The Wine Knows

We've discussed in this space - and others - about the explosion of Northwest Riesling. I've finally put fingers to keyboard to try to figure out just how much.

I went through the past year's worth of Wine Press Northwest issues to grab the case productions of those Rieslings we have tasted under blind conditions. Undoubtedly, there is much more out there, but I am astonished by the amounts I see.

Here's a rundown of the top producers I've found:

Chateau Ste. Michelle
- 2005 Riesling, Columbia Valley: 553,500 cases
- 2005 Eroica Riesling, Columbia Valley: 25,000 cases
- 2005 Indian Wells Riesling, Columbia Valley: 12,500 cases
- 2005 Dry Riesling, Columbia Valley: 8,000 cases
- 2005 Cold Creek Riesling, Columbia Valley: 7,100 cases

Hogue Cellars
- 2005 Riesling, Columbia Valley: 98,500 cases
- 2005 Late Harvest Riesling, Columbia Valley: 72,881 cases
- 2005 Genesis Riesling, Columbia Valley: 3,084 cases

Covey Run Winery
- 2005 Riesling, Columbia Valley: 90,700 cases
- 2005 Dry Riesling, Columbia Valley: 10,147 cases
- 2005 Winemaker's Collection Late Harvest Riesling, Columbia Valley: 7,176 cases

Columbia Winery
- 2005 Cellarmaster's Riesling, Columbia Valley: 88,000 cases

Columbia Crest
- 2005 Two Vines Riesling, Columbia Valley: 71,000 cases
- 2005 Grand Estates Riesling, Columbia Valley: 5,000 cases

Snoqualmie Vineyards
- 2005 Winemaker's Select Riesling, Columbia Valley: 23,000 cases
- 2005 Naked Riesling, Columbia Valley: 6,000 cases

Ste. Chapelle
- 2005 Winemaker's Series Riesling, Idaho: 57,000 cases
- 2005 Winemaker's Series Special Harvest Riesling, Idaho: 16,000 cases
- 2005 Winemaker's Series Dry Riesling: 6,205 cases
- 2005 Winemaker's Series Riesling ice wine: 4,000 cases

Willamette Valley Vineyards
- 2005 Riesling, Oregon: 14,000 cases

By itself, Chateau Ste. Michelle made 606,100 cases of Riesling in 2005, the most of any winery in the world. As a company, Ste. Michelle Wine Estates made 711,100 cases out of a total of 1,105,726 cases of Riesling in Washington in 2005 (by my records - and that is low).

But other wineries are no slouches.

Hogue made 174,465 cases of Riesling in 2005. Columbia Winery (across the street from Ste. Michelle) made 88,000 cases of its wildly popular Cellarmaster's Riesling. Covey Run made 108,023. In Idaho, Ste. Chapelle made 83,205 cases. This means that, as a company, Constellation made 453,693 cases of Northwest Riesling in 2005.

That's right: Of the wineries listed above, all but Willamette Valley Vineyards represent just two wine companies.

Randall Grahm's Pacific Rim Wine Co. is building a facility near Red Mountain that will have a capacity of 300,000 cases - all dedicated to Riesling. It's expected to make as much as 100,000 cases from the 2007 vintage.

One of the beauties of Riesling is it can carry much higher tonnage than most varieties - five to six tons per acre is not unusual - and not hurt quality. Thus, it's a lot easier to increase Riesling production than it is Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, etc. A 100-acre vineyard dedicated to, say, Pinot Noir, will yield 200 tons of grapes at most, while a 100-acre vineyard dedicated to Riesling will yield three times that much.

And cash flow on Riesling is great. It's fermented in stainless steel tanks rather than expensive oak. It can be bottled and released just a few months after harvest in October. So while a red wine might have another 12 to 18 months left in barrel and bottle, Riesling already is on store shelves.

One of the early European grapes to put Washington on the map was Riesling. Now, the noble white grape is solidifying the Northwest on the global map.