Friday, December 27, 2013
kitsapweek
page 5
One NW grape is fading fast into obscurity Lemberger Wine is both intriguing, and disappearing from the NW
L
emberger, a red wine that once was a rising star in the early Washington wine industry, is slowly fading into obscurity. Though it’s a wine that everyone seems to love, Lemberger’s fortunes always have been tied to its unfortunate name, a moniker that evokes thoughts of stinky cheese rather than a deliciously smooth and fruity red wine. Today, fewer than a dozen Washington wineries make Lemberger, and acreage in Washington has dwindled to perhaps 85. “I think it’s conceivable that it could go, more or less, extinct” in Washington, said Scott Williams, winemaker for Kiona Vineyards and Winery on Red Mountain. Williams, whose father, John, planted Lemberger in 1976, has 17 acres — likely the largest block in Washington, perhaps even North America. He still farms those original two acres, as well as plantings he made in 1983 and 1998. From those, he makes 3,000 cases that he sells for $15 per bottle. “Selling it is like rolling rocks uphill,” he told Great Northwest Wine. “There’s a market for us for about 3,000 cases.”
For The Record Isaac Tate endured 96 seizures in one month — December 2012. The frequency of seizures was incorrect in the story, “The greatest gift / Families have plenty to celebrate,” page 2, Dec. 20 Kitsap Week. Accuracy and fairness are fundamental to good journalism. If you believe we have erred, call Kitsap Week Editor Richard D. Oxley at 360-779-4464, or send an e-mail to roxley@ northkitsapherald.com
Scott Williams produces 3,000 cases of Lemberger each year at Kiona Vineyards and Winery on Red Mountain in Washington.
NW Wines By ANDY PERDUE and eric degerman
Lemberger is grown in many Central European countries, including Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic. It got its name not from the German cheese, but rather from the Slovenian town of Lemberg. Wines from Lemberger grapes are often smooth, rich and approachable. The first plantings of Lemberger in Washington were in 1941 by Dr. Walter Clore, a Washington State University researcher based in the Yakima Valley town of Prosser. “He actually arranged to have it imported from British Columbia for his varietal trials,” said Wade Wolfe, owner and winemaker at Thurston Wolfe in Prosser. Wolfe makes 100 cases of Lemberger and 130 cases of Lemberger rosé, called Second Chance Rosé. “It makes the best rosé in the world,” Wolfe said. He also includes Lemberger in a blend called Dr. Wolfe’s Family Red. Wolfe remembers Hogue Cellars making it up until 1996. Then the Prosser winery brought it back for a time under its Genesis label, using grapes from Red Willow Vineyard. Washington wineries that now make Lemberger also include Olympic
Andy Perdue / Great Northwest Wines
Cellars in Sequim, Whidbey Island Winery in Langley, Alexandria Nicole Cellars in Prosser, FairWinds Winery in Port Townsend, and Kana Winery in Yakima. Owen Roe in Oregon uses Washington Lemberger in one of its blends, and Camas Prairie Winery in Moscow, Idaho, also makes Lemberger from Washington grapes. Williams said one reason for Lemberger’s demise has been the rise of Syrah, which has a more appealing name and works equally well as a blending wine. “It has been supplanted by Syrah,” Williams said. “When you look at wineries’ blends, it’s a lot of Syrah, so most of the acreage of Lemberger that was finding a home as a blend has been pushed out.” Mike Sauer, owner of Red Willow Vineyard
in the western Yakima Valley, planted Lemberger in 1979, taking his direction from Clore. He planted more in 1997, but he tore out his old block in 2011, replanting with Cabernet Sauvignon. In the Horse Heaven Hills, grape grower Paul Champoux still has four acres of Lemberger at his famed Champoux Vineyards. When he purchased the vineyard in the mid-1990s, there were 12 acres that had been planted in 1981, much of which has been taken out through the years. One viticultural issue with Lemberger is leaf roll virus, something that seems to be inherent to the variety. Leaf roll causes a vine’s leaves to turn prematurely red during the growing season, which essentially slows or stops photosynthesis. Though every single
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your head around the name.” Wolfe said he believes the rising interest in esoteric varieties such as Grüner Veltliner and Albariño could fuel a mild rebirth in Lemberger. But he isn’t holding out hope. “I’m not aware of anybody who has planted it recently, and it’s gradually being pulled out,” Wolfe said. Indeed, he continues to make it each year only after a healthy debate. “I do it to honor Walt,” he said. “I bottled my 2012 on Monday, so I’ll have it at least for another year.” Ironically, the grape is finding increased interest across the country in the Finger Lakes region of New York. Jim Trezise, president of the New York Wine & Grape Foundation, said Lemberger competes with Cabernet Franc as the region’s top red variety.
Lemberger vine in the state apparently is infected with leaf roll virus, it doesn’t stop the variety from producing a healthy crop each year. Bill Powers, owner of Powers Winery and Badger Mountain Vineyards in Kennewick, made Lemberger for about a decade, both as a table wine and a fortified dessert wine. “I loved the wine,” Powers said. “But it was a hard sell. In the tasting room, it sold well, but to get space in a major chain was impossible. You were just wasting your breath.” So what could turn around the fortunes of Lemberger in Washington? First would be a name change. “The only real problem is the name,” Williams said. “If you’re not openminded, you won’t get
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