In December of 2008, the inaugural issue of the Review of Washington Wines went on line. Here's how it came into being.

When I owned Esquin Wine Merchants in Seattle from 1969 to 1997, it was run mainly as a mail order based business. I sent newsletters and brochures to our customers with descriptions of the wines offered. So I have been a wine writer since 1969. Many customers came to trust my wine selection judgment and descriptions.

In 1997, I sold Esquin to Chuck LeFevre, who still owns the wine store in SODO. I continued as a consultant, mostly in the writing of descriptions for the store's newsletters. In 2008, Lynn and I moved part-time to Walla Walla where we now live full-time. I wrote monthly descriptions of Washington wines for Esquin. 

When the recession of 2008 hit, I was let go at Esquin, which was no great surprise. Then I came up with the idea of putting my wine writing experience to work in an independent on-line publication. I named it the Review of Washington Wines (even though it included wines from contiguous cross-state AVAs). I produced a sample issue which I showed to friends in the industry and to consumers and was encouraged to continue with the project. 

Then, after considerable research, I found Advantagecom Networks in Walla Walla to do the website development and hosting for reviewofwashingtonwines.com, a relationship that has continued to this day. Amy Kinney has been a great help in producing every single monthly issue. Steadily, the subscription list has grown  and the number of wines reviewed in each issue has expanded from 30 initially to 40, then 50, and now 60 per month. 

So now as we go into the eleventh year of this publication in 2019, I look forward to tasting more wines and writing more reviews. Another milestone next year will be my celebration of fifty years in the wine industry. There will be a celebration event in the spring, which will be announced. All of you will be invited. My thanks to all of you who have made my publication a success.