The Wine Knows

I just found a couple of great reports on the National Agricultural Statistics Service Web site (does this make me a geek, a procrastinator - or both?). One of them looks at several statistics for Oregon vineyards and wineries for the past decade.

What we see is some startling growth for the United States' fourth-largest wine-producing state.

When Eugene Foote decided to start a winery in south Seattle in 1978, there were just a half-dozen in operation in Washington.

Foote ran his eponymous winery until selling it in 1991 to Sherrill Miller and Rich Higginbotham. By that time, the state had 35 wineries and few imagined Washington ever having more than 100. They moved the operation south to Burien in 1999.

If you lived in the Pacific Northwest in the '70s, then you might fondly recall the famous Rainier Beer commercials. They were sometimes poignant, often funny and generally captured the nature and humor of our region.

These are dangerous times for the Washington wine industry. The next couple of months are when grape growers and winemakers have the most fear of what are euphemistically known as "winter events."

Over the past 50 years, a "winter event" occurs every five to eight years. The last was four years ago, when a sudden freeze wiped out 90 percent of the crop in the Walla Walla Valley.

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.

Today, we published our 100th episode of the Northwest Winecast, our weekly video show that features the people and places of Northwest wine country. To celebrate, we decided to open a bottle of bubbly. With a saber.

On this day in 1933, the 21st Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, effectively ending Prohibition.

In Washington, St. Charles Winery in Grapeview opened almost immediately, becoming the state's first post-Prohibition winery. It operated into the 1960s. The winery eventually became a museum of sorts, focusing on Puget Sound ships and ferries. It may still be open, but I haven't stopped by in several years.

Today, I was at a luncheon in Pasco, Wash., that featured Allen Shoup as the speaker. The former CEO of Ste. Michelle and current owner of Long Shadows Vintners provided a compelling speech on the opportunities available in Washington wine country, and he also tossed out a fascinating story I'd never heard, a tidbit that could have changed a lot about the Washington wine industry.

For Cougars and Huskies, there's only one game to worry about this weekend, and it starts at 4 p.m. Regardless of how bad a football season goes (and it's been horrid for both sides this year), all wounds can be healed with a season-ending Apple Cup victory. Throughout Washington wine country, there are many connections to the University of Washington and Washington State University.

Appellation: Rogue Valley

In less than a decade, Del Rio Vineyards has become one of Oregon's most important vineyards. And it has very little Pinot Noir.

Rob Wallace manages Del Rio Vineyards in Gold Hill, a community 15 miles north of the city of Medford along Interstate 5 in southern Oregon. The 185-acre vineyard grows 14 different grapes, primarily warm-climate varieties, the most famous of which is Syrah with 40 acres in the soil. The vineyard was planted in 1998. The south-facing slopes are about 1,000 feet above sea level, so the warm days and cool nights ensure good ripeness balanced with all-important acidity.