Contrast Between New York and Washington Wine Country

L and I have recently relocated to Tacoma from Rochester, NY. Back in Rochester we spent a lot of time in the Finger Lakes wine region, doing tastings at the various wineries which line the shores of the Finger Lakes. Since moving to Tacoma we've have the opportunity to visit a couple of the Washington wine regions (Yakima and Puget Sound), and I have to say that there are some pretty stark contrasts between the NY and Washington wine experiences. If I were asked to boil the differences down to a single sentence I'd say that Washington wineries are much more serious, the results of which are a mixed bag as far as I can tell.

On the upside I have to say that the average quality of the wines I've sampled is much improved. Most of the wineries in the Finger Lakes have a substantial selection of "easy drinking" wines, table reds and whites with cute labels and (often) fairly high residual sugar. Some of them (Bully Hill comes to mind) really don't have much in the way of serious wine at all. This doesn't seem to be the case with the Washington wineries we've visited so far. Maybe our choices have been fortuitous, but it looks to me like the wine makers are, even in their low-end lines, trying to produce products with merit. So that's a plus.

On the downside there seems to be less levity; the atmosphere at the Washington wineries is more restrained in comparison to NY. I was at Novelty Hills this afternoon and saw people swishing and spitting. I don't think I've ever seen that before, not in NY and not in Missouri where I lived before NY. In Washington wine seems to be a serious business which must be approached with the due amount of respect. Even (perhaps especially) the most serious wineries in the Finger Lakes (Dr. Frank's, Silver Springs) embrace wines and wine-making with an obvious gusto and joie de vivre which doesn't mesh well with the swish-and-spit school of wine tasting.

Another contrast, and I have no idea whether this can be chalked up to the "serious factor" or if its just the way things are done in Washington, is that tasting costs a whole lot more. Most of the wineries in the Finger Lakes ask that you chip in a buck or two, whereas tastings in Washington seem to start at $5 a head. Going out and visiting some wineries on a lazy Sunday quickly becomes an expensive proposition.

I'm glad that I'm being exposed to better wine, though that's a daunting proposition in its own right. I'd thought that I'd long outgrown being intimidated by wineries and wine culture, but I feel that, in some respects, I'm starting at the bottom rung of the ladder again. It's going to take an awful lot of tasting (poor me) before I can talk knowledgeably about Washington wines in the same way that I'm able to talk about NY wines. The culture is going to take some getting used to as well.

Novelty Hill Winery

So, we happened to be up in Woodinville today for the Seattle Street of Dreams. Quite disappointing (though, that is another story.) We thought we might drown our sorrows (or sip them away) by visiting our first Puget Sound area winery.

So, we picked Novelty Hill based on curb appeal. What a tremendous amount of appeal it was, though. It may be the most beautiful winery I have every been in -- I am, however, a sucker for bare concrete with good design. Which, come to think of it, may be a good analogy for the wine. But, I am getting ahead of myself.

Pricing: The (cheap) tasting was $5 for four tastes, seven bottles to choose from (priced $18-30). There were other tastings available, but the wines seemed to top out around $40. Fifteen dollars for what equates to a glass of wine from a $30 bottle wine seems to be a great idea for the winery, but we passed on that.

Behind the Bar: The servers were polite and perfunctory. There was absolutely no chatter about wine, the winery or anything else. There was just an embarrassed look away when I asked for the "Seh-mill-on," ("or is it Seh-mill-yun?" I said. Forgive me, I was underage last time I lived in these parts. Later, when asking what kind of grape was in their late harvest (since they were pouring the wine without telling me) I learned that "Se-mee-yon" makes you sound like you know what you're doing.

In the Glass: Great bouquet on the reds. Beautiful color on the white. Lackluster performance in the glass. Maybe in 5 years, but I am not ready to be $18 on it.

Glee factor: 2 (out of 5) Glees. And that is really just because of the building. Ah... bare concrete and snake grass as landscaping.

Hogue Winery

We almost made it through the big cross country move entirely sober. However, not long after we crossed the border into Washington, we saw a sign for Hogue.

"Hogue?! Do you really think it is the Hogue?" I exclaimed.

You see, we had drunk Hogue wine before. We remembered it being very good. Most importantly, we remembered it. With vast wine tasting experience (in many cases, wine gulping experiences) in the Finger Lakes Wine Country, we were unaccustomed to stumbling upon wineries that we had ever heard of.

We stopped. We drank wine. We even bought wine.

It was a Sunday afternoon and the tasting room was bustling, but not crowded. The woman behind the counter patiently explained the difference between Genesis and the Hogue labels (the former being only sold through the tasting room). The wine was generously poured. The reds were hearty and delightful -- and seemed fairly priced at around $25/bottle. Even though it is more than we typically spend on a random bottle of wine, the Merlot seemed well worth the price. Because of our enthusiasm or luck, they invited us back for the reserve tasting--and gave us complimentary passes (normally $15/person, I think).

Rating: 5 (out of 5) Glees. Even without the free passes.