While tasting dozens of wines at the Washington Wine Highway last weekend, Sean and I started discussing the role (or lack thereof) of terroir - a sense of place - in Washington wines. A solid majority of the wines we tasted, though labeled as a single varietal (mostly cab, merlot and syrah), were blends from several different vineyards. One winemaker even seemed to brag about blending grapes from thirteen vineyards. No doubt their is a true art to blending, but what seems to be lacking in many of the Washington wines we had was that taste of place… literally the earthiness, or minerality of a very specific region.

I remember last fall, when Isabell and I were on our honeymoon in Healdsburg (Sonoma), we spent one entire afternoon tasting wine from the Dry Creek region. By the end of the day we knew Dry Creek. It did not matter if the wine was red or white, we could taste the limestone that is synonymous with the Dry Creek region. The French, and Italians for that matter, obviously bring terroir to the forefront of their wines - the regions take precedence over the varietal on the labels!

As Washington wine continues to grow in acclaim and popularity, I would like to see more winemakers show how great many of the states growing regions really are. Walla Walla seems to have a commanding lead in this area and I hope the Columbia and Yakima Valleys, Puget Sound, and Lake Chelan areas follow suit - their wines will develop a deeper complexity and truly be the better for it.