I’ve always found the concept of the “second label” for wineries to be an interesting one. Certain wineries and winemakers have their own reasons for launching them, but since they’re a growing trend in the Pacific Northwest, I thought I’d explore a few of the most...
For as big as the Willamette Valley is, there’s no doubt that most of the focus tends to be on the northern edges. That’s where the sub-AVAs are, that’s where most of the famous vineyards are, and frankly, that’s where most of the tourists are. Yet contrary to...
Taste Washington is coming up this weekend, and while there are endless wines to taste and no way to accurately preview such an epic event, I thought I’d make a list of a few questions that I’ll be trying to answer over the course of the two-day Grand Tasting...
There’s an emerging trend in the Pacific Northwest of sommeliers and other wine experts moving from selling wine to making it...or sometimes doing both at once. I’ve been thinking quite a bit about this, and I have a few thoughts about this mostly positive...
Columnist Zach Geballe asks why wine can't play in the same consumer playground as beer does. I'm surrounded by breweries. There are two within a block of my house in Seattle, four more within a five-minute walk and upwards of 20 within a mile radius. Even the...
I’ve been thinking a lot about Napa Valley lately. There’s no doubt that as America’s preeminent wine region, it’s had a tremendous influence on both winemaking and wine drinking, but I want to look at one specific impact that, for lack of a better phrase, I’ll...
We’ve reached that time of the year when winter feels like it has gone on for about six months and still has no end in sight. Whether it’s been epic snowstorms, weeks of cold temperatures or just a whole bunch of rain, conventional wisdom holds that this is the...
The Pacific Northwest wine scene is dominated by just a few specific geographic designations, ones that are well-known to most. Yet the most exciting trend in PNW wine is definitely the way in which relatively new (or less recognized) regions are producing some of...
Toast to the bubbly most with these five sparkling wines made in your region. With New Year’s Eve just around the corner, the most important question a wine lover has to answer this time of year is what bottle they’ll be popping the cork on come midnight. While of...
It’s tempting to think that, as we enter the holiday season, winemakers get to take it easy. After all, the harvest is over, fermentation is likely finished and, for the time being, it’s mostly a matter of waiting for wines to settle and mature, a process that...
