A summary of articles from January 15th to 31st on Washington wine.

The feature article this go-round is from the Wall Street Journal which calls Washington syrah the “new kick-butt American Zinfandel.” The article gives callouts to Dunham, Owen Roe, Gramercy, K Vintners, L’Ecole, and Reininger.

From around the country…

The San Francisco Chronicle writes about Cream Wine of Yakima in Sunnyside who will be using refillable quart-sized milk bottles for their wine.

Chicago’s Currier News recommends Bergevin Lane’s Fruit Bomb for the Superbowl.

The Modesto Bee writes about Washington wine with callouts to Ch. Ste. Michelle, Northstar, Columbia Crest, and Januik.

From the blogosphere…

Walla Walla Wine News writes about the recent closing of five Walla Walla restaurants including 26 Brix, Luscious by Nature, Destination Grill, Pine Street Grill, and Caravaggio.

The Wine Economist wonders how many AVA’s is enough with the recent approval of the Snipes Mountain AVA in Washington.

Wild for Washington Wine writes about Leonetti’s 2006 Merlot.

Swordfern Wines writes about the 2000 Col Solare, McCrea, and Mark Ryan’s 2006 Long Haul.

Wine Peeps does a spotlight on Stephenson Cellars. They also check out some red blends.

Cheers 2 Wine writes about Ch. Ste. Michelle’s Riesling.

A Meal Without Wine checks out Barnard Griffin’s non-vintage Cabernet Merlot.

Life of Wiley writes about Owen Roe’s Sinister Hand.

Seattle Wine Blog writes about Washington’s ten best vineyards.

Through the Walla Walla Grapevine writes about merlot and Bergevin Lane.

The Wine Muse does a Washington versus Sonoma battle.

Ambassador of Wine writes about Pepper Bridge’s 2005 Cabernet.

Washington Wine writes about wineries plans for Valentine’s Day. They also do a follow-up on their earlier article about ice wine as well as an article about Gewürtztraminner.

Wino’s blog looks at Latitude 46 N’s 2003 Vindication and Owen Roe’s 2007 Sinister Hand.

From the locals…

The Walla Walla Union Bulletin writes about the closing of 26 Brix as does Walla Walla Wine News. The Union Bulletin also writes about the beginning of a carbon sequestration project in Walla Walla.

The Bellingham Herald writes about Washington branching out into new varietals.

The Oregon Statesman Journal writes about Maryhill Winery’s Cab Franc 2005 winning a double platinum award at Wine Press NW’s platinum judging.

The Tri-City Herald writes about the approval of the Snipes Canyon AVA. They also write about 2008 production numbers.

The Tri-City Herald also reports the death of winemaker Mike Paul of Patrick M. Paul Winery.