Sean P. Sullivan's Northwest Wine Report

Welcome to the controlled chaos that is crush! All around Washington, all around the clock, some 900+ wineries are delivering bins, picking grapes, sifting stems and crushing the good stuff to make the 2017 vintages. Resident photographer Richard Duval lives for this season, relentlessly roaming 14 appellations to photograph Washington winemakers at their best, if not their most tired.

Buckle your seat belts. A round-up of stories on Northwest wine from August 22^nd to September 7^th 2017. Read previous round-ups here.

From around the country…

Wines and Vines writes that Oregon wineries welcome eclipse viewers. They also write about the start of harvest.

Decanter writes about Oregon Gamay.

Shanken Daily News writes that Ste Michelle Wine Estates sees innovation pay off. They also write that Oregon wines are on the rise.

Seattle Metropolitan's 2017 Top 100 Washington wines list has been released in the October issue. This is the eighth year that I have written this list for the magazine. This year, the lists are as follows:

Cabernet Sauvignon
Syrah
Best wines under $30
Bordeaux-style blends
White wines
Other reds

With Washington now home to over 900 wineries, it seems almost unimaginable to think of just how small the state’s wine industry was when Ste. Michelle Vintners was founded in 1967. “At the time there were only 12 wineries in the state, and 88% of the wine was fruit wine or fortified dessert wine,” said Ted Baseler, President and CEO of Ste Michelle Wine Estates, Chateau Ste. Michelle’s parent company. “There was only a small amount of varietal wine.”