Glacial Lake Missoula Winery, located in Blaine, is in the process of working on what may be the first wine of its kind. Well, at least none of us has ever heard of it before.

Winemakers Tom Davis and Tracey DeGraff crushed some Cabernet grapes to use in a Rose and, like all winemakers, were left with skins. Rather than just throw them out, this resourceful duo decided to add them to some existing Marsanne juice. I had the opportunity to do a sneak preview tasting in December, and the results are amazing.

For starters, the skins have completely morphed the wine from white into red, without even a trace of blush to be found. It still displays the wonderful aroma and flavors of Marsanne with notes of fresh herb, allspice and dried fruit, but the finish is charged up with the cabernet tannins, giving the wine plenty of body and texture. I’d call it a Marsanne on steroids…unique, flavorful and loaded with potential.

Production quantities will be ultra-small, and the wine’s release will most likely take place later in 2010. The best way to follow up on this would be to contact the winery at www.glmwine.com or take a highly recommended visit to the tasting room, where you’ll get a chance to taste GLM’s other fantastic red wines. It’s currently open Saturdays from noon to 6 pm. Phone (360) 332-2097 for more information.

Towards the end of each year I like to use the Tri-Cities Wine Festival as a point of reference for evaluating Washington State’s performance in the wine industry.

The festival, held on November 7, basically outgrew its old venue at the Red Lion Inn in Pasco and moved this year to the Three Rivers Convention Center in Kennewick. There were more participants (about 100 wineries attended), more wines (well over 300 were poured), and a much better choice of varietals.

This was my 25th year at the festival, which, I suppose, qualifies me as much as anyone to offer up a few observations on how far we’ve come and also give you an idea of what to expect in the future.

 If you like volume, you’ve got it. There are dozens of new, smaller wineries to add to the State’s 650-plus total. Twenty five years ago there were only about 75.

 Newer varietals continue to gain ground. Exhibit one: increased choices such as sangiovese, tempranillo, barbera, and roussanne. Exhibit two: the Upland Winery 2006 Malbec, which captured best of show honors. None of these varietals was even listed in the festival tasting program 10 years ago.

 Prices are holding steady, with plenty of good values at $20 or less. A couple examples that I enjoyed at this year’s festival – both of which earned double gold medals – the Pend d’Oreille Winery 2007 Bistro Rouge (a five varietal blend sourced from Washington vineyards for $13), and the Russell Creek Winery 2007 Tributary (a cabernet/merlot blend for $20).

This year’s harvest also ended on a positive note, and the word from nearly everyone so far is that 2009 Washington wines are displaying beautiful color and excellent balance in quantities that should keep just about everyone happy.

You’ll be able to judge this for yourself when the 2009 whites begin to hit the shelves next spring, with a few early bird reds showing up in 2010 and the bulk of the rest in 2011. Until then, enjoy Washington’s best now, while anticipating a promising future.

Cheers and Happy New Year!

If you thought 2008 was a strange year for Washington’s grape growers, 2009 may go down as even more peculiar.

Like the year preceeding it, 2009 started out extremely slow and cooler than normal in Washington. I live on the west side of the state, and we were still under the threat of snow as late as April…a good several weeks later than usual.

But the summer turned out to be awesome (perhaps a bit too warm?), and the time that was lost in the spring months seems to have been accounted for and surpassed as the fall grape harvest for 2009 gets into full swing.

In fact, I’ve heard several winemakers note that many varietals were ready to go at the same time, and in some cases ahead of their usual schedule. This concentrates the work load for those in the industry at an already stressful time, but so far, the results have been promising.

Rob Griffin of Barnard Griffin winery notes, “There is an abundance of ripeness, flavor and soft tannins in the reds which are signs of this being a great year for reds” and Dakota Creek owner/winemaker Ken Peck adds, “The Malbec and Merlot are both on the brim of perfection…” Walla Walla’s Sleight of Hand Cellars also notes, “So far, the fruit has all been fantastic…and we are really pleased.”

Washington has been on a roll with good vintages as of late. So far, it looks as if 2009 will continue that trend.

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!”