Great NW Wine: Kiona's Scott Williams named Honorary Grower

Published: Fri, 03/15/19

Wine of the Week

La Crema 2016 Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley

This marks the third time in the past four vintages that La Crema has earned our top rating for its flagship Willamette Valley Pinot Noir.

Maryland native Jennifer Walsh came north from the Russian River to take over the Oregon program from Craig McAllister, who now heads up the La Crema team for Jackson Family Wines. This flashes a bit more new French oak (30%) than the prior vintage, yet the fruit expression from Gran Moraine in the Yamhill-Carlton American Viticultural Area and Zena Crown in the Eola-Amity Hills is simply superb. Perfumy notes of toasted coconut, filbert skins and Indian spices are joined by blueberry with plum. Those lead into flavors of Bing cherry and rich plum, making for a gorgeously fleshy texture of blueberry and dried strawberry.

Suggested pairings range from pepper-crusted prime rib, rosemary rack of lamb, sautéed salmon and lentil soup with fresh tarragon to curried mussels and chicken masala.

Price: $30

Production: 14,339 cases

Alcohol: 14.5%

Winery website

Value wine
of the Week

Canned Oregon
NV Pink Rosé, Oregon

Several of the Oregon wine industry’s leading producers now have invested in cans, and the Stoller Wine Group entered the game this past summer to the tune of 15,000 cases under its new Canned Oregon brand.

Here, they’ve doubled up on the fascination for sparkling wines and rosé with this Pink Rosé Bubbles offering. This is no blush-style wine, and the mousse nicely brings the aromas of strawberry-rhubarb compote and Hermiston watermelon to life in the mouth, where the finish is bone-dry.

In order to get a better sense for the equivalent to a 750-milliliter bottle of wine, the $14 we list here is for two cans (714 ml). However, consumers can find the 357-ml can in the Northwest at grocers such as Fred Meyer, Safeway and Whole Foods going for $6.99.

Price: $14

Production: 4,000 cases

Alcohol: 12.5%

Winery website

Debuts and Discoveries

at Hangar 30

The 12th annual Debuts and Discoveries will be Saturday, March 16 allowing wine lovers to discover and taste new releases from local favorites as well as debuts from the newest Northwest wineries, distilleries, cideries and breweries.

The popular “Debuts and Discoveries” is held in Hangar 30 at historic Sand Point Naval Air Station in Magnuson Park, and it is a production with Seattle Uncorked.

Events calendar

Check out our revamped events calendar, which shows what is happening in the wine countries of Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and Idaho.

Have an event? Please visit this link to add it.

Auction of Wash. Wines honors Gorman, Kiona's Scott Williams

Historic contributions by the Red Mountain wine industry will be in the spotlight for the second straight year at the Auction of Washington Wines with Scott Williams of Kiona Vineyards chosen to serve as the 2019 Honorary Grower.

A year ago, Charlie Hoppes of Fidelitas, a neighbor of the Williams family on Red Mountain, was named the auction’s Honorary Vintner. This year, the Honorary Vintner is Chris Gorman of Gorman Winery and Ashan Cellars in Woodinville.

Cab production in Washington grows by 29 percent in 2018

Winemakers in Washington state crushed more Cabernet Sauvignon in 2018 than ever before, and it accounted for 29 percent of the near-record 261,000 tons of wine grapes harvested.

According to the Grape Production Report released Thursday by the Washington State Wine Commission, winegrowers increased overall production by 14 percent over the 2017 vintage. Last year ranks second only to the 2016 vintage when a record 270,000 tons were crushed across the state.

Ste. Michelle books 27 shows for Summer Concert Series

Chateau Ste. Michelle lifted the spirits of many in throughout the Pacific Northwest with a harbinger of spring, announcing the complete lineup for its 35th annual Summer Concert Series.

There are a number of repeat performances within the schedule of 27 concerts, which begins June 13 with singer Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty fame and ends Sept. 20-21 with back-to-back shows by R&B legend Earth, Wind & Fire.

Purity, sophistication at play on Youngberg Hill in McMinnville

Wayne Bailey, who grew up on a farm in Iowa, and his wife, Nicolette, have transformed Youngberg Hill near McMinnville into a sustainably farmed wine estate and elegant nine-suite hospitality destination in Oregon's Willamette Valley.

The organic vineyards gracing their 50-acre hillside estate are meticulous, and Bailey produces his wines in concert with acclaimed winemaker Robert Brittan, formerly of Stags' Leap Winery in Napa.

