food-and-wine-pairing-a-sensory-experience-robert-harrington

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Chapter 11 Menu Planning: Horizontal and Vertical Pairing Decisions
WINE IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST
With the exception of California, Washington produces more grapes than any other state in the United
States. Until 1967, Washington was an important source of Concord grapes for juice, jelly, and wine but
grew a relatively small amount of vinifera grapes. In 1967, André Tchelistcheff (California’s most prominent
winemaker at the time) ‘‘went to Washington and tasted a homemade Gewürztraminer from the cellar of
Washington State University Professor Philip Church. Tchelistcheff called it the finest white wine made
from Gewürztraminer in the U.S.’’ 2 Since that time, growers have replaced their Concords with vinifera,
and Washington now supplies grapes not only to its own wineries but also to California, Oregon, Idaho,
Michigan, and Canada.
Washington is endowed with the ideal combination of climate and soil, with the warm days and cool
nights combining to produce well-balanced grapes (flavorful, sweet, and high in acid). The main appellation
is known as Columbia Valley, which covers a large region in the central part of the state as well as vineyards
in the Yakima Valley and the Walla Walla Valley. This area lies just north of 46 degrees north latitude on
the map, the same latitude that cuts across the Bordeaux and Burgundy regions of France. In the summer,
ripening grapes receive an average of 17.4 hours of sunlight per day. This is about two hours per day more
than in the premier grape-growing areas of California. The resulting wines can compete with any in the
world, and vintners have had particular success with Gewürztraminer, Riesling, Chardonnay, Sauvignon
Blanc, Sémillon, Lemberger, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, and Merlot.
Oregon has produced a substantial amount of wine dating back to the turn of the century (the majority
from fruit other than grapes). Most of the vineyards are near the Oregon coast in the north along the
Willamette River near Portland, and in the south along the Umpqua and Rouge Rivers near Roseburg.
Statistically, much of the growing region is nearly identical to Burgundy’s Côte d’Or region in France. Not
surprisingly, many Oregon growers have found a match between the climate and soil with the finicky Pinot
Noir grape. Some of America’s finest examples of Pinot Noir come from Oregon. In 1979, Oregon Pinot
Noir beat out a large group of red Burgundies in France during a blind tasting. 3
The primary Oregon viticulture areas include the Willamette, Umpqua, and Rogue Valleys, as well
as the lower Columbia and Walla Walla Valleys, which extend from Washington into Oregon. Wine production
consists of about an equal split between red and white wines, with principal varieties including
Gewürztraminer, Riesling, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Zinfandel, and
Cabernet Sauvignon.
For the most part, Idaho winters are too cold for viticulture. But growers have had great success near
Boise in the southwestern corner of the state and in the Clearwater River Valley near Lewiston. Several
boutique wineries have emerged in this region, but few are large enough to have any commercial significance
to date. The largest is Sainte Chapelle Winery in Caldwell (just north of Boise). Most of the wine
is consumed locally, and producers have had success with Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer, Riesling, Sauvignon
Blanc, Sémillon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Pinto Noir, and Cabernet Sauvignon.
An Oblate priest, Father Charles Pandozy, planted grapes in the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia
as early as the 1860s. More recently, the region is being recognized internationally for its wine-growing
potential. 4 This region has a diverse growing climate that ranges from cool to moderately warm. The
Okanagan Valley has several major wineries as well as a growing number of high-quality bouquet wine
producers. With the diversity in climate, the region produces everything from opulent ice wines to bold
and complex reds. The region has had good success with a variety of varietals including Riesling, Chardonnay,
Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon.
The quality of the Pacific Northwest’s wine regions will continue to improve as the vineyards age
and through continued trial and error. The concept of terroir, new production methods, and less traditional
varietals will differentiate specific growing regions from those of California and other parts of the New
World.
Of course, any discussion of the Pacific Northwest cannot end without at least some mention of the
fine handcrafted beers from this region. Small and large commercial breweries as well as innovative brew