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Northwest Tempranillos gaining steam

By Great Northwest Wine on November 6, 2016

Earl Jones, founding winemaker and owner of Abacela in Roseburg, Ore., offers four expressions of Tempranillo at his Umpqua Valley tasting room. (Photo by Eric Degerman/Great Northwest Wine)

In the Pacific Northwest, the noble Spanish variety Tempranillo is practically becoming mainstream, thanks to producers such as Abacela, Reustle and Red Lily in the Umpqua Valley of Southern Oregon.

The Northwest’s first Tempranillo was planted in the Yakima Valley’s Red Willow Vineyards more than 20 years ago, and today it has spread throughout the Pacific Northwest, finding its way into Southern Oregon, the vast Columbia Valley and even Idaho’s Snake River Valley.

On Thursday, Nov. 10, the Tempranillo Advocates, Producers and Amigos Society (TAPAS) celebrates its sixth annual International Tempranillo Day. The group, formed by Abacela owner/founding winemaker Earl Jones, encourages wine lovers to open a bottle of Tempranillo and share their experiences online with the hashtag #TempranilloDay or #Tempranillo.

Here are several examples of Northwest Tempranillo we’ve tasted recently. Ask for them at your favorite wine shop or contact the wineries directly.

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About Great Northwest Wine

Articles credited to Great Northwest Wine are authored by Eric Degerman and other contributors. In most cases, these are wine reviews that are judged blind by the Great Northwest Wine tasting panel.