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Week of 6/25 "Washington Wine Commission launches aggressive promotion campaign"
Steve Burns, executive director of the Commission, said the promotional campaign is the direct result of the industry's growth and expansion in the past few years. "Our industry is committed to raising the bar on quality," Burns said. "Superior vintages from 1998, 1999 and 2000 allow us to showcase Washington's quality wines to differentiate and validate our industry among global competitors." Plans for the coming year include a new
restaurant ambassador program to increase awareness about the Washington
wine industry among targeted area Nationally, the 2002 Taste Washington program
will include industry trade shows in Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles
and New York top consumer The Commission board approved the 2002 budget last month. It is the most aggressive promotional campaign ever launched by the state of Washington. XXXXXX "Girl Power in Washington Wine Industry to be Honored" The wine industry in Washington state will
honor women in the wine At that even, seven women winemakers will auction off a special blend of wine they created together to raise money for the Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center's uncompensated care fund. The evening includes a number of live auctions, wine tasting and hors d' oeuvres, dinner and a performance by comedian Bill Cosby. For event and ticket information call Cynthia Daste at (206) 667-9463, Ext. 204. XXXXXXX "Importers and Distributors of Washington wines say business is up" Although grocery store sales of wine in
Washington is down about 5 percent, the Washington State Liquor Control
Board reported recently that net wine sales of Washington wine to importers
and distributors is up 20 percent for Sales for wine manufactured outside of Washington (Oregon, California) shows a 1.3 percent increase. Total wine sales are up 4.1 percent, said Stacie Jacobs, spokeswoman for the Washington Wine Commission. Jacobs said that Ted Baseler, CEO of Stimson-Lane (Chateau Ste. Michelle) reported that the first quarter of 2001 was Stimson Lane's best in the history of the company. "We think the industry is healthy and the slow-down in the economy will have little affect overall," said Jacobs.
Week of 5/26 NW Wine Sales Drop By Christina Kelly For the first time, wine sales in the Northwest is flat, falling 5 percent this year after two decades of steady growth. Insiders are calling it the "high tech" dip, as more and more dot.com start-ups on the Internet disappear. In Washington state, sales are down 10 percent. Tom Hedges, owner of Hedges Cellars, based in Issaquah, said it is the first time anyone can remember a lack of growth in the industry. "We're feeling it," he said. "Prices have dropped. Right now we have a saturation on the market. I have a feeling thinks will shake out. There is still plenty of growth in the industry." Stacy Jacob, spokeswoman for the Washington Wine Commission, said a Neilsen survey tracking grocery store sales, showed that wine sales, like the national economy, is down. "We're not too worried about it," Jacob said. "We view it as a small blip on the radar. I don't think this reflects the entire industry. The Nielsen survey only tracks grocery store sales." Dan McCarthy, owner of McCarthy and Schiering Wine store in Seattle, said clients are cutting back. "We're feeling the tension from the market place," McCarty said. "Some of the average prices for Washington and Oregon wines have gotten quite high. People who once ordered a case of wine, are now purchasing one or two bottles." Retailers say the high end, premium wines are still selling out because they are scarce. But consumers are reaching for the $15 bargain wine rather than the $30 bottle, said Dale Thompson, manager of Pete's Wine Shop of Bellevue. "We're seeing different buying patterns," Thompson said. "We haven't seen a drop in sales because we're situated in an affluent area. The real expensive stuff still sells, but people are buying less expensive wines." Jacob said the Wine Commission is gearing up for
the most aggressive marketing campaign ever, once its board of commissioners
approves the We'll have a big campaign to market our wines, both domestically and in foreign countries," Jacob said. "We plan to get the word out about our wine." St Innocent Announces St Innocent Winery announced their
release dates for the following wines:
Rene Eichmann has been involved in winemaking since 1986, and in 1997 he purchased the winery formerly known as Siskiyou Vineyards and renamed it Bear Creek Winery. The vineyards were planted in 1970, making the vines some of the oldest in the state. Two groups of wines are produced, the Bear Creek labeled wines, in very small quantities, and the lighter style Siskiyou Vineyards wines, meant to be consumed at a younger age. First releases of Siskiyou wines include an outstanding value in Pinot Noir. The winery is located in Cave Junction, Oregon.
Stoller Vineyards Formed Stoller Vineyards, one of Chehalem's three estate vineyards, is owned by Bill and Cathy Stoller, who are 50% owners of Chehalem with Harry Peterson-Nedry. Stoller Vineyards will begin making on-site a very limited amount of Pinot noir and Chardonnay from the 100+ acres of fruit currently planted. Beginning with the 2001 vintage a small amount of Pinot noir fruit will be selected for a premium label wine, with what will eventually be recognized as a distinctive Stoller Vineyards style. Planted beginning in 1995, the vineyard provided fruit to five wineries in 2000 harvest, including Chehalem, Adelsheim, Domaine Drouhin, Argyle