Sean P. Sullivan's Northwest Wine Report

Each year for the last 10 years, I have had the pleasure of writing Seattle Metropolitan magazine's annual wine issue. For the first eight years, this was a Top 100 list of Washington's best wines.

Last year, we revamped the list to "Washington's 30 most exciting wines." This year's list, which is in the October issue of the magazine due out shortly but available on-line, is in the same vein, though it is titled "30 Washington wines to drink right now" (albeit with a category on cellar-worthy wines).

Last month’s discovery in Walla Walla Valley of grape phylloxera, a microscopic, aphid-like louse that destroyed much of the world’s wine grape vines in the late 19th century, reverberated quickly across the Washington State wine industry.

First up. What does the presence of phylloxera in Washington State mean for the wine-consuming public? Not much.

“This truly does not have an impact to the consumer, as it does not affect wine quality,” says Steve Warner, president of Washington State Wine.

Read the rest of the article here. Photo by Andrea Johnson Photography, courtesy of Washington State Wine.