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Welcome to a new year and a big ‘Thank You!’ to everybody for a great 2011! This is our annual, and more subjective than normal issue proclaiming our favorite Washington wines of 2011. With over 750 wineries in the state now, whittling the list down to 10 reds and 5 whites plus a ‘wine of the year’ is getting harder all the time. With all the buzz in the wine world about hanky-panky in the reviewing scheme of things, we do need to set some parameters here. Ground rules are simple; only one wine per winery will make the list, none of our own brands are included and the two ‘hall of fame’ wineries (Leonetti and Quilceda Creek) are grandfathered into the program without saying. Now for the fine print. This is a totally biased and extremely prejudicial process, as is all artistic, olfactory and gustatory judging, but the following ABSOLUTELY NEVER took place! Being paid to visit wineries or taste specific wines, being provided with illegal drugs or scantily clad ‘escorts’ or partaking in acts with wineries that could be described as debaucherous , inappropriate or ammo for a reality show. The following MAY have taken place. Bumping into Mark McNeilly at the taco truck in Ellensburg (but I swear, we went Dutch, honest!), Chris Figgins may have paid for a Bud Light or two in Walla Walla, but I can’t remember, Roger Cockerline did buy us breakfast at Tommy’s once or twice, a distributor did possibly bring us a slice of pizza after leaving an event that we couldn’t attend, a rep could possibly have stopped at the Donut House on the way here before tasting us on Rieslings, Michael Haig might have sent us some Halloween candy, but I will deny which was my favorite, and I may have used the restroom at Rulo, Walla Walla Vintners, Sheridan, Stevens, Chinook, Ste. Michelle and others. If you find that this may taint my judgment, then so be it. This whole industry is based entirely on opinions and sensory mumbo jumbo, so all of us are biased and opinionated by definition, so read into this what you may.
Does it seem as if this year is absolutely flying by? We had such a long and cold spring and early summer that when the heat finally arrived in September, we were all feeling like is should still be July. Now that the holidays are just around the corner, it seems like the leaves just dropped. Maybe I should start my spring newsletter now. In mid-September, we headed east to look at the vineyards and see how far behind and how damaged they were. There were some pretty scary looking vines and growers were dropping fruit left and right trying to get some stuff ripe. However, the weather heated up again in the beginning of October and the vintage was saved from total disaster. Our second trip in mid-October while harvest was in full swing gave us a good handle on what to expect from the vintage. There will definitely be some noticeable changes in the makeup of the blends and what ends up on the shelf, as some of the more famous vineyards had too much damage from the freeze of 2010 and some growers pulled the plug early in the summer on some varietals that were just too damaged to see any chance of a decent crop. Those diligent growers that had their hands in the dirt on a regular basis and had the foresight to prepare for a nasty season
Fall is here, but for us it finally feels like summer. Weird to think that our warmest week of the year came after Labor Day. See the new newsletter by clicking here. All sorts of new goodies at fantastic prices from all over the planet. We are seeing some of the best pricing in years on our ‘daily drinkers’ and are passing on the savings to you. Get ready for the next ded. reckoning, as it and our Holiday Tasting are right around the corner, as are some fun tastings in the meantime!
After many a month of cold and wet, summer should finally be here by the time you get this. The twin billing of a devastating freeze in the late fall of last year in combination with the long and cold spring has all the earmarks of a very small and very late harvest for 2011. If the heat stays with us this year, we could have some very concentrated wines in very small amounts, depending on the vineyard site. In some locations, the vines were too stressed to produce much of anything and in the warmer spots we will see normal production levels with the usual weather dependent issues being the only variable. Everybody do a sun dance and let see if we can make some magic here. Washington wines just keep getting hotter and hotter. Even though we all keep reading about doom and gloom in the retail world, Washington wines seem to be for the most part immune. The 2008 and 2009 wines that are arriving now are surpassing all expectations. Beautiful wines and in more than one case, the finest produced by a given winery. 2010 is shaping up in the barrel to be better than expected from those that knew how to handle the cool and late season. Great flavor development was achieved at lower alcohol levels so we have ended up with a ‘classic European’ style vintage. In many cases, the alcohol level may be as much as 1 full point lower. There will be some clunkers from those that waited too long to harvest and got rot and frost nipped fruit, but we won’t even bring those in the shop so if you buy your wine here, we will do the weeding for you.
Will spring ever get here? As I write this, it is another grey and misty day topping out at about 40 degrees. Not exactly butterflies, honeybees and singing bunnies like the movies tell you is supposed to happen this time of year. I just got back from a trip to the vineyards and the damage from the big freeze is the real deal. Chain saws are buzzing (no bees there yet either) and budgets are being reevaluated for fall. Brace for a small crop of Merlot and Syrah this year, especially if it doesn’t warm up a bit. If you are a Washington Merlot or Syrah fan, stocking up may not be a bad idea. The lovely 2010 vintage will provide us with more delicate and feminine wines than are the norm up here, but that is not a bad thing, only a difference in style. However, 2011 is anyone’s guess. A small crop is assured, and that can mean higher prices, but until we see how the season goes, quality is still up in the air.
