WALLA WALL, Wash. — Winemakers often will smirk and say, "It takes a lot of beer to make good wine." In the case of David "Merf" Merfeld, he was helping to make a lot of good beer for Ste. Michelle Wine Estates before he started making great wine for Northstar Winery -- its premier Merlot brand. "I would probably be making beer if I wasn’t making wine," Merfeld … [Read more...] about Northstar Winery’s guiding light
Washington wine
Top 10 Pacific Northwest wine stories of 2012
By most accounts, 2012 was a year of moving forward in the Pacific Northwest wine industry. After two difficult vintages, the weather cooperated in 2012 with what is expected to be a record-sized crop. New leaders entered the picture in Washington and Oregon, Gallo moved into Washington in a big way, and the wine industry continued to help drive the economy forward. In … [Read more...] about Top 10 Pacific Northwest wine stories of 2012
Your guide to Pacific Northwest sparkling wine
Inevitably, this is the time of year most people think about sparkling wine, thanks to holiday parties and New Year's Eve celebrations. It's also about time we say to ourselves, "This is delicious. I should drink sparkling wine more often." With that in mind, here is a guide to some of the Northwest's top sparkling wine producers, which you can use for your year-end … [Read more...] about Your guide to Pacific Northwest sparkling wine
A history of ‘winter events’ in Washington wine country
If history is any indication, there will unlikely be a winter freeze anytime soon in Washington wine country. Washington's Columbia Valley offers superb growing conditions for European wine grapes: warm days that are filled with sunshine, almost no rainfall from May to October and sandy soils that cause the vines to struggle to survive. In fact, one of the few issues in … [Read more...] about A history of ‘winter events’ in Washington wine country
WSU Wine Science Center keeps moving toward construction
Washington State University's $23 million Wine Science Center continues to march forward, with the organization that will run its construction now seeking design-build proposals. The Wine Science Center will be built at the WSU Tri-Cities campus, in the heart of Washington wine country on a bluff overlooking the Columbia River and near a demonstration vineyard that is … [Read more...] about WSU Wine Science Center keeps moving toward construction