Bellingham’s Masquerade Wine Company earned Double Gold honors at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition for its recently released Effervescing Elephant Sparkling Wine.

Over 5500 wines were judged during the competition. Only eight wines were awarded Best of Class and nine received Double Golds.

A list of winners (along with approximate retail prices) include the following:

Best of Class:

Airfield Estates 2011 Barbera, Yakima Valley, $28
Barnard Griffin 2011 Chardonnay, Columbia Valley, $14
Gordon Brothers Cellars 2009 Merlot, Columbia Valley, $21
Hogue Cellars 2011 Riesling, Columbia Valley, $11
Kiona Vineyards Winery 2011 Chenin Blanc, Columbia Valley, $15
Marchesi Vineyards 2010 Nebbiolo, Columbia Valley, $35
Schmidt Family Vineyards 2009 Tempranillo, Southern Oregon, $36
South Stage Cellars 2008 Syrah, Rogue Valley, $26

Double Gold:

Alexandria Nicole Cellars 2011 Destiny Ridge Vineyard Grenache, Horse Heaven Hills, $38
Brandborg 2011 Gewürztraminer, Umpqua Valley, $18
Del Rio Vineyards 2011 Viognier, Rogue Valley, $20
Diversion Wine NV Riesling, Washington, $15
Dusted Valley Vintners 2010 Cabernet Franc, Columbia Valley, $42
Maryhill Winery 2010 Les Collines Vineyard Merlot, Walla Walla Valley, $32
Masquerade Wine Co. NV Effervescing Elephant, Columbia Valley, $35
Verve Wines 2011 Gewürztraminer Dessert, Oregon, $22
Willamette Valley Vineyards 2011 Riesling, Willamette Valley, $14

Masquerade Wine Company is located at 2001 Iowa Street in Bellingham and is currently open from 11am to 6pm Wednesday through Sunday. For more information: masqueradewines.com

As we prepare to venture out into the New Year, it’s impossible to think about wines without taking a look back at years past.

Overwhelmingly, the word I’m hearing most often about the 2012 wine grape harvest is “normal.” That’s good news when you consider how challenging the 2010 and 2011 vintages played out in Washington. But more on that in just a bit.

First, let’s recap 2012.

The year started out with a cool spring, but the summer weather was near-perfect. Then warm days during September and early October with cool nights and virtually no threat of rain or frost topped things off, resulting in an outstanding vintage in terms of both quantity and quality.

(Photo at left from Yakima Valley Wine Association web site)

Winemakers throughout the state are sounding very optimistic about 2012. Tim and Kelly Hightower from Hightower Cellars note, “We are very impressed with the high quality of the 2012 vintage. The weather was of the sort that goes easy on a winemakers worrying soul. Combined with the skills of attentive experienced grape growers (it) yields grapes…that can be crafted into wines of elegance, depth and complexity – just what we strive to do!”

From winemaker John Morgan at Lost River Winery: “Two positive aspects of cool nighttime weather were very apparent in the grapes at harvest, these being high acid and deep color. Another result was longer “hang time,” particularly in white varieties like Chardonnay, leading to more tropical and citrus notes with the bright acid normally associated with more herbaceous flavors. One thing the 2012 vintage will not be is boring.”

As we move into 2013 you’ll see more 2010 reds being released as well as some from the 2011 vintage. These were cooler-than-average years, and if you’re expecting fruit-forward Washington wines similar to those in years past, forget it.

These vintages are going to be higher in acidity with much more reserved fruit flavors. They should, however, have excellent food-pairing potential. The challenge for winemakers will be to create a decent flavor profile from grapes that suffered from a lack of heating degrees, particularly during 2011. The skill levels of Washington winemakers will be tested as consumers discern between the “contenders” and the “pretenders.”

New Year’s wouldn’t be complete without mention of a Champagne or sparkling wine, and local winery Masquerade Wine Company has just released its Evervescing Elephant II for $34.99. A gift box option with two flutes and chocolates is also available. Give it a try and ring in the New Year in style. Cheers!

Last year at this time, I referred to the 2010 Washington wine grape harvest as “one of the wildest, wackiest, and yet most promising years in the state’s history.”

