Washington Wines
Step Up to the Plate
The other state is producing some impressive blends and single varietals
By Liza B. Zimmerman
W
ashington State has become a powerhouse producer of
impressive and well-priced wines. The Seattle-based
Washington Wine Commission estimates that the state is
home to nearly 800 wineries, up from about 50 in 1987.
The bulk of Washington's wines come from hotter-climate AVAs
such as Yakima, Tri-Cities and Walla Walla. All of these AVAs are
close to the state's Eastern border, and some of them overlap with
climatically similar growing regions in northern Oregon.
The state's wine-producing kingpin is Chateau Ste.
Michelle, the Woodinville, WA-based winery behind the
TvIndian Wells, Eroica, Canoe Ridge and Columbia Valley
labels, among others. The company planted its first vines sat
Vino Volo's Seattle location carries 85 Washington wines.
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Cold Creek Vineyard in Eastern Washington in 1972; it built
a French-style winery chateau in Woodinville four years later
and changed its name to Chateau Ste. Michelle.
"Chateau Ste. Michelle really helped to put Washington State
wines on the map, and many [consumers] have heard of them
from around the world," notes Chad Mackay, president/chief
operating officer of Seattle-based steakhouse chain El Guacho.
This has has helped the region's other producers "who have
created specialty wines that have given Washington a wellrounded [wine] portfolio," he notes.
El Guacho—which also runs seafood restaurant Aqua—offers
about 250 Washington wines on its lists, priced from $40 to
more than $200 a bottle.
Chateau Ste. Michelle's reputation "is a positive presence for
wines in the region," agrees Sarah Evans, a San Francisco-based
marketing specialist for Vino Volo, which operates wine bars in
airports. The Seattle location of the chain carries 85 Washington
wines, which are priced from $16 to $145 for by the glass and
the bottle options.
Several well-known and talented winemakers got their start
with Chateau Ste. Michelle, and the brand continues to be "a
great supporter for many of the small wineries and vineyards in
Washington," notes Douglas Snyder. The certified sommelier
and general manager at Ruth's Chris Steak House's Savannah,
GA, location, carries some 30 Washington wines on his list,
priced from $35 to $170 a bottle.
Are these wines popular? Snyder says wines from Washington
are seeing an uptick in sales, something he attributes to both his
own passion for the state's wines and a focus on education about
them for his sales staff.
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