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Weekly Wine & Spirits Columnist - Michael Vaughan

Discoveries From the Pacific Northwest

(Publishing Date: Saturday October 28, 2000  - Toronto Section)  

Last July I toured a number of vineyards in Oregon and Washington prior to attending the World Vinifera conference in Seattle. It was an eye opening experience, especially as a long time had passed since my last visit.

What struck me immediately was the prolific number of new wineries. In Washington, for instance, there are now over 150 wineries with a new one opening every 13 days (up from 90 just two years ago). Vinifera plantings now stand at 24,806 acres, twice what it was six years ago. This compares to some 6,000 vinifera acres in Ontario. In other words, the state is on a roll.

And talk about variety, there’s everything from Rick Small’s legendary Woodward Canyon (two are available but untasted in this month’s Fall Classics Catalogue) to Ambrosia by Kristy – Kristy Anderson’s first mead-exclusive winery.

Washington mainstays have been Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay and the tasty but hard-to-sell Riesling. Key producers include Chateau Ste. Michelle, which was founded in 1934 and is the state’s oldest winery. Indeed, if you include its production with its associate at Columbia Crest, they account for one of every two bottles in the state.

The availability of Washington wines has, unfortunately, been slim. On the LCBO General List we have the newly-listed Waterbrook 1997 Columbia Valley Chardonnay at $16.95. The wine has a fairly intense, somewhat lemony, green pear flavours and is quite well structured and ready to enjoy. It’s a good match for white meats and poultry.

Perhaps the most exciting new style to emerge from Washington is Syrah, which is the essence of many great Rhone reds and, of course, often done so well in Australia. Of the two are coming out in the Classics, I suggest you try the less expensive Glen Fiona 1999 Syrah Bacchus Vineyard at $33. I tried their 1998 which is available at $49 and was mildly overwhelmed by this Syrah’s idiosyncratic, leathery, smoky, meaty flavours that may not everyone’s cup of tea. These are powerful wines which go well with game.

Oregon, home of white Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir is no slough with its 156 wineries. It is a much smaller area with only Two new Oregon releases on the General List are Bridgeview 1998 Oregon Gewurztraminer  $13.75 and Foris 1997 Rogue Valley Gewurztraminer at $17.90. The Bridgeview is medium-light bodied with very gently honeyed, just off-dry, ripe orange flavours. The Foris has greater varietal typicity with drier, lychee-green pear fruit flavours. Both are pleasant enough but do not necessarily warrant a detour at the price. They are a fine match with poultry or spicy Thai cuisine.

One of my less-expensive white highlights of the trip was the King Estate 1998 Pinot Gris with its delightful, fresh, floral-citrus flavours (Chartron-Hobbs is the agent 905-238-3222). This wine is being specially shipped for two tastings I am conducting at North Bay’s annual Capitol Arts Centre fund-raising next Saturday. A good stand-in would be the Foris 1997 Rogue Valley Pinot Gris at $14.95.

As for the king of Oregon reds, look no farther than the new Classics Catalogue wherein there are two gems from the challenging 1997 vintage. My hands-down highlight of 27 featured in a blind tasting at this year’s Pacific Northwest Wine Fair was the lovely Westrey 1997 Reserve Pinot Noir Croft Vineyard which is now available at only $29. It has lovely, gently spicy, smoky, baked cherry flavours and a lingering cedary finish - definitely worth cashing in on. With only 200 cases produced, I am pleased that the LCBO moved quickly to snag a chunk for Ontario wine lovers. The fine, higher-priced Westrey 1997 Reserve Pinot Noir at $39 was still quite youthful when initially evaluated.

Two sparkling wines worth mentioning are only available through Ontario agents. The first is Argyle 1989 Extended Tirage Brut an ultra-delicious Champagne-inspired bubbly that has been left to rest on its lees for 11 years resulting in creamy, gently toasty, ripe, apricot-lemon flavours that go on and on. At approximately $50 it’s a private order through Edwards Wines (416-405-8989) and will be tasted for the first time in Canada in North Bay next weekend.

At the opposite end of the bubbly spectrum, I was swept off my feet with the seductively sweet  Willamette Valley Vineyards 1997 Frizzante ($12 US for 500 ml) a sublime semi-sparkling Oregon Muscat that puts most of its Italian counterparts to shame. To track this one down call Allegro 416-466-2720.