TASTINGCORNER Upland Vineyards, below, is home to 35 varieties of vinifera grapes, from Aligoté to Syrah to Tinta Cao, and supplies fruit to 20 different wineries. RIGHT: Dusted Valley’s Stoney Vine estate vineyard in Walla Walla.
Washington: The Big Picture The State’s Vintners Aim to Do it All, and Do it Well BY SARAH M. CHAPPELL
ashington is really big. Literally. The state stretches from the Pacific Ocean across mountains and deserts, covering over 70,000 square miles. Fittingly, the breadth of wines being produced is a marvel, and can be daunting. Sure, California is bigger. But it is only relatively recently that there has been excitement on both the industry and consumer level about the wide variety of grapes and styles that state can produce. Washington, on the other hand, seems to have started with variety, and has yet to give that up. From Syrah to Bordeaux blends, from Tempranillo to Riesling, Washington is hard to pin down. And instead of seeing that as a challenge for retailers and restaurants to overcome, we should see that as a blessing. Washington seems to be able to
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do it all, and that apparent lack of focus results in a wide range of values for various consumer palates. “While from a marketing standpoint it would have been more convenient to settle on a couple of varieties… the reality of the viticulture is that it is suited to a wide variety [of grapes],” says Ted Ted Baseler, president and CEO of Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, which is the largest wine producer in Washington
Baseler, the president and CEO of Ste. Michelle Wine Estates. “I think that today it has become an advantage to be more diverse.” Ste. Michelle Wine Estates is the largest wine producer in Washington, and if its CEO sees variety as an advantage, then we had best get on board, as it is unlikely to change. So, if you can’t sell Washington based on one grape or a signature region, how do you do it? Easily: Washington is a gateway wine region; it has the ability to bridge the seemingly vast gap between Old and New World wine. And that’s how to sell it. European wine styles are a touchstone for many Washington winemakers, such as Corey Braunel of Dusted Valley. Braunel got into wine through a love of France’s Rhône Valley. “Because we enjoyed drinking those