Washington’s growing grape crop is flavored with the fruits of state’s agricultural history

Published 7:30 am Thursday, May 25, 2017

When people speak of Washington wine, you will often hear terms like cherry, apple, and mineral earthiness. Did you ever stop to wonder where these descriptions come from? Let’s talk grapes!

Washington State has the perfect agricultural climate for planting and growing grape vines. The fertile soil resulting from glacial runoff and ancient floods, the rain shadow provided by the Cascades and the irrigation available from our rivers are all well-known advantages that contribute to exceptional grape growing conditions. While the growing season may be shorter here, our Northern latitude also provides more sunlight during the peak of the season than any other growing region. Compared to the prime growing regions in California, we average about one hour of extra sunlight every summer day and peak at nearly two hours of extra sun.

As of 2015, the grape had become Washington State’s third largest fruit crop, surpassing pears and trailing only apples and cherries in terms of economic production. As the wine industry has grown, grape production has become more profitable. If you travel to Eastern Washington, you will notice that many farmers have converted land previously used to grow more traditional crops into vineyards.

There are now more than 80 grape varieties grown in Washington State with over 70 used for wine production. Cabernet Sauvignon, Riesling, Chardonnay, Merlot and Syrah are the most abundant varieties in the state. There are 67 producing vineyards that do not make their own wine, but grow grapes for sale to winemakers. That’s in addition to the nearly 300 estate wineries that grow grapes for their own use with many selling fruit to other wineries as well. According to the Washington Association of Wine Grape Growers, over 50,000 acres in the state are dedicated to grape growing and that number has been steadily increasing over the last two decades.

William Grassie Wine Estates in Fall City is a good example of a small vineyard producer. Grassie’s passion for gardening led him to plant about a third of an acre of Pinot Noir grapes on his property, which encouraged him to move forward as an innovative winemaker. While growing some of his own grapes, Grassie also sources from other vineyards that account for 30 to 40 acres of Washington State vines. I have got to add that William Grassie’s wine is beautiful, smooth and equates to enjoyable drinking.

So let’s go back to the question I started with, taste! What does our agricultural history have to do with taste? Eastern Washington is a very well-known agricultural community within the U.S. and we are the one of the biggest producers of commercial fruits and vegetables. Vintners/farmers have planted vines in lieu of crops because of the profit margin. Acres that were once onion fields, cherry or apple orchards, or potatoes are now rows of meticulously planted vines. Because the vines are sensitive, they pick up traces of what has been previously mulched or planted in that soil. The vines carry those flavors to their grapes, thus those hints of cherry, apple, or the earthiness comes forth.

When you taste wine that is deliciously fruit forward, stop and give thanks to the fruit that came before and the vine that reached backwards into the history of the soil to pull that flavor out.

Cheers!