March is the official Washington Wine Month. I say “official”, because somewhere along the line, someone came up with the idea to add another Washington Wine Month, which is August. I suppose they thought it was a coup de grace adding another promotional wine month for Washington. I used to get irritated with it, and I refused to recognize August as another Washington Wine Month. I can be stubborn, but I realized it did me no good. August as a second Washington Wine Month is here to stay, so I have embraced it. However, I do not get behind August like I do March. I love promoting Washington State wines in March, so I am vigorously searching for a wine to represent Washington as my Pick Of The Month. I do believe I’ve found it and I am very excited about the quality and the price. I will put it up on this blog in a couple of days, so stay tuned.
I will also feature Washington wines on my YouTube channel. I’ve already shot the first episode which will go up on Friday, featuring canned wines from Washington State. I will try to do some head-to-head blind tasting episodes with Washington State wines going up against wines from other states or regions of the world. Washington has come a long way in the wine world. Washington trails only California in wine production in the United States. The cool part of the Washington wine industry is the quality that comes out of our state at more than fair prices. The same quality out of Napa, for instance, would go for twice if not three times the price. Washington State wines have also garnered some big scores from wine critics around the world. I personally love wines from all over the globe, but I feel lucky to be living in a state that puts out such amazing wines.
It is hard for me to believe that I have had wine sales reps that call on me, tell me they do not like Washington wines. They sell wines to me and live in one of the greatest wine producing regions in the world and have the gall to tell me they don’t like the wines. After debating with them as I would, it comes down to wine snobbery at its best. What they are really trying to say is that they only like old world wines or wines from the new world that attempt to emulate old world styles. High acidity is a must for these type of folks and if the wine is full of fruit and delicious, it can’t be liked. Also, minerality is a must! How dare someone make a wine that is not drenched in crushed rocks and wet stone! I do like wines from the old world myself, but I can also appreciate deliciousness when it hits my lips. That being said, there are many Washington state wineries that put out top quality wines that are somewhat old world in style. To make a blanket comment that one does not like Washington state wine is somewhat ignorant if you ask me.
Stick with me for the original Washington State Wine Month in March and I will give you a ton of content about this incredible wine producing region of the world.
Cheers!
Stan The Wine Man
