I’ve always felt that wine is about the experience — the experience of learning about it, the experience of acquiring it, and, of course, the sometimes ethereal experience of consuming it.
One of the best ways to consolidate and accentuate these experiences is to take to the road and visit wineries.
A few challenges must be addressed before launching a quality, full-palate assault on any wine region. Do you have an updated map of the region, and is it legible? I know that, for me, stopping for directions is a genetic impossibility.
Which wineries are open to the public, and when? Frustration and disappointment merge in a cloud of matrimonial upheaval when an hour-long detour along a mostly gravel road ends up to be a dead end. Trust me.
These and a multitude of other tried-and-true remedies to any Washington wine touring challenges have been expertly addressed in a new book by Steve Roberts, “Wine Trails Of Washington: A Guide for Uncorking Your Memorable Wine Tour.”
This delightful, cohesive, lyrical consolidation of Washington winery touring is one of the best insurance policies I’ve come across against the dreaded debacle of poorly planned grape juice galloping.
The book provides a nonjudgmental vehicle to wine discovery in Washington state. Roberts avoids critiquing wines, and instead shows us a comprehensive and efficient path to draw our own conclusions. As with wines, wineries should be assessed and enjoyed for what they are to each of our individual tastes.
The grandiose extravagance of wineries such as Tsillan Cellars on the shores of Lake Chelan, the opulence of Basel Cellars nestled on a hill in Walla Walla, or the majestic Chateau Ste. Michelle in Woodinville get the same evenhanded treatment as the somewhat disheveled Blackwood Canyon Vintners tasting room and winery on a dirt road in the prized Red Mountain viticultural area.
There is however, a “Wine Trail Note” (disclaimer) at the conclusion of the Blackwood Canyon write-up, where, again, Roberts allows us to draw our own conclusion.
“I thought it was very well written”, said Nancy Rivenburgh, co-owner of Fall Line Winery in Seattle’s Georgetown neighborhood, about the full-page winery evaluation Roberts includes with each of the more than 200 wineries listed.
I think, based on how much I’ve enjoyed reading Roberts’ write-ups, that the book should have been called “Wine Trails &Tales of Washington.” I’ve known Tim Sorenson, co-owner and winemaker at Fall Line Winery for some time now, and in few words, Roberts does a great job of summing up the passion and essence of this winery in such a way to humanize what might otherwise be viewed as just another bottle of wine.
Roberts’ inspiration for the book came from numerous trials and errors while touring wineries all over, but mainly in Washington. Some of the oversights mentioned were neglecting to bring cash for some of the wineries’ tasting fees, or buying wine in the heat of summer without a cooler to keep the wine from cooking.
Mainly Roberts found that a logical, organized circuit to follow would have made the whole experience much more enjoyable.
The really cool thing about this guidebook is the way Roberts organized and divided the wineries into 12 regions and came up with 32 detailed, well mapped-out itineraries within these regions. It lists only wineries that are open to the public and have regular tasting hours — by his estimation, about 200 of the more than 500 bonded wineries in the state.
Each region has color-coded pages that are easy to navigate, with many colorful images of the wineries’ tasting rooms, the people behind the labels, and even a few shots of the dogs that live at the wineries. You’d be surprised how many dogs have inspired labels and wine names.
At this juncture, you might be asking, “What about the other 300-plus wineries in the state?” Well, they are the wineries that are open only by appointment or not open at all, which makes visiting a bit more challenging.
For those wineries that have chosen to be open by appointment, I heartily encourage incorporating them into your touring plans. It just takes a little more dialing in. There is an appendix in the back of the book for those appointment-only wineries with all their contact information.
Anyone remotely interested in what’s happening with the Washington wine explosion and has a desire to take a plunge into the deep end must possess this book. After just a few minutes of flipping through the pages, I found myself taking a peek at the calendar and looking for the car keys.
With the extremely dynamic nature of Washington’s wine industry, almost daily updates are required, so Roberts has set up an equally dynamic Web site to work with his book, www.winetrailsnw.com.
Jeff Wicklund can be reached at 425-737-2600, 360-756-0422 or wick@purplesmilewines.com.
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