The Wine Knows

It's been a fascinating and news-filled year for the wine industries of the Pacific Northwest, with weather causing havoc during harvest, pioneers passing away, Ste. Michelle Wine Estates gaining as a major national player and an iconoclastic California winemaker setting up shop in Washington.

Here are my top 10 stories of the year from the wine regions of Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and Idaho. My thanks to Bob Woehler, Wine Press Northwest's tasting editor, and Eric Degerman, managing editor, for helping to compile the list.

10. Chateau Ste. Michelle hires Wendy Stuckey. Washington's flagship winery already is the world's largest producer of Riesling. In November, Ste. Michelle scored a coup when it hired Stuckey, considered by many to be Australia's finest Riesling winemaker. She will be the white winemaker, working under head winemaker Bob Bertheau in Woodinville. She's as excited to be in the epicenter of the Riesling Renaissance as we are.

9. Weather affects Northwest harvests. Mother Nature always plays the part of the great unknown for grape growers and winemakers. In 2007, she played havoc in Oregon, British Columbia and Idaho, causing everyone to work extra hard to squeeze every ounce of sunshine and ripeness out of the vineyards. While harvest was rough in surrounding regions, it was easier for Washington. Grapes ripened early before some cooler temperatures and rain in late September slowed harvest. Washington enjoyed a record crop of 127,150 tons of wine grapes, up from 120,000 tons in 2006. With an average ton equaling 66.5 cases of wine, this will mean an additional 475,000 cases of wine being produced from the 2007 Washington harvest.

8. Idaho gets first appellation. After years of wading through government paperwork, Idaho was awarded its first American Viticultural Area with the approval of the Snake River Valley. The 8,263-square-mile appellation stretches through southwestern Idaho and even into southeastern Oregon. This provides Idaho's burgeoning wine industry with a vital marketing tool.

7. B.C. Merlot wins Northwest Wine Summit. British Columbia's Okanagan Valley has come into its own in the last decade, especially with luscious dessert wines and crisp whites. But when a red wine can compete with those from Washington and Oregon, that's news. And that's just what happened in 2007 when La Frenz Winery's 2005 Merlot won best in show at the Northwest's largest wine competition. The Northwest Wine Summit, held annually on Oregon's Mount Hood, judged about 1,100 wines from the Pacific Northwest. This is the first time an Okanagan Valley red even came close to being the best in show.

6. More money on Red Mountain. Red Mountain is Washington's smallest wine-growing region, but its future is big in many people's minds. This year saw the opening of Col Solare, the Opus One-like collaboration between Ste. Michelle and Italy's Antinori. The $6 million winery opened in April. Just down the hill, Kiona Vineyards Winery opened its new $2.5 million winery. The Williams family ran the winery out of its basement since pioneering grape growing and winemaking on Red Mountain in the mid-'70s, so this was a major and welcome upgrade.

5. Greater acceptance of new varieties. In the past few years, we've seen growing interest in wines other than Merlot, Cab and Chardonnay. Tempranillo has been on the rise for the past half-decade, as have Cabernet Franc, Sangiovese and other grapes. In 2007, we saw a surge in interest for Malbec, Viognier and a litany of minor Portugese, Spanish, French and Italian grapes now being grown in the Pacific Northwest. Who would have thought we would embrace Counoise, Roussanne, Touriga Naçional or Petite Sirah? Though this has been a growing trend, it's heartening to see a deeper interest in wines that are well out of the mainstream.

4. Oregon updates wine labeling laws. I suspect a lot of folks outside of the Oregon wine industry are scratching their heads, wondering why it took 30 years to decide to make changes to Oregon wine labeling laws. But those pioneers who did all the hard work in the '70s and '80s to establish a viable winemaking industry in the shadow of California had good reasons to protect what they had accomplished during the past four decades. But change is good, and now Oregonians can call their Pinot Gris by its Italian name, Pinot Grigio. And thankfully, the rare Oregon Petite Sirah no longer has to be labeled as Durif. Blending regulations also were loosened up for those working with Bordeaux and Spanish varieties, while the sanctity of Pinot Noir has been preserved.

3. Washington wine industry deaths. It's been a sad year in Washington wine circles. The industry lost three pioneers in George Carter, Les Fleming and Chas Nagel. Carter worked alongside Walter Clore in the '50s, '60s and '70s, making experimental wines from European varieties. He died in March at age 94. Fleming was a giant on the industry side, working in the '30s for National Wine Co., a company that later became Chateau Ste. Michelle. He died in May at age 93. Chas Nagel was a WSU scientist who worked directly with growers to decide which varieties to plant. He died in July at age 80. One of Washington's bright young stars, Lance Baer, died in May at age 39. He owned Baer Winery, which focused on red blends. And in November, Yakima and Walla Walla valley wine legend Stan Clarke passed away at age 57. He worked in Eastern Washington since the '70s as a viticulturalist, winemaker, winery manager, writer and educator.

2. Ste. Michelle, Antinori buy Stag's Leap Wine Cellars. When the announcement came out that Ste. Michelle Wine Estates and Antinori were teaming together to purchase one of Napa Valley's most iconic wineries, it came first as a shock then relief. Few knew Warren Winiarski was planning to sell Stag's Leap Wine Cellars (which was legendary for beating the best of Bordeaux in the famous Judgment of Paris tasting in 1976). Then many were glad the winery went to two companies who value heritage - and not someone who would turn it into another Inglenook. The purchase also gave Ste. Michelle much higher prominence on the national wine stage as a player not only in Washington, but also Napa Valley (where it already owned two properties).

1. Randall Grahm comes to Washington. Putting up a wine-production facility on the outskirts of West Richland might not seem like a big deal - until you realize Randall Grahm is behind it. Grahm, owner of Bonny Doon Vineyards in Santa Cruz, Calif., showed up at the site of his new Pacific Rim Winemakers facility in April and blew away the crowd with his mix of California funkiness and passion for Riesling. Grahm and his partners spent $5.7 million on a winery that ultimately will make 300,000 cases of Riesling in the shadow of Red Mountain. Big wine companies have bought into Washington (especially Constellation), but Grahm's arrival and commitment to Washington wine likely will go into the history books as a defining and visionary moment.