Believe it or not, in terms of both craziness and quality, the 2011 harvest may have even topped that.

The story behind 2011 actually starts in November of 2010, when an early frost in some vineyards damaged the buds that were to be 2011’s harvest. Then Eastern Washington experienced another cool, wet spring that resulted in an incredibly late bud break and an equally belated harvest – 3 to 4 weeks later than normal in some areas.

Despite the bizarre weather, the consensus among winemakers seems to be optimistic about this strange yet potentially wonderful vintage. Here’s what a few are saying:

John Morgan of Lost River Winery observes that, “2011 marked the coolest and latest harvest on record in Washington…it definitely was a wild ride. This is absolutely a stellar vintage for Syrah, Malbec and all of the whites we brought in. For the rest, time will tell.”

Forgeron Cellars’ Marie-Eve Gilla (pictured at left) says to expect some very euro-centric wines. “White wines will likely be especially lush…with the gentle temperatures allowing for the nuanced flavors to come through.”

Jean-Francois Pellet of Pepper Bridge Winery notes, “Summer really didn’t start until around the Fourth of July…which is unheard of (in Eastern Washington). Nonetheless, after this late start, the grapes ripened steadily and evenly. It appears Mother Nature was reminding us that we are in the agriculture business, not the manufacturing business.”

The overall forecast for 2011 wines: Lower yields, great acidity, likely lower alcohol levels, and subtle fruit flavors with more emphasis on varietal-specific characteristics such as pepper, smoke, herbs and spices.

If all this sounds as if Washington wines are transforming into something more closely resembling their European/Old World-style counterparts, you’d be correct. That means we can expect less fruit and alcohol bombs and more food-friendly wines from Washington wineries on the horizon…a good thing by many wine enthusiast’s standards.

Of course, we won’t know the final verdict until these wines are released, beginning this spring for the whites and in 2012 and 2013 for many of the reds. But one thing is certain, the 2011 vintage, with all its challenges, will certainly test the skills of the state’s winemakers. The pretenders will be separated from the contenders as Washington wines make their way to consumers, who ultimately have the final word.

As we wind down on 2008, this seems as good a time as any to do an assessment of the past year for Washington wineries and take a look at what lies ahead.

While I was sampling wines and schmoozing with winemakers during the Tri-Cities wine festival in Pasco last month, several things came to mind.

 Washington winemakers are continuing to reinvent themselves by producing wines that are considerably more food-friendly. The prevalence of the one-dimensional fruit bomb appears to be in decline; a good thing when you consider how much more versatile a wine becomes when the fruit component doesn’t overwhelm other characteristics such as acid, oak or tannins.

 Blends are becoming even more popular, particularly among white varietals. I’m finding that riesling is popping up in more and more blends, a fantastic ingredient that adds lift and brightness when combined with other white grapes that have lower acidity levels.

 The different kinds of both red and white varietals produced by Washington wineries is also exploding; not only in blends, but also as stand-alone varietals. Look for more viognier and roussanne among white wines and reds such as malbec (pictured above), petite sirah, and barbera – to name just a few – to get increased top billing on Washington wine labels.

With that in mind, I’d like to delve into more of these newer Washington varietals as we get into early 2009. Of course this doesn’t mean that I’ll be completely abandoning other domestic and international wines…and nor should you. In fact, I’ll be offering a few recommendations on some super affordable California wines in the next couple of weeks.

But there are some tremendous wines coming from our state, and the harvest from 2008 is shaping up to be quite possibly one of the best structured, well-balanced vintages on record. That’s continued good news for local wine drinkers – and the rest of the world as well.

Cheers and Happy New Year!

2008 may very well go down as one of the most unpredictable growing seasons for Washington winemakers.

Things got off to an incredibly slow start with a cooler than normal spring and the summer months were generally spotty, with on again/off again streaks of good weather. Then things turned downright ugly in Western Washington during August, with much higher rainfall than usual. But the critical month of September was absolutely beautiful and may have put the harvest into the above average category that would continue a string of terrific vintages the State has enjoyed as of late.

Ken Peck of Dakota Creek Winery notes, “The cool spring had us all anxious, but then a nice bit of heat in the late summer really put the concern to rest. Once again, the stage is set for some outstanding Washington Wines!”