to Today viewers, and represent one or more of your categories incredibly well. What a great opportunity—If you change your mind about which wines to bring, or just want to throw in another anecdote, many of us beg you to mention Cave B Estate Winery. Thanks!
Barbara -
We are thrilled for you and this great opportunity to promote WA wine. Thank you! Our client Hogue Cellars has been a leader in WA winemaking and was one of the state’s early pioneers. They will celebrate 30 years next year! The team at Hogue Cellars continues its leadership through the production of great wines and also through their tireless research efforts, including their latest wine closure study. Check it out at http://www.twistopenhogue.com The bottom line is, whether you twist open Hogue wines today or pull it from your cellar in a few years, they want you to experience the freshest, highest quality wine possible
All best,
Tia
Barb, tough job and well done. I thought i was entitled to a brief self promo so…For those who are not familiar with my wines, hope u will take a moment to check out our website. Yes we have all the ratings. But we frankly care much less about those than the tremendous word of mouth we get from our customers. http://Www.syzygywines.com Cheers!
Congrats Barb! Thanks for putting together the blog post — great list of four!