{"id":3029,"date":"2017-05-01T19:10:11","date_gmt":"2017-05-02T02:10:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/danthewineguy.com\/?p=3029"},"modified":"2017-05-03T19:24:28","modified_gmt":"2017-05-04T02:24:28","slug":"goose-ridge-represents-washington-state-as-a-top-tier-winery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/?p=3029","title":{"rendered":"Goose Ridge Provides Washington Wineophiles With Tasting Rooms Throughout the State"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article originally appeared in the May, 2017 issue of Bellingham Alive Magazine<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Since opening in 1999, Richland, Washington-based Goose Ridge Estate Vineyard and Winery has quietly and steadily become a major player in the state\u2019s wine industry.<\/p>\n

2,200 vineyard acres, four statewide tasting rooms, and four distinct labels \u2013 with a combined annual production of nearly 75,000 cases \u2013 easily place Goose Ridge among Washington\u2019s top-tier wineries.<\/p>\n

IT STARTS WITH FAMILY<\/p>\n

Goose Ridge is owned and operated by the Monson family, who over the past several decades, have gradually turned the focus of their 3,000 acres of farmland from cattle and orchards to wine grapes.<\/p>\n

The winery was originally established in 1999 and has since expanded its production to a beautiful facility in the midst of the estate vineyards located just west of the Tri-Cities.<\/p>\n

\"null\"Winemaker Andrew Wilson came on board in the summer of 2014, a Florida transplant who moved to the Walla Walla area in 2003. While there, he studied at the Center for Enology and Viticulture on the campus of Walla Walla Community College and also earned valuable experience working at Forgeron Cellars and Long Shadows Vintners.<\/p>\n

Wilson is quick to point out the advantages of having such easy access to his vineyard sources at Goose Ridge. \u201cWe work with all estate fruits, so it\u2019s a real treat to work at a winery where you\u2019re right in the middle of everything. And the Monsons allow you to continue to develop new (winemaking) programs and try new things,\u201d which, he says, makes his work all the more enjoyable.<\/p>\n

Richland Manager, Kristine Bono, agrees. \u201cThe Monsons are a \u2018farming first\u2019 family and they always work to elevate the vineyard; but they also give us the opportunity and the space to be productive\u2026to take new ideas and run with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

GREAT WINEMAKING, GREAT VARIETY\u2026AT EVERY LEVEL<\/p>\n

Wilson\u2019s winemaking philosophies are simple: \u201cSince I\u2019m working with 100-percent estate fruit, it\u2019s important that my winemaking doesn\u2019t get in the way of the expression of the vineyard. My long-term goal is to refine my (skills) so that when someone opens a bottle of Goose Ridge wine (they taste) the clean, varietal expression, but it also has that \u2018Goose Ridge fingerprint\u2019 on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"null\"He cites the winery\u2019s Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon as good examples of estate-grown grapes \u201cthat really have a unique character to them. The Chardonnay has a really clean, citrus\/tangerine fruit character, but behind that is a streak of minerality that lifts the fruit up; the Cabernet has a nice balance of herbaceousness and black olive with dark cherry and fine-grain tannins.\u201d Not surprisingly, these are Goose Ridge\u2019s most-planted varietals.<\/p>\n

In addition to the Chardonnay, Bono lists the winery\u2019s GRV blend (short for Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, and Viognier) as one of her current favorites. \u201cAndrew does such a great job with our Rhone varietals,\u201d she says, noting that the winery is one of just a handful in Washington that regularly produces the Grenache Blanc grape.<\/p>\n

The winery also offers four \u201clevels\u201d of wines, beginning with the StoneCap label with wines priced at about $10 each. From there, the Tall Sage and g3 labels offer wines ranging from about $12 to $15 a bottle, and the Goose Ridge Estate label includes the winery\u2019s top-of-the-line selections, so to speak.<\/p>\n

And not only is there plenty of variety in label choices, there are plenty of tasting room options as well: west of the Cascades in Woodinville, in Central Washington at Leavenworth, and in Eastern Washington at Richland and the recently-opened downtown Walla Walla location. With its opening in Walla Walla, Goose Ridge became the first winery in Washington with four distinct tasting rooms in the state.<\/p>\n

NEW AND FUTURE RELEASES<\/p>\n

This spring saw the release of several new white wines, including the 2016 vintages of the Goose Ridge-label Riesling, Pinot Gris, and Sauvignon Blanc, as well as the 2016 Ros\u00e9, a striking salmon\/coral-hued blend of Grenache and Mourvedre that Wilson calls, \u201cnew and exciting.\u201d He\u2019s also anticipating the release of a 2016 Riesling Ice Wine sometime during mid-2017 and notes that plans are in the works for a reserve-label Malbec.<\/p>\n

For Whatcom County residents, ordering wine is just a click away at www.gooseridge.com. The winery web site also provides specifics on other current releases, wine club information, and tasting room locations, which are great for a day-trip visit if staying on the west side of the state, or perhaps for a more leisurely weekend getaway if heading to Eastern Washington.<\/p>\n

Either way, the Goose Ridge family of wines offers solid, affordable choices that should make any Washington wine enthusiast happy.<\/p>\n

WINE NOTES:<\/p>\n

Tall Sage 2015 Red Wine Blend <\/strong>(about $13) \u2013 A core of dark fruit flavors is enhanced with a touch of star anise and baking spice. It\u2019s an easy-to-drink and highly affordable red wine blend.<\/p>\n

g3 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon<\/strong> (about $15) \u2013 This tasty red wine provides a mouthful of bold, black currant, dark berry, and black plum flavors. The finish is soft and plush with hints of savory spice.<\/p>\n

Goose Ridge 2014 Estate Chardonnay<\/strong> (about $28) \u2013 Lovely vanilla wafer, baked apple, and pineapple flavors lead off, with a round finish of toasted oak and dried apricot. Elegant and delicious.<\/p>\n

Vireo 2012 Red Wine <\/strong>(about $38) \u2013 Goose Ridge\u2019s flagship wine is a gorgeous, velvety blend of equal parts Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah packed with jammy blueberry and ripe cherry fruit flavors. The finish is slightly textured with a hint of vanilla bean. Outstanding!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This article originally appeared in the May, 2017 issue of Bellingham Alive Magazine Since opening in 1999, Richland, Washington-based Goose Ridge Estate Vineyard and Winery has quietly and steadily become a major player in the state\u2019s wine industry. 2,200 vineyard acres, four statewide tasting rooms, and four distinct labels \u2013 with a combined annual production […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3029","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-from-the-bellingham-herald"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3029","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3029"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3029\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3034,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3029\/revisions\/3034"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3029"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3029"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3029"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}