Today is the first day of the original “Washington Wine Month.” I will spend the month promoting Washington Wine and enlightening you, my readers on some of the things happening in the Washington Wine scene. I’m not sure exactly when they included August as a second Washington Wine Month and I’ve never really gotten behind it myself. One wine month is enough for any state, so I stick to March. It’s always good to be original. There are now over one-thousand wineries in Washington. That’s crazy! I was watching a video on the L’Ecole website and they were the third winery in Walla Walla and there were only twenty in the entire state. I believe that was 1983. What a difference today. The wines of Washington have become highly respected over the years. Gary Figgins of Leonetti and Rick Small of Woodward Canyon (both in Walla Walla) helped to put Washington wine on the map in the early days. Now, you will find Washington wine garnering some high scores in wine periodicals, right along with some serious wineries in Napa Valley. There certainly is a lot to write about this month.
Also, you may want to check out my YouTube channel where I will be focusing on Washington Wine. In each of the episodes, I will review the many varietal wines that Washington does so well. The diversity of the state is mind-boggling. Merlot, Tempranillo, Grenache, Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese, Syrah, Albarino, the list goes on and on. I will continue to talk about my current “Winery Of The Year” Barnard Griffin. Rob Griffin and crew are one of the pioneers in Washington wine and have continued to produce some of the best values you will find. Look for the episodes where I review their Signature wines. I have already featured their Reserves...Check it out. I love wines from all over the world, but it will be a blast to focus on my homies this month.
In my latest YouTube, I discuss starting a wine cellar. I’m not talking about an area where you stash wine for immediate consumption. The point of the two-part series is finding wines that someone may want to age for ten years or longer. It’s really fun to play with this subject. As I pointed out in last week’s article, one of the episodes that have exploded is titled, “Can You Age Inexpensive Wine?” People are interested in aging wine and you don’t need a large bankroll to do it. I talk about where you can store wine without getting carried away with a fancy cellar. If you do decide to try aging wine for later consumption, start with a case or two, maybe three. It takes patience and self-control, but the payoff is worth it. Most wines that I age are under fifty bucks and many are under twenty. Check out the episodes and learn what to look for in wines that determine their ability to age. You may get inspired to start a small cellar yourself.
Cheers!
Stan The Wine Man
