The Wine Knows

Harvest is a great time for rumors to fly around wine country, perhaps because everyone is talking to everyone as they get around their region to bring in grapes. A great rumor I heard last week was that Columbia Crest would be doubling its production this year to 4 million cases!

To me, this sounded incredulous. It didn't seem like there are enough grapes out there in the Columbia Valley to accommodate that kind of growth.

I wondered how the rumor began, and I figured that one grower who contracts with Ste. Michelle Wine Estates probably mentioned to another that Columbia Crest wanted a little heavier crop. That grower probably mentioned it to a winemaker, who told another winemaker or grower until it turned into a story that Columbia Crest was doubling its production.

I queried my source at Ste. Michelle (we call him "Deep Drink") about the rumor. His reply was exactly what I expected: "I'd like some of whatever they're smoking."

He said that would be impossible because there aren't enough additional vines planted in Washington to double Crest's production. Additionally, such an enormous increase would require another half-million square feet of cellar and warehouse space in the Paterson winery. If you've ever toured Columbia Crest, you would be amazed at the amount of space it has: multiple football field-sized spaces loaded with tanks, barrels, bottling rooms and cases filled with wine.

Deep Drink did mention that Crest's increase this year would be in the teens. This could be between 200,000 and 400,000 more cases - and this is nothing to sneeze at!