August is Washington wine month! Actually, it’s one of two Washington wine months. March is the other. When you’ve got this delicious a product, why not celebrate twice a year?
What makes Washington wine so yummy? Oh, just the usual suspects:
- Climate – Long, warm summer days and cool nights lead to ripe fruity flavors and that characteristic Washington acidity.
- Soil – A basalt foundation covers much of eastern Washington. The Missoula Floods added layers of silt, sand and gravel on top of the basalt. On top of that add a layer of fine, windblown loess that’s ideal for water drainage.
- Water – Yup, this is desert, but hold onto your wine glass. Plentiful mountain snow runoff spills into the Columbia River and its tributaries, allowing growers to irrigate and control the amount of water their grapes get.
Washington State has over 1,000 wineries, many of them small, family businesses. Vineyards, on the other hand, tend to be huge! That’s Washington for you.
This year, I’ve been a bit over the moon for Washington Syrah, the third most grown grape in the state after Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Knowing about my obsession, friends brought back several bottles of Syrah from their vacation last spring in the Lake Chelan region. With a few random bottles of my own, we soon had the makings of a parteh!
We added complementary finger foods – Edam, Gouda and blue cheese, black olives, chips, salsa, guacamole, salted nuts, dark chocolate – to pair with our selection of six Syrah wines and invited some friends and family members who like both wine and parties.
No prior knowledge was required, but we did want to have some fun with this, so we bagged the wines to keep their identities top secret. We numbered the wines and asked guests to write down three descriptors for each one they tasted – a tough assignment when it’s all Washington Syrah and there are only shades of difference. Some were fruitier than others, some more savory. After everyone sampled the wines, we had the big reveal.
Was there a clear favorite? Not at all. Nearly every wine had its supporters. As expected, these six Washington wines showed pronounced acidity. Some of the tasters perceived sweetness in these dry wines, either from the ripe fruitiness or high alcohol level. One savvy taster got a peppery note on every Syrah in the group.
Here’s the lineup of wines on the table:
- 2019 Tsillan Cellars Estate Syrah, Lake Chelan
100% Syrah. Alcohol: 14.7%. Price: $39.
Fun Facts: Tsillan Cellars is an Italian-style retreat located on Lake Chelan, a 55-mile-long, glacier-fed lake located 112 miles east of Seattle. The Lake Chelan American Viticultural Area (AVA) covers over 24,000 acres of vineyards. The winery’s estate grapes are grown on the south shore of the lake.
Tasting Notes: Mint, dark cherries, dried cherries, black currant, pepper. Earthy, smoky, oaky (or woody), slightly jammy.
2. 2017 Lake Chelan Winery Syrah, River’s Bend & Lambert Vineyards, Columbia Valley
100% Syrah. Alcohol: 13.8% Price: $38.
Fun Facts: The Lake Chelan Valley once teemed with apple orchards. When the Red Delicious apple market collapsed in 1998, many farmers in the region lost their land and their livelihood. The Kludt family was able to pivot quickly from apples to grapes. They planted the first commercial vineyards in the Chelan Valley.
Tasting Notes: Fruitier than #1 (black cherry, blackberry, cherry), dried fruit (prune), anise. Earthy, spicy and peppery.
3. 2019 Sigillo Cellars Syrah, Rattlesnake Hills, Yakima Valley
100% Syrah. Alcohol: 14.9% Price (2020): $38.
Fun Facts: Father and son team Mike and Ryan Seal (Sigillo is Italian for “seal”), along with friend Scott Hussey are owners of Sigillo Cellars. Tasting rooms are located in Snoqualmie and Chelan. They source their Syrah from Les Vignes Le Tendre vineyards, a warm site at the very eastern end of the Yakima Valley, five miles west of Red Mountain.
Tasting Notes: Black cherry, blackberry, raisins, red licorice, forest floor, bark, pepper. Savory, not as fruity.
4. 2016 Co Dinn Syrah Elephant Mountain Vineyard
Block 5, Rattlesnake Hills, Yakima Valley
100% Syrah. Alcohol: 14.7%. Price: $50.
Fun Facts: Co Dinn is a former Texan who tried his hand in the oil business before realizing his true calling. After studying winemaking in the 1990s, he moved to Washington to work as a winemaker. In 2015, he teamed up with the Port of Sunnyside, the City of Sunnyside and Yakima County to convert the Art Deco-inspired Sunnyside Water Department building into an industrial-chic winery and tasting room.
Tasting Notes: Blackberry, cherry, spice, licorice, charcoal, pepper. One taster had a grassy note, and one had a grapefruit note.
5. 2018 L’Ecole No. 41 Syrah, Estate Seven Hills Vineyard, Walla Walla Valley
100% Syrah. Alcohol (2019): 15%. Price (2019): $39.
Fun Facts: Walla Walla was voted America’s Best Wine Region in USA TODAY’s 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards for three consecutive years. Family-owned L’Ecole No. 41 was the third winery in Walla Walla and the 20th commercial winery in Washington state. The three-generation winery is housed in the historic Frenchtown School just west of Walla Walla. L’Ecole is a part owner of this mineral-rich, Certified Sustainable and Certified Salmon Safe vineyard.
Tasting Notes: Cherry, black cherry, blackberry. Earthy, oaky and peppery. One taster noted black olives.
6. 2016 Eight Bells Eight Clones Syrah, Red Willow Vineyards, Yakima Valley
94% Syrah with a splash (3% each) of Grenache and Viognier.
Alcohol: 13.8%. Price: $40.
Fun Facts: Eight Bells is a nautically themed, urban winery in Seattle’s Roosevelt neighborhood. Grapes for this wine were sourced from eight of the 10 blocks of Syrah in the Red Willow Vineyard on the western end of the Yakima Valley. Red Willow is one of the oldest and most acclaimed vineyards in the state.
Tasting Notes: Dark berry nose, pepper, Douglas fir, chocolate. Oaky and jammy with silky tannins.
Far from being done with Syrah, I feel like I’m just getting started. I recently eyed a few bottles in the store that weren’t in this mix. Round 2, anyone?