An interview with Lynn Penner-Ash, co-founder of Penner-Ash Wine Cellars: Part II
Lynn Penner-Ash spent over 40 years in the wine industry, most of it in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. In Part II of my interview, I talk with Penner-Ash about starting Penner-Ash Wine Cellars, her experiences winegrowing in Read more...
An interview with Lynn Penner-Ash, co-founder of Penner-Ash Wine Cellars: Part I
Lynn Penner-Ash spent over 40 years making wine, most of it in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. After working eight years in California, she moved to the valley in 1988, when the Oregon wine industry was still Read more...
WeatherEye Vineyards will change the way Washington makes wine
Back in 2018 I wrote in Wine Enthusiast about a new project from Cam Myhrvold and Ryan Johnson atop Red Mountain called WeatherEye Vineyards. The idea for the project is simple. Put hand selected clones in nano-planted Read more...
Why Ste Michelle bought A to Z and Rex Hill, how it happened, and what it means for Northwest wine (plus what’s up with the Woodinville property)
With the acquisition, Ste Michelle is now the largest winery in both Washington and OregonEarlier this week Ste Michelle Wine Estates (SMWE) announced it had purchased Oregon’s A to Z Wine Works and Rex Hill Winery. The reasons why the Read more...
Rocky Reach: an in-depth look at Washington’s newest appellation
Today the Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) approved Washington’s newest appellation, Rocky Reach. The approval comes on the heels of three appellations last year, bringing the state’s total number of viticultural regions to 20. Here Read more...
A look back at Washington’s 2021 growing season
Year marked by high heat, low yields, good quality 2021 was an unusual growing season in Washington, marked by a record heat event in late June, an overall hot growing season, and in many cases Read more...
Why Ste Michelle was sold and what it means for Washington wine
This article appeared in Beverage Industry Enthusiast on Monday July 12, 2021.On Friday, Ste. Michelle Wine Estates (SMWE), the largest winery in the Pacific Northwest and third-largest premium winery in the country, was sold to Read more...
Meet Washington’s newest AVAs Part 3: The Burn of Columbia Valley
This is the third in a three-part series on newly approved appellations in Washington. Read part one on White Bluffs and part two on Goose Gap. Washington is the wild west, with growers and vintners constantly exploring new Read more...
Meet Washington’s newest AVAs Part 2: Goose Gap
This is the second in a three-part series on newly approved appellations in Washington. Read part one on White Bluffs here. Tomorrow the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) will officially recognize Goose Gap Read more...
Meet Washington’s newest AVAs Part 1: White Bluffs
Of the four appellations Washington has gained in the last nine months✝, White Bluffs – which was approved today by the Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) along with The Burn of Columbia Valley – is Read more...
Washington’s 2020 growing season one to remember
In a year full of challenges, winemakers are happy with the resultsWinemaker Jason Gorski at DeLille Cellars gives a succinct summation of the 2020 growing season in Washington, saying “Yields were down. The quality was Read more...
Sweet 16: Candy Mountain becomes Washington’s newest appellation
With the approval today of Candy Mountain as an American Viticultural Area (AVA), Washington gained its 16th federally recognized grape growing region. The appellation comes close on the heels of Royal Slope, which was approved Read more...