Of the six official red grapes of Bordeaux, the one that we not often see standing on its is the bold and burly Petit Verdot. Wine lovers, particularly those in Washington state, are delighted to see a growing interest in this rare variety. Little more than 1,000...
One of the hottest trends in Pacific Northwest wine country is dry, pink wines, a category that only seems to grow annually and shows no sign of slowing down. Indeed, across our region, it is easy to find more than 100 examples of pink wines being made in all...
Among the most exciting developments in Washington wine country in the past decade is the rising interest in red Rhone varieties. This includes such grapes as Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Cinsault, Counoise, and a few other varieties. Syrah has developed a keen...
What goes into a great wine? That's a question we get on a regular basis (along with "What's your favorite wine?") The answer to the first question depends upon myriad aspects. The answer to the second is "Whatever is in our glass at the moment." We taste thousands...
A question often asked by lovers of Northwest wine is how Red Mountain got its name. After all, it's not much of a mountain, and it's brown. In fact, the nearby town of Kiona is a native word for "brown hills," which appropriately describes the nearby Rattlesnake...
As much as any region in Washington, perhaps none is as famous as the Walla Walla Valley. This because of a number of factors, including history, reputation, quality, density of tasting rooms as well as other factors, including natural beauty, culinary scene and...
With nearly 33,000 tons harvested in Washington last fall, Merlot, one of the noble red grapes of France's Bordeaux region, particularly on the right bank of the Gironde River, where it is most prevalent, remains popular in Washington wine country. Merlot has been...
Chardonnay is, and continues to be America's favorite wine. Of course, California leads the way, with 675,000 tons crushed in last fall's harvest, Chardonnay made up a full 16 percent of the state's total. In Washington, while Chardonnay is the No. 1 white grape...
A singular varietal focus gives Oregon a tremendous advantage in an ever-more crowded wine market. When any wine lover around the globe says "Oregon wine," "Pinot Noir" almost always comes to mind immediately. This is thanks to a singular focus dating back to the...
The Wahluke Slope is in a remote and arid section of Washington wine country, an 80,000-acre region that was federally designated as an American Viticultural Area in 2006. It's essentially a 13-mile wide gravel bar formed 15,000 years ago at the end of the last ice...
