California is the leviathan of US wine, accounting for 90%
of production and, despite exporting seemingly limitless quantities of Blossom
Hill and Gallo here, making 3 out of every 4 bottles sold within the US. The state basks in the reflected glory of its
nickname, The Golden State, a name that betokens glamour, riches, sunshine and
the good life. However, there are
plenty of other wine-making parts of the US, including California’s more
northern West coast neighbours : Washington
and Oregon.
Washington State is perhaps a surprise runner up in the wine
production states, though it’s a distant second and hardly clipping at
California’s heels, with only 5% of the total.
Its nickname is the rather more homely The Evergreen State – fair do’s, the
name evokes the expansive wilderness of conifer forests nurtured by the
plentiful rain that falls here (we’ve all seen Frasier, right?). The state’s highest peak is even called Mount
Rainier.
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| The Columbia River, Washington State |
However, if you’ve visited the area around Seattle and the Olympic
Peninsula and experienced the mile upon mile of forest, including one of the
world’s rare areas of temperate rain forest, you might be surprised to find
that the state produces any wine at all – it’s too cool and damp, surely?
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| Vines in arid Washington State |
The answer to the conundrum is the Cascade Mountains: these stand between Seattle and the interior
and act as a barrier to the cool, wet conditions that prevail on the coast,
sheltering the Columbia Valley, where most wine is made. They do such a good job that the Columbia
Valley has rainfall levels that class it as desert (only 150-250mm annually,
compared with just under 800mm in southern England). The plentiful sunshine means that warm
climate varieties thrive here, including Syrah, and Bordeaux stalwarts Cabernet
Sauvignon and Merlot.
Sandwiched in between California and Washington, Oregon is
known as The Beaver State. I don’t think
there’s anything to be gained by saying any more on that topic.
On the subject of wine, Oregon is, counter-intuitively, the
coolest and wettest of the three west coast wine producing states. While the Cascades continue south into Oregon
from Washington, most winegrowing areas sit between them and the lower Coastal
Range, which provides only slight protection from the prevailing weather. The vineyards are correspondingly cooler,
cloudier and wetter than their more northerly neighbours.
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| Mist in cool climate Oregon |
Oregon is largely synonymous with a single variety – Pinot
Noir, which represents a staggering 66% of plantings, ahead of Pinot Gris in
second place at 14%. Pinot Noir is
renowned as a cool climate variety, so it makes sense that it should find a
home here, but it is also a tricky grape to nurture and in these marginal areas
vintage variation is marked.
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| Autumn colour at Sokol Blosser estate, Oregon |
Neither of these regions provides the kind of cheap wine thrills
that California can, whose size bestows the ability to mass produce branded
wine. Both Oregon and Washington are
more boutique-y in feel and the prices of their wines (especially once they’ve
been exported here) are more like high end California. The small scale of producers, especially
those from Oregon, means that they generally won’t pitch up on the supermarket
shelves and a visit to a specialist independent merchant will be in order if
you want to taste them.
Wines from Washingon
Eroica Riesling 2011
– Slurp and Winedirect both have the 2010 for £17.95, Fareham Wine Cellar
stocks the 2008 for £19.10
Eroica is a joint venture between Chateau Ste Michelle,
Washington’s largest wine producer, and German Ernie Loosen, master of the
Mosel and Riesling guru. Riesling has a
bit of a problem, apart from the main one of its unfair image as a low quality
variety. Off-dry Rieslings tend to have
bags of fruit, balanced by crisp acidity, but are terribly unfashionable. Dry Rieslings can sometimes sacrifice the
exuberant fruit, leaving searing acidity that sets the teeth on edge. This wine happily manages to combine the
incisive and linear acidity of a dry Riesling, without sacrificing charm and
peachy fruit.
L’Ecole 41 Columbia
Valley Syrah 2009 – older vintages available from Noel Young Wines (based in
Cambridge or online), Winedirect has the 2008 for £23
Columbia Valley is the powerhouse of Washington wine
growing, with surprisingly warm and dry conditions that favour heat-loving
varieties such as Syrah. L’Ecole 41 have
a well-deserved reputation for quality reds.
This Syrah has beautifully pure blackcurranty fruit with a peppery kick
and enough acidity to balance the richness of the fruit. Beware:
its elegance belies its 15.5% alcohol.
Wines from Oregon
Bergström Old Stones
Chardonnay 2010 - £25.95 from Roberson Wine (shop in Kensington or order online)
A classy Chardonnay whose inviting nose promises ripe fruit
with its wisp of honey and aroma of yellow Mirabelle plums. The palate delivers this and more, with
savoury, flinty lees character and wonderful freshness.
Bergström also have a delicious range of Pinot Noirs,
available from Roberson and Noel Young Wines.
Firesteed Oregon
Pinot Gris 2011 - £15.79 from Christopher Piper Wines; Slurp has the 2010 for
£14.30
Chardonnay undoubtedly has more cachet than Pinot Gris, but
well-made examples like this give plenty of food friendly enjoyment. And if buying Oregon wines is starting to look
like a rich person’s past-time, then this is a relative bargain. Crisp, juicy tropical fruit with a hint of
peach, melon and the variety’s trademark gentle spice.
Oregon’s Willamette Valley (one of my favourite regions in
the world to say: it’s WillAMette, to rhyme with dammit) does have variable
weather from year to year, so the other vintages may not display the same
seductive fruit as I found in the beguiling 2009. There’s plenty of oak drapery too, but the
quality of the fruit shines through.
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