Taste Washington! How I will Review 29 Wineries and 103 Wines

This year I am approaching my Taste Washington reviews differently.

Instead of lumping wineries together by region, I will review each winery I visited individually. The posts will be in alphabetical order by winery name. I will include as much information as my notes, photos and winery provided information allows. This approach will take more time, but will present a better view of each winery and winemaker I visited with at Taste Washington! 2012.

* (update: My list is now posted along with links to wine and winery reviews.)

About Taste Washington! Seattle

Last weekend, the nation's largest single-region wine and food event occurred in Seattle, Taste Washington! At this event 225 Washington wineries poured over 800 wines, and more than 50 Northwest restaurants served specially prepared food. This was the 15th annual Taste Washington! in Seattle, Washington.

For the first time, Taste Washington (Taste) was produced by Seattle's Convention and Visitors Bureau as a result of a new partnership with the Washington State Wine Commission. Some of the changes at this year's Taste? Taste was expanded to two days, wine seminars were held over the same two days as Taste at the CenturyLink Field Event Center. This change in venue made it easier for seminar attendees to visit with wineries afterward. Several of the wineries I spoke with appreciated having two days to visit with customers, trade and media. Taste seemed less frenetic to me this year and crowds more manageable.

niconico.com interviewing David LeClaire of wineworldwarehouse.com

Washington Wine Facts

Appellations: There are 12 American Viticultural Areas (AVA's) in Washington State: Yakima Valley, Walla Walla Valley, Columbia Valley, Puget Sound, Red Mountain, Columbia Gorge, Horse Heaven Hills, Wahluke Slope, Rattlesnake Hills, Snipes Mountain, Lake Chelan, Naches Heights.

Washington AVA's

Varietals Produced: 30+
Leading White Varietals: Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, Gewurztraminer, Viognier, Semillon, Chenin Blanc.
Leading Red Varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Sangiovese, Pinot Noir, Lemberger.
Ratio of White to Red: 55% white to 45% red
Number of Wineries: 730 (year 2011)
Wine Production: 12 million cases*
Record Harvest: 2010 with 160,000 tons
Total Economic Impact on Washington State: $3 billion*
Average Hours of Summer Sunlight: 17.4 hours per day
Annual Rainfall Eastern Washington: Eight inches (20.32 cm) (the grape growing region)
Annual Rainfall Western Washington: 48 inches (121.92 cm)

*According to Economic Impact Study performed by MKF Research using 2006 data.

Learn more by visiting the following resources:

Once all the individual winery reviews are posted, I will post my entire list of recommended wines with links to the relevant posts. * (update: My list is now posted along with links to wine and winery reviews.)

Many thanks to the Seattle Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Washington State Wine Commission and everyone who made Taste Washington a success.

Cheers!

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William Pollard Jr | aka: Wild 4 Washington Wine

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