Columbia Valley vineyards
see March enter as lion

February went into the record books for snow and cold in the Columbia Valley, and March started off frigid, too.

However, climate expert Greg Jones, director of the Evenstad Center for Wine Education and Evenstad Chair in Wine Studies at Linfield College in McMinnville, Ore., said temperatures forecast for March through May continue the odds toward warmer than average with near-average levels of precipitation.

Lewis-Clark Valley Wine Fest
set for young AVA on April 5-7

Cabernet Sauvignon will be the focus for the inaugural Lewis-Clark Valley Wine Festival, an event to showcase the Pacific Northwest’s first commercial wine region and one of the country’s newest American Viticultural Areas.

On April 5-7, the Idaho Panhandle communities of Lewiston and Juliaetta along with Clarkston, Wash., will showcase their work with world’s most popular Bordeaux variety. Members of the Lewis-Clark Valley Wine Alliance selected the theme of “Old World Grape in the New World.”

Malbec begins to take on
major importance around NW

April 17 is World Malbec Day, an invention of the Argentine wine industry, but it turns out to be pretty accurate. The grape travels well.

The wines tend to pair well with grilled meats, rich Italian dishes, mushroom stews, lamb and roasted vegetables. The variety's acidity and fruit lead to balance, and Malbec often offers a better opportunity to age into graceful and interesting wines.

Woodinville photojournalist debuts VineLines Dispatch

The VineLines Dispatch by Richard Duval, photo laureate of Great Northwest Wine, serves as an occasional roundup of dispatches from the Pacific Northwest wine community. It echoes the classic “three dot column” used in newspapers and magazines to note short items of interest that we may develop into in-depth profiles for Great Northwest Wine or our other media partners.

Wineries should place him on your media mailing list for news items – [email protected] – to help keep consumers and the industry stay informed.

New wine reviews posted

We have posted several new reviews, including:

Township 7 Vineyards & Winery 2016 Merlot, Okanagan Valley $25
Compton Family Wines 2016 Alpine Cuvée Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley $38
Reustle - Prayer Rock Vineyards 2016 Estate Smaragd Hefeabzug Grüner Veltliner, Umpqua Valley, $24
Mork Wines 2016 Red Blend, Columbia Valley $15
Luke Wines 2016 Merlot, Columbia Valley, $25
Adega Northwest 2015 Two Blondes Vineyard Block 7 Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley $36
King Estate 2014 Hyland Vineyard Pinot Noir, McMinnville $55
Gård Vintners 2014 Lawrence Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley $35
Henry Earl Estates 2015 1st & Main Red Wine, Columbia Valley $28
King's Raven Winery 2015 Chelois, Willamette Valley $52
Alexana Winery 2016 Zena Crown Vineyard Pinot Noir, Eola-Amity Hills $65
Cavatappi Winery 2014 Molly's Cuvee Sangiovese, Columbia Valley $18
Amavi Cellars 2017 Estate Vineyards Sèmillon, Walla Walla Valley $24
Township 7 Vineyards & Winery 2017 Pinot Gris, Okanagan Valley $19
Spindrift Cellars 2017 Chardonnay, Willamette Valley $22
Wautoma Wines 2014 El Prat Red Blend, Columbia Valley, $28
Plain Cellars 2015 Petite Sirah, Yakima Valley, $35
Bayernmoor Cellars 2016 Destiny Ridge Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Horse Heaven Hills, $39
Chris Daniel Winery 2016 Chardonnay, Columbia Valley, $18
Two Bad Labs Vineyard 2017 Dry Riesling, Lewis-Clark Valley, $15
Spiral Rock Vineyard 2017 Riesling, Lewis-Clark Valley, $18
Jovinea Cellars 2016 Mel's Victory Red, Walla Walla Valley & Columbia Valley, $24
Mosquito Fleet Winery 2016 Cabernet Franc, Columbia Valley $34
Finn Hill Winery 2014 Corfu Crossing Vineyard L'Abîme Syrah, Columbia Valley $30
Tsillan Cellars 2017 Estate Viognier, Lake Chelan, $22
Maryhill Winery 2017 Viognier, Columbia Valley, $18
Youngberg Hill 2015 Natasha Pinot Noir, McMinnville, $50
Monte Creek Ranch Winery 2016 Reserve Pinot Noir, British Columbia $35
Compton Family Wines 2017 Pinot Blanc, Willamette Valley $20
Luke Wines 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon, Wahluke Slope $25

Read the reviews