Paul Gregutt is an American wine writer whose focus is the wine of Oregon and Washington. Gregutt publishes a column titled "Wine Adviser" in The Seattle Times , and contributes to publications such as Vineyard & Winery Management, Yakima Herald-Republic , the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin and the Spokane Spokesman-Review . [1] Gregutt is the Northwest Editor for Wine Enthusiast Magazine , and has written the Pacific Northwest material of Tom Stevenson's annual Wine Report, [1] as well as contributions to Decanter and Wine Spectator .
Gregutt has published the book Washington Wines & Wineries: the Essential Guide (2007). [2]
Walla Walla is a city in and the seat of government of Walla Walla County, Washington, United States. It had a population of 34,060 at the 2020 census, estimated to have decreased to 33,927 as of 2021. The population of the city and its two suburbs, the town of College Place and unincorporated Walla Walla East, is about 45,000.
DeLille Cellars is a winery in Woodinville, Washington, USA. Located in the Hollywood District of Woodinville at the former Redhook Brewery, DeLille's hospitality venues include The Tasting Room and The Restaurant at DeLille Cellars. DeLille Cellars specializes in wines using the Bordeaux grape varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot. In 2000, DeLille won The New York TimesWine Today.com "Winery of the Year" award. It is one of Washington state's premier cult wines.
Chateau Ste. Michelle is a winery in Woodinville, Washington, United States, 20 miles (32 km) east of Seattle. It is the state's oldest winery and produces Chardonnay, Cabernet, Merlot, and Riesling, and has winemaking partnerships with two vintners: Col Solare is an alliance with Tuscany's Piero Antinori and Eroica Riesling is a partnership with the Mosel's Ernst Loosen. Chateau Ste. Michelle was selected as Wine Enthusiast magazine's 2004 American Winery of the Year. It was owned by Altria, and then sold to the private equity firm Sycamore Partners in 2021.
Washington wine is a wine produced from grape varieties grown in the U.S. state of Washington. Washington ranks second in the United States in the production of wine. By 2017, the state had over 55,000 acres (220 km2) of vineyards, a harvest of 229,000 short tons (208,000 t) of grapes, and exports going to over 40 countries around the world from the 940+ wineries located in the state. While there are some viticultural activities in the cooler, wetter western half of the state, the majority (99.9%) of wine grape production takes place in the shrub-steppe eastern half. The rain shadow of the Cascade Range leaves the Columbia River Basin with around 8 inches (200 mm) of annual rain fall, making irrigation and water rights of paramount interest to the Washington wine industry. Viticulture in the state is also influenced by long sunlight hours and consistent temperatures.
The state of Oregon in the United States has established an international reputation for its production of wine, ranking fourth in the country behind California, Washington, and New York. Oregon has several different growing regions within the state's borders that are well-suited to the cultivation of grapes; additional regions straddle the border between Oregon and the states of Washington and Idaho. Wine making dates back to pioneer times in the 1840s, with commercial production beginning in the 1960s.
Yakima Valley is the first American Viticultural Area (AVA) established within Washington state, gaining the recognition on May 4, 1983. Within the vast Columbia Valley AVA, Yakima Valley appellation cultivates more than 53,000 acres (21,448 ha) giving the region the largest concentration of wineries and vineyards in the state. The most widely planted varietals in the area are Chardonnay, Riesling, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot gris, and Syrah. Nearly 40% of Washington's annual wine production is made from Yakima Valley grapes. In addition to grapes, the Yakima Valley is also home to several fruit orchards growing apples, cherries, nectarines, peaches, pears and plums. Around the town of Zillah, there is the Zillah Fruit Loop driving tour through the area's orchards and vineyards. The area is also home to nearly 80% of the US hop production.
Walla Walla Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located within Washington state and extending partly into the northeastern corner of Oregon. The wine region is entirely included within the larger Columbia Valley AVA. In addition to grapes, the area produces sweet onions, wheat and strawberries After the Yakima Valley AVA, the Walla Walla AVA has the second highest concentration of vineyards and wineries in Washington State. Walla Walla hosts about 140 wineries.
Rattlesnake Hills is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in Yakima County, Washington surrounding the Rattlesnake Hills. The appellation is the state's 9th AVA established on March 20, 2006 by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau {TTB), Treasury after reviewing the petition submitted by Mr. Gail Puryear, Bonair Winery owner, along with 10 other vineyard and winery owners in the region proposing the "Rattlesnake Hills" viticultural area. The 68,500 acres (107 sq mi) Rattlesnake Hills AVA boundaries are within the Yakima Valley AVA as both are encompassed by the vast Columbia Valley AVA. Rattlesnake Hills borders the northern boundary of Yakima Valley including land between the north bank of the Sunnyside Canal and the entire southern boundary slopes are between Outlook and the Wapato Dam. The western boundary meanders on a east-west chain of hills north of I-82 passing through the cities of Parker, Donald, Buena and Zillah while just east of the Yakima River. Rattlesnake Hills rises to the highest point in the Yakima Valley with elevations ranging from 850 to 3,085 feet (259–940 m).
Willamette Valley Vineyards is an American winery located in Turner, Oregon. Named after Oregon's Willamette Valley, the winery is the leading producer of Willamette Valley-appellated Pinot Noir in Oregon, and also produces Chardonnay and Pinot Gris. In 2016, the winery was the largest producer of Riesling wine in the Willamette Valley.
