The Wine Knows

Washington Wine Month begins Aug. 1 at state liquor stores. This is the month you can stock up on some terrific wines at amazing prices. In fact, would you believe there will be 159 wines under $10, including three under $4? The best bargain is the Washington Hills 3 liter Chardonnay Cask, which sells for $14.99. That's $3.75 per 750 ml bottle.

We're talking reds, whites, fruit wines, rosés, sparklers and more. And the bargains are not just with the usual suspects. You will be able to find wines from all kinds of producers.

Here's how it works: Washington liquor stores already sell wines at excellent prices because they don't necessarily have to pay all the taxes (back to themselves) that wineries and merchants must.

For example: Barnard Griffin's Cabernet Sauvignon (Tulip label) normally sells for $17 at the winery. You'll pay a couple of dollars less in a grocery store. Yet the normal price at a state liquor store is $13.37 for the exact same wine. And during August, that price goes down to $10.99. Want to save even more? Buy a case (of the same wine or mixed; it doesn't matter) and you'll get an additional 10% off the wine, taking that same Cab down to about $10.10. So what would have cost you around $200 for a case at the winery now will run you $122.

Most grocery stores hate Washington Wine Month because it can hurt their sales. And not just in Washington: Portlanders will cross the Columbia into Vancouver, Wash., to load up on inexpensive Washington wine. I don't know that wine shops are as affected by Washington Wine Month because they don't tend to carry the same wines.

Why do wineries sell these wines through the liquor store when they seem to be competing with their own tasting rooms? Volume. Barnard Griffin makes 70,000 cases per year, 75% of which is sold in-state. I would venture that a high percentage of that runs through the state liquor stores, and Rob Griffin doesn't mind because he gets the same wholesale price regardless. For him and other wineries that participate, it's all about moving wine and having cash flow. It's about making room in the warehouse for the wines that need to be bottled to get ready for the 2007 vintage.

Download our handy list of the wines available during Washington Wine Month.

Be aware that not every liquor store will have every wine. They get hit pretty hard with customers in August, so they're constantly restocking. However, you might be able to request certain wines you're interested in purchasing if you ask the store manager.