Sean P. Sullivan's Northwest Wine Report

If we go back to the beginning of Washington’s modern day wine industry, the state was believed to be too cool to successfully grow many red grape varieties. Indeed, it is for this reason, that cooler climate offerings like Riesling became so prominent in the state. However, with Washington now producing an abundance of Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and numerous other red varieties, it’s clear the state is very much capable of growing top quality red wine grapes.

2017 was another warm vintage in Washington, though it certainly didn’t start out that way. Winter into early spring was cool and wet, with well above average snowfall in eastern Washington.

“Snow was on the ground for nearly two months,” said grower Dick Boushey of Boushey Vineyards in Yakima Valley. Boushey also manages properties on Red Mountain. “Everyone was behind from the beginning because you couldn’t get into the field.”

Below are my Wine Enthusiast reviews for April 2018. Wines are listed alphabetically by winery. Read additional information on how I review wines here. All of these reviews are freely available on-line at the Wine Enthusiast Buying Guide. There is also a freely available Wine Enthusiast Tasting Guide app. See previous Wine Enthusiast reviews re-published in this space here. Search Wine Enthusiast's on-line database here. Read instructions on how to find Washington wine reviews at Wine Enthusiast here.

Below are my Wine Enthusiast reviews for March 2018. Wines are listed alphabetically by winery. Read additional information on how I review wines here. All of these reviews are freely available on-line at the Wine Enthusiast Buying Guide. There is also a freely available Wine Enthusiast Tasting Guide app. See previous Wine Enthusiast reviews re-published in this space here. Search Wine Enthusiast's on-line database here. Read instructions on how to find Washington wine reviews at Wine Enthusiast here.

This month’s Pic of the Vine by resident photographer Richard Duval is of Celilo Vineyard in the Columbia Gorge. Celilo is not only one of Washington’s most picturesque vineyards, it also produces some of the state’s best white wines.

Grape production in Washington was down 16% in 2017, with 227,000 tons produced. This is compared to a record 270,000 tons in 2016.

Cabernet Sauvignon led the way at 62,000 tons, representing 27% of total tonnage. While Cabernet tonnage was down from 2016’s outrageous number of 71,100 - which represented a 50% (!) increase from the previous year - the 2017 numbers were still well above the 47,400 tons produced in 2015. This indicates that the apparent surge in Cabernet Sauvignon production in Washington is real. That is to say, 2016 was not a complete outlier for production of this variety, unless of course 2017 is too.