Wine Guide 2005

WASHINGTON
WASHINGTON
T
HE WORLD OF Washington wine
continues to grow by leaps and bounds,
not only the physical size of the industry, but the
extent to which it promotes itself—a visitor
could easily keep busy every weekend of the
year attending a wine event, and usually would
have to decide which one, or two, or three. The
industry is also busy working on its export
trade, which generated $3.5 million in 2004,
up 40 percent over the previous year.
As the second-largest wine producer in the
United States, and the fastest-growing producer
as well, Washington conceivably could pass
up its number-one competitor, the state of
California. This past spring, an hour-long
documentary,“The Making of Washington
Wine Country” was produced drawing parallels
between the growth of Washington’s wine
industry and that of Sonoma County,
California, which lived for decades in the
shadow of its more famous neighbor, the
Napa Valley.
Washington has long been famous for its
apples and cherries, and now grapes rank
among the state’s most important fruit crops.
In the past decade, production of Washington
wines has nearly tripled. In just the past year,
the number of wineries has grown to approximately
350—up 100 from a year ago. Grape
growers number 350, with 30,000 vineyard
acres, 1000 more than last year. The industry
contributes $2.9 billion annually to the
state’s economy.
Washington wines have a distinct personality
that dates back to the region’s first
winemakers who arrived in the early 19th
century. By the late 1800s, European settlers
had planted vineyards at Fort Vancouver, on
Stretch Island in Puget Sound, and in the Walla
Walla Valley, where the plants truly blossomed.
The boon to the fledgling industry came
with the railroad’s large-scale irrigation
projects, which fostered commercial farming.
Wineries and vineyards continued to flourish
through World War I, led by such notable
growers as William Bridgman and Elbert
Blaine in the Yakima Valley. These pioneers
brought in experts and sold plant cuttings
throughout the valley to boost production.
But it was Dr. Walter Clore who is regarded as
the father of Washington’s wine industry. The
state’s potential as a wine-growing region was
revealed through Dr. Clore’s extensive agricultural
research. By 1970, Washington wines were
recognized as a serious challenge to
Washington’s vineyard acreage climbed to 30,000 last year— now a close second to the
35,000 acres grown in California’s Napa Valley.
California’s. Clore predicted wine’s continuing
upward trend in popularity, and a new generation
of winemakers saw to the industry’s
expansion. In 1981, there were 19 wineries in
the state. By 2001, there were about 170.
More than 15 types of grapes thrive in the
state’s variety of microclimates and growing
conditions, including Cabernet Sauvignon,
Merlot, Chardonnay, Chenin blanc,
Gewürztraminer, Grenache, Lemberger, Merlot,
Pinot noir, Riesling, Sangiovese, Sauvignon
blanc, Sémillon, and Syrah.
Long, warm summer days, cool nights, and
rich volcanic soils create prime growing conditions
in Eastern Washington, home to four of
the state’s six designated viticultural regions or
appellations: the Walla Walla,Yakima Valley,
and Red Mountain appellations which are
within the Columbia Valley.
The beautiful Cascade Mountain range,
running from north to south, separates the dry,
rolling lands of the east from the lush, moist
western region. The Puget Sound appellation,
with its cool, temperate climate, is the only
officially recognized wine region west of the
Cascades. New this past year is the Columbia
Gorge appellation which Washington shares
with neighboring Oregon. The new American
Viticultural Area (AVA) comprises Skamania
and Klickitat counties in Washington and Hood
River and Wasco counties in Oregon.
PUGET SOUND
Though early American settlers were
planting vineyards in the Puget Sound area
more than 100 years ago, the region was designated
an AVA only in 1995. The region stretches
from the Canadian border to the Puget Sound
Islands and the Olympic Peninsula.
To many, Seattle typifies the greater Puget
Sound area with its booming downtown and
complex system of freeways and waterways. In
every direction however, Seattle is surrounded
by forests, mountains, and clusters of islands
that form natural playgrounds. After you’ve had
your fill of the town’s renowned coffees and
microbrews, use the spreading city as a base
from which to visit many of the local wineries,
ferry over to Bainbridge,Vashon, and Whidbey
islands, or head west on Hwy 101 across the
peninsula’s sun belt to such towns as Port
Townsend and Sequim. The landscape of these
towns and islands is a far cry from the bustle
of the big city.
North from Seattle along I–405 and I–5,
wineries are clustered around Woodinville and
all the way up to Bellingham and Mount Baker.
THE GRAPES
Many of Puget Sound’s wineries use coolclimate,
early-to-ripen varieties of vinifera
grapes, producing Madeleine Angevine and
Madeleine Sylvaner, Müller-Thurgau, and
Photo by Jamie and Judy Wild
8 Northwest Wine Country 2005/2006