Washington's New Balance: Woodinville Shows the Way

It would be technically correct to say that the Washington wine industry's roots were set down in Woodinville all those years ago when Chateau Ste Michelle established their Woodinville location as a kind of wine destination. It has become the state's ground zero for consumer wine education with over half of the state's population within an hour drive. Washington wine drinkers, largely are being exposed to Washington's bounty via Woodinville and their demand for Washington wines has driven an industry. And the industry has boomed from 19 wineries in 1981 to over 800 today. The wine industry has grown, and Yakima Valley, Horse Heaven Hills, Walla Walla, Red Mountain and the Columbia River Gorge among many other AVAs have come to shape the state and it's wines.

Woodinville however remains at the forefront. Today there's a new crop of Washington winemakers; making their wine in the warehouses of Woodinville and it's some of the most exciting stuff going on in the state. (This man's opinion anyways.) I liken what's going on with these new producers in Woodinville to the vibe in Walla Walla a couple-three years ago when Kerloo Cellars, Rotie Cellars and Reynvaan were really making folks sit up and take notice.

Over the last many years there has been a trend in Woodinville wine production, in my opinion, that has led to an almost "house style" of Woodinville wine. That formula has been a sort of emulation of the style of wine-making that has been successful at Delille Cellars. Extracted wines, ripe, with big tannin and plenty of new oak. We do however appear to be seeing a shift in that formula that has been so present in Woodinville for so long.  The wines, from producers like Avennia, Savage Grace, WT Vintners, Kevin White Winery and Lauren Ashton Cellars offer a variety of wine-making styles and personalities but there tends to be an underlying philosophy of seeking to create wines of balance.

Jeff Lindsay Thorsen of WT Vintners is excited to be a part of this sort of Woodinville sea change. "The 'new' wineries and winemaking styles in Woodinville that are making an impact seem to be a reflection first of their palates, then as a response to a new generation of wine drinker. You don’t have to slather all of your wines with oak and pick your grapes at high brix to produce world class wine. Bordeaux varietals especially Cabernet Sauvignon and Cab heavy blends can handle a wallop of new french oak, but Rhone varietals like Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre often lose their identity and what makes them special when you put them in a new oak barrel. Many of these new wineries seem to be more focused on channeling the flavors of Washington’s amazing vineyards, rather emulating a successful formula from down south (California)."

Kit Singh of Lauren Ashton sees that big extracted formula as one that was arrived at by a fairly simple conclusion. "If something is good, like oak. More of it must be better, right?" Kit though is seeking to communicate an underlying sense of restraint in his wines. For him, the formula for creating a more balanced wine is equally simple. "A delicious meal, a good recipe is balanced. Here there's a bit of salt, maybe a bit of spice here, taken together they're delicious because one isn't overwhelming everything else. A delicious meal should be balanced, and that's the kind of wine I want to make as well."

For Kit there is a sort of energy and synergy happening in Woodinville particularly in the warehouses. "It feels extremely supportive, it's a real collaborative and cooperative environment." Kit sees these "new guys" as the next wave in Woodinville's development as a wine community. "In the first wave you had many of the founders, Chateau Ste Michelle of course gave us a lot of these talented folks. Mike Januik, Bob Betz, Charlie Hoppes and Delille Cellars was developing right along with them." The next wave to come was inspired by those guys and it was among others Chris Sparkman, Chris Gorman, Darby, and Efeste. As this new wave comes along with guys like Jeff, Kit, Michael Savage and Kevin White among others they've all been a product of those who came before them. They're also creating an environment that supports each other's growth. "Michael and I are friends and we collaborate a lot, he has inspired me, pushed me to try and be a better winemaker and I hope that I've done that for him as well." 

Woodinville's warehouses are uniquely positioned of course in their proximity to Seattle, where perhaps they might attract folks from outside the industry like Kit, or Kevin White as well as someone like Jeff who works as the wine director at Seattle's RN 74.  Jeff sees that location and the unique layout of the warehouse district as a sort of serendipity for this new movement in Woodinville. "The warehouse district's concentration of wineries creates a natural incubator for the wine-curious, many of the up-and-comers started as fans, worked a harvest and caught the bug. The community of Woodinville wineries is incredible, everyone pays it forward. We have had so much help along the way. Our  successes have come to us through the camaraderie that the neighborhood fosters. I am not sure when we will hit a saturation point, but for now their is very little feeling of competition. Other winemaking regions are very spaced out, our concentration has proven to be a huge part of all of our success."

2012 W.T. Vintners Dalliance Red Blend A blend of Mourvedre, Syrah and Grenache in that order but the Grenache really comes to the fore on the palate for me. With fruit from Walla Walla's Rocks, but WT isn't saying which vineyard, this wine is super aromatic. Dried violets, ripe berry fruit and a little bit of that signature Rocks funk hums through. The palate is beautifully balanced and is so lively that it almost feels medium bodied. Flavors show fruit, herbs and a stony minerality with an ever-present elegance from the rocks. $32

2011 Lauren Ashton Syrah Columbia Valley Is a blend of a couple different vineyards, one on Red Mountain and one in the Yakima valley and no new oak offer a Syrah that speaks to the balance and restraint the Kit strives for in his wines. An exemplary savory Syrah that Washington's well matched vineyards are capable of producing. Dried figs, earth, smoke and herbal aromatics. A savory but lithe palate that exhibits dark plum, forest floor and more of those "garrigue" herbal elements. $35

2011 Avennia Arnaut Syrah, Boushey Vineyard The Avennia wines are fast becoming a perennial favorite for me and for elegance and sophistication, no one in Washington is doing it better right now. Winemaker Chris Peterson is far more established than many of his "new wave" neighbors with his long tenure at Delille Cellars as assistant winemaker. He and partner Marty Taucher now in Avennia's second or third vintage, represent a very successful foray into making both intellectual wines and  "wines of place" in Washington.

The Arnaut continues to show why Washington does Syrah so wonderfully and why Dick Boushey has something special growing out there near Grandview. Maybe though this wine does a better job of showing it than a lot of others? A little bit of whole cluster and just a little bit of new oak really allow the terroir to do the talking. Aromatics are meaty, stony, floral and dark fruit laden, there's a ton going on here. Layered black fruits, more of that meaty and earthen funk that Boushey Syrah has come to develop a reputation for and some dried herbal elements. The wine is simply wonderful and it finishes with just a tiny lift that shows it's acidity. $48

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The Brutish Beginnings of the Yakima Valley AVA and Washington Wine

Fire & Ice

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice. 
-Robert Frost
(The Yakima Valley AVA is producing a "Master Class" on the AVA and so is sending out lessons throughout 2013 to celebrate their 30th Anniversary. What follows is my take from Lesson 1 on the region's geology which they titled Fire & Ice.)

From where the Yakima Valley AVA stands, Frost is a real killjoy. Rather than the end of the world, it's the beginning of some really fine wines they'd say.

"Great wine is made in the vineyard." Hang around any winemaker for more than about 45 seconds and inevitably you'll hear this mantra. And, point of fact, there's no debating it.

What you never hear though is "Great vineyards are made in a fiery hell on earth." Not sure why this utterance is never muttered nearly as much but in the case of the Yakima Valley AVA and frankly most of Washington Wine country, it's equally true.

As the Yakima Valley AVA celebrates its 30th Anniversary we're more concerned with it's 15 Millionth Anniversary. Today the Yakima Valley is one of Washington's many beautiful scenic treasures, from the rolling hills, the views of Mt Rainier and Mt Adams and the winding Yakima River. Back in the day, and by that I mean like 15 million years ago, it wasn't nearly as pleasant. You could say it was downright inhabitable. Luckily, there were no humans. (Also, if you're a Creationist, sorry to blow your mind here.)

Molten lava flowed from giant cracks in the earth's crust. blanketing the area in thousands of feet of basalt rock, much of which was to become the Columbia Basin. Additionally the Cascade Mountains, a volcanic range let us not forget, was covering the region in ash and lava. The original rivers of the area, including a predecessor of the Columbia carried these ashen and rock filled soils throughout the region, as well as bringing in rocks and boulders from outside the region. It was like Mordor for Pete's sake. Add to that some serious tectonic plate movement and earthquakes and the land is getting smashed and sculpted into ridges and basins, evident today in the form of the Horse Heaven Hills, Rattlesnake Hills and the path of the Columbia River.

All of this hot mess is followed by the ice age, which means, uh, ice. Oh, and repetitive cataclysmic floods of the Glacial Lake Missoula. So, add to all those layers of volcanic deposits, the sedimentary soils carried by these floods suddenly you start to see a magical diversity of geology soil types. Sprinkle it all with pixie dust, or loess, which is a wind blown soil that has accumulated through the Valley over the millennia.

The result is an austere kind of soil, rocky, sandy, not much going on organically in these soils. Because of  all the grainy components, the rocks and sand, it doesn't hold water well. It's also largely free of pests which makes it possible to grow wine on their "own roots" as the expression goes as opposed to grafted to root systems that are more pest resistant. Additionally the roots have to work hard and go deep to get to water, so hardworking roots mean hard working vines, the thinking in wine growing is that when vineyards have it too easy they produce boring, unremarkable wines that lack character.

The wines of Yakima Valley being quite the opposite, the Yakima Valley AVA believes that their special soils are a major contributor to their ability to create some of the finest wines in Washington state. And that one of the hallmarks of Yakima Valley wine, be it from Boushey, Red Willow or Upland Vineyards is a purity of varietal character. So, a Syrah, Merlot or Cabernet Franc as it should be, when you have soils like this there's nothing going on below to muddle it. To emphasize that point I was sent three excellent examples of Yakima Valley, single varietal wines (except for a dash of Viognier).

2008 Delille Doyenne Syrah
This Syrah with just a touch of Viognier for co-fermentation comes from Grand Ciel, the Delille estate vineyard on Red Mountain and Boushey Vineyard. (The Viognier is from Ciel du Cheval) all within the Yakima Valley. It's an opulent Washington Syrah, aromas are gamy, along with dark fruit and black licorice. The wine is well put together, nary a hint of the alcohol being north of 15 %. Flavors of dusty, ripe black cherry, gamy meat and black pepper. $44

2009 Chinook Wines Cabernet Franc
Perhaps the prettiest red wine in Washington year to year, the Chinook Cabernet Franc is done in a Loire style, rather than a brawny tannic Cabernet Franc you get soft and elegant. The fruit comes from a collection of Yakima Valley vineyards including Boushey, denHoed and their own Chinook Estate.  An emphasis on neutral oak in production results in an emphasis on fruit and floral aromatics, the palate is lots of red fruit and a freshness. $24

2011 Sauvage Sauvignon Blanc
Wow, now this is a white wine to be proud of. A departure from their well known, and personal favorite of mine, the Feral, this Boushey Vineyard sourced Sauvignon Blanc still has great acidity but it's got more layered mouthfeel and a greater sense of depth given the time spent on lees. Less angular and a touch softer than the Feral it's aromatics emphasis stone fruit and a bloom of sweet flowers. Wet stone and citrus flavors with a lingering weight to them and a zip of acid make this Sauvignon Blanc reminiscent of those from New Zealand, only better cause it's Washington. $20

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