OLYMPIA, Wash. — The 2022 vintage for the Washington state wine industry is on track to yield 28 percent more than last year’s “heat dome” vintage, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This year, the projection by the USDA indicates production is headed toward 230,000 tons. If that holds, the 2022 crush will rank No. 2 in state history yet far below the record … [Read more...] about Washington wine grape harvest forecast for 28% increase in 2022
Washington wine
The Wines That Made Us: Vega Sicilia Unico for Jessica Munnell
Jessica Munnell intended to grow flowers. A degree in horticulture at Washington State University, a greenhouse to follow. A future filled with dirt under her fingernails and a beautiful bouquet of blooms on her kitchen table, in perpetuity. Life, in this way, did not go to plan. And now, instead of putting ranunculus in a vase, she puts longleaf phlox on the bottles … [Read more...] about The Wines That Made Us: Vega Sicilia Unico for Jessica Munnell
Sniff, Sip, Swirl: Holmes family unveils Arneis on Red Mountain
About 40 years ago, I was chatting with a then-young winemaker about why he remained in Washington state rather than returning to his native California. “Washington is the Wild West of winemaking,” he told me. He stayed because he wanted to be part of a frontier spirit that was looking ahead to see what could be done here, find out what wine grapes would grow here … [Read more...] about Sniff, Sip, Swirl: Holmes family unveils Arneis on Red Mountain
Military firefighter creates Rain Shower Cellars on Whidbey Island
COUPEVILLE, Wash. — When Department of Defense firefighter Sean Merrill received a promotion in 2008 that took him and his wife, Kim, from Colorado to Whidbey Island, they couldn’t envision starting a winery in the tiny town of Coupeville just five years later. He had picked up some experience in the wine industry while living in Napa in the early 1990s prior to … [Read more...] about Military firefighter creates Rain Shower Cellars on Whidbey Island
Lake Chelan’s Wapato Point Cellars makes history at Sunset International Wine Competition
Oscar Castillo has quietly been making some of the Northwest’s best red wines in the Lake Chelan community of Manson, Wash. Earlier this month, judges in California determined that Castillo crafted one of the country’s most delicious wines when the Wapato Point Cellars 2018 Cougar Crest Vineyard Cabernet Franc emerged as the No. 1 entry at the Sunset International Wine … [Read more...] about Lake Chelan’s Wapato Point Cellars makes history at Sunset International Wine Competition