Taste Washington - A Report

 

Taste Washington is the Washington Wine Commission's biggest event of the year. Held on March 27th this year, it featured over 200 wineries, 800 wines, and over 75 restaurants. The event was so big, it was overwhelming. For the most part, I could only focus on wineries I was not familiar with and hope to make some discoveries. Here are some of my finds.

 

Animale - This ultra boutique winery poured a fine 2007 Petit Verdot (44 cases) and Syrah (45 cases). I will check this out.

Stomani Cellars - This small winery in Seattle's SODO district has some nice chewy Italian varietals, especially Sangiovese, and blends. I will visit the winery and find out more.

Walter Dacon - This Shelton winery had a fine line-up of '07 Syrahs - C'est Belle, C'est Beaux, Magnifique. Will make an appointment to retaste.

College Cellars of Walla Walla Community College - Under the tutelage of Billo Naravane (Rasa Vineyards) who was at the table, the College's students have turned out a nice '08 Semillon and '07 Scholarship Red.

Cedergreen Cellars - Kevin Cedergreen had some nice whites, Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc, and reds, Thuja, Merlot, Cabernet. I re-tasted later with Kevin and will report on the wines in June.

Irlandes - I tasted a nice '07 Syrah and '07 Merlot. They have a tasting room in Woodinville, so I will check it out later.

 

The Taste Washingon Seminar: Common Ground - Boushey Vineyard

 

The day before the Grand Tasting (see above) Taste Washington conducted a series of Seminars. Lynn and I attended one of them which focused on Dick Boushey's vineyard near Prosser, in the foothills of the Rattlesnake Mountains. It was moderated by Bob Betz, owner-winemaker of Betz Family Winery. The panel consisted of Dick Boushey, Joshua Greene (Wine & Spirits magazine) Kevin Pogue (Professor of Geology, Whitman College) and Sara Schneider (Sunset magazine).

 

Bob Betz kicked off the discussion by stating the seminar's purpose as exploring the "sensory consequence of site specific wines." Seven wines were poured, six of them from wineries using Boushey Vineyard fruit:

2007 JM Cellars, Syrah, Yakima Valley, Boushey Vineyard

2007 Bunnell Family Cellar Syrah, Yakima Valley, Boushey-McPherson Vineyard

2007 Sparkman Cellars Syrah, Yakima Valley, "The Darkness," Boushey-McPherson Vineyard

2008 Forgeron Cellars Syrah, Yakima Valley, "La Serenne Block" (Barrel sample)

2008 Maison Bleue Syrah, "Liberte," Yakima Valley, Boushey Vineyard

2008 Betz Family Winery Syrah, "La Serenne," Yakima Valley

The seventh wine was not from Boushey Vineyard, but from Red Mountain:

2008 Betz Family Winery, "La Cote Rousse," Red Mountain

 

Winemakers were also present: Chris Sparkman, Ron Bunnell, Marie-Eve Gilla (Forgeron) and Jon Martinez (Maison Bleue). The discussion initially focused on the soil characteristics of the various blocks: Goldenview (Maison Bleue, JM Cellars) on silty loam over basalt, where roots grow deep; Boushey-McPherson (Bunnell, Sparkman) on high elevation with shallow silt loam over basalt; La Serenne-County Line (Forgeron, Betz) on deep silt over Misoula Flood sediments. The similarities of these parings could be detected in tasting them. Dick Boushey commented that small clusters of small berries is what he looks for in grape growing. Kevin Pogue pointed out that hydrologic properties is perhaps the most important factor in terroir. Marie-Eve Gilla commented that with Dick Boushey's grapes, "you don't have to fight with the fruit, just let it do its work." The wine writers had interesting comments. Sara Schneider said California Syrahs tend to be fruitier, unlike the brooding, savory characteristics of Washington Syrahs which are often rejected in California. Joshua Greene also sensed a "backlash" against Washington Syrahs which come from "redder fruits." The last wine, the Betz "La Cote Rousse," stood out from the Boushey Vineyard wines in its darker, spicier fruit characteristics. In summing up, Bob Betz echoed the "sensory consequence of site specific wines." The seminar was a revealing exercise in discovering how terroir as well as winemaking technique can have a profound effect on a wine's characteristics.