Further Comments on Washington Riesling

Since my blog of 26 May, "Whither Washington Riesling?" I received a couple of emails commenting on that article which, I think, put the varietal in a broader perspective. Here are excerpts, together with my comments.

The first was from Rick Johnson, owner of Walla Faces winery in Walla Walla:

"I agree with your blog on Riesling in Washington. We just bottled a limited production Riesling. Matt Loso, our winemaker, tried something different by fermenting a portion of our Riesling in a concrete egg. The egg fermented Riesling developed a more earthy tasting Riesling. Matt blended back the egg fermented Riesling into the main vat fermenting in a stainless tank. We think the result is quite promising."

I stopped by the tasting room where there were samples for tasting and found it to be quite promising, too. It is a 2009 from the Lawrence Vineyard, and it showed exceptional aromatics, depth and richness. It will be released this summer with the name, "Teri and the German." I will be reviewing it in the August issue of the Review of Washington Wines. (For a write-up about Walla Faces, see the March issue.)

The second email came from Paul Zitarelli of Full Pull Wines (see my blog of 1 May to learn more):

"Rand - As an avid Riesling fan, I enjoyed this week's blog. It got me to wondering your opinion on Bill Owen's Champoux Vineyard Riesling with OS Winery. I found it to be nearly sublime in certain vintages. He always keeps the alcohol level low (frequently under 10%) and really lets the Champoux terroir sing." (See the June issue of the Review for my write-up on this wine.)

"I also think as new plantings at Evergreen open up, we will see smaller wineries (outside of CSM's Eroica and Kung Fu Girl who take the vast majority of these grapes currently) start doing interesting things with that fruit. Efeste, which you mentioned, is a great example." (See the May issue for my review of the '09 Efeste Evergreen Riesling.)

"I'm on the record predicting that in 10-15 years, we will be talking about Evergreen the way we talk about Celilo now: as one of the finest vineyards in the state for the expression of aromatic white varietals." (I agree that the Evergreen Vineyard has great potential.)

I replied that "I agree that in the course of this decade, Riesling will make a comeback. The varietal just needs to overcome the image problem. There is great potential."

These two dialogues have led me to believe that Washington Riesling is headed toward a great future.

Get Your Rasa Vineyards 2007 Principia Syrah Before it's Gone

In the June issue of my Review of Washington Wines, I rated the '07 Rasa Principia Reserve Syrah 20/20 points, the second wine to receive the highest score in this publication. Only 70 cases were made and, with the rave reviews received (including mine), the supply will not last long. Full Pull Wines has just (today) made an offering of an allocation of this wine. To get yours, go to the Full Pull website, sign up, and see the latest offering.