David Lake was a Washington winemaker and Master of Wine. Born in England to Canadian parents, Lake started in the wine industry working for a British wholesaler. In 1975 he earned his Master of Wine certification before traveling to the United States to enroll into the enology program of University of California-Davis. In 1978 he accepted a position of enologist with the Washington winery Associated Vintners where he soon rose to the position of chief winemaker. Among Lake's accomplishments was releasing Washington's first single vineyard designated wines and making the states first Cabernet franc, Syrah and Pinot gris wines. He was the first US winemaker to hold a Master of Wine accreditation.
Champoux Vineyard is a grape growing estate located in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA of Washington state. Grapes grown in the vineyard have been used to produce some of the most critically acclaimed Washington wines with the name Champoux regularly being featured on vineyard designated wines. Paul Gregutt, wine writer for the Seattle Times and Wine Enthusiast, list Champoux as one of the "top ten" vineyards in the entire state. Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from Champoux vineyards were featured in the consecutive 100 point Robert Parker rated wines from Quilceda Creek Vintners for the 2002 and 2003 vintages.
Boushey Vineyard is a grape-growing estate located in the Yakima Valley AVA, north of Grandview, Washington. Grapes grown in the vineyard have been used to produce some of the most critically acclaimed Washington wines with the name Boushey regularly being featured on vineyard designated wines. Paul Gregutt, wine writer for the Seattle Times and Wine Enthusiast, list Boushey as one of the "top ten" vineyards in the entire state. The vineyard is owned and managed by viticulturist Dick Boushey who was honored in 2002 by the Washington State Wine Commission as Washington's "Grower of the Year" and in 2007 by Wine & Spirits as their "Grower of the Year". After Red Willow Vineyard, which was planted with David Lake and Mike Sauer, Boushey was one of the first Washington wine growers to plant Syrah. Today, Boushey Vineyard is considered by wine experts such as Jon Bonné to be "One of the state's top Syrah spots" with many Washington Syrahs made from Boushey's grape receiving critical acclaim.
Trisaetum is a winery located in Oregon's Willamette Valley. Established in 2003 by Andrea and James Frey, the winery, pronounced "tris-say-tum", was named after the founders two children, Tristen and Tatum. The winery is still family owned and operated and produces small lots of critically acclaimed Pinot Noir and Riesling from its estate vineyards. Trisaetum's older vineyard, the Coast Range estate, is a 22-acre (89,000 m2) vineyard located in the southwestern corner of the Yamhill-Carlton District AVA. Trisaetum's winery is located on its newer 17-acre (69,000 m2) vineyard in the heart of the Ribbon Ridge AVA.
Chinook is a Washington winery located in the Yakima Valley AVA. Founded in 1983 by the wife and husband team of Kay Simon and Clay Mackey, Chinook was one of the pioneering wineries that established Prosser, Washington as a major wine-producing region in Washington state. Kay Simon, who began her career after graduating in 1976 from University of California-Davis in California's San Joaquin Valley and at Chateau Ste. Michelle, was one of the first female winemaker in Washington State. Chinook wines are widely regarded for their quality and help spread recognition for Washington wines. They are considered by wine experts such as Paul Gregutt to be "the classic expression of Yakima Valley fruit". Chinook's work with Cabernet franc, in particular, has garnered the statewide acclaim with the dry Cabernet franc rosé often described in wine reviews as a "Washington Chinon".
Red Willow Vineyard is a grape-growing estate located in the far western end of Yakima Valley AVA, within the Yakama Indian Reservation. Beginning with their relationship with Columbia Winery and Master of Wine David Lake, grapes from Red Willow have been used to produce some of the most critically acclaimed Washington wines with the vineyard's name regularly being featured on vineyard designated wines. Paul Gregutt, wine writer for the Seattle Times and Wine Enthusiast, list Red Willow as one of the "top ten" vineyards in the entire state.
Alexandria Nicole Cellars is a Washington winery that specializes in making estate wine from its Destiny Ridge Vineyard located in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA. Founded in 2001 by Jarrod and Ali Boyle, the winery expanded to include tasting rooms in Prosser, Washington and Woodinville wine country where it is housed in the historic Hollywood Schoolhouse that was built in 1912 and designated as a King County, Washington landmark in 1992. In 2011, Alexandria Nicole was named the Washington Winery of the Year by ″Wine Press Northwest″, the wine publication arm of the Tri-City Herald.
Ciel du Cheval is a grape-growing estate located in the center of Red Mountain AVA. Paul Gregutt, wine writer for the Seattle Times and Wine Enthusiast, lists Ciel du Cheval as one of the "top twenty" vineyards in the entire state. Ciel's grapes are used by several of the 'A-list' wineries in Washington, according to Gregutt.
Force Majeure is a Washington/Oregon wine estate, specializing in Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon as well as other Bordeaux and Rhone-inspired blends. The brand was founded in 2004, and beginning with that vintage began the "Collaboration Series" of wines made by some of Washington's top winemakers, using fruit from Red Mountain's Ciel du Cheval vineyard. Since 2014, the wines have been made by acclaimed winemaker Todd Alexander, who moved from the Napa Valley to the Pacific Northwest at that time. The brand labels also changed in 2014, to signify the winemaking change and the use of their estate vineyards for the wines, going forward. Todd Alexander continues to craft these limited production wines to this day.
The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) in Umatilla County, Oregon that is a sub-appellation of the Walla Walla Valley AVA, and both lie within the vast Columbia Valley AVA. The appellation was established on March 11, 2015 by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), Treasury after reviewing the petition submitted from Dr. Kevin R. Pogue, a professor of geology at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington, proposing the viticultural area called "The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater."