I was honored to have the opportunity to interview one of Washington State’s top women winemakers; Ashley Trout. The interview is up on my YouTube channel and I’ve already watched it myself three times. She is a clever and skilled winemaker. Her winery is Brook & Bull, located in Walla Walla WA. In the interview, she talks about her rise in the wine world and her thoughts on winemaking and her desire to help immigrant workers obtain healthcare in WA. She started a wine label known as Vital wines in which all the proceeds go towards this cause. She started this project solo and now has many other wineries involved in the label. Check out the interview, it is very informative.
The Brook & Bull wines themselves are not inexpensive. Ashley believes in letting the fruit do it’s thing without a lot of oak intrusion. This begs the questions as to why the wine is a bit more expensive. We know that using a lot of oak drives the prices of wine up, simply because oak barrels are not cheap. However, there are many other reasons why wines can be higher in price. Quality is one of the main reasons. Brook & Bull is a low production winery that produces some of the best wines I’ve tasted out of Washington State. They do not own their vineyards which means they have to buy the fruit they use to make the wines. Ashley sources the grapes she uses from some of the best vineyards in the state. This means she pays more for that fruit. Low production and quality fruit equals more money to produce the wines, which means higher prices. When I say higher prices, I’m not implying outrageous prices. The Brook & Bull wines are priced fairly for what you get. In fact if these wines were from Napa California, they would be anywhere from twenty to thirty dollars more per bottle. We are very fortunate to live in a state where we are able to purchase great wines at bargain prices.
My wife is getting ready to take off to her homeland to spend time with her friends and soak in a little culture. I’m excited for her but will miss her when she’s gone. This means I will be getting things done around the house while she’s away. I always have lofty goals that rarely come to fruition. If I can get half the things done on the list, I will be a happy man!
I am now only forty-two subscribers away from one thousand on my YouTube channel. This is a goal I’ve wanted to reach for a long time and it looks like I’ll get there soon. I’m honored to have so many people who are enjoying the content on my channel. I’ve put out five episodes in March on Washington wines, celebrating Washington Wine Month. Today I will air my latest featuring Syrah, one of my favorite varietals. Check them out and consider subscribing to my channel so you can see what is coming next. I still have improvements to make, but I am happy with the content I have been putting out there.
Cheers!
Stan The Wine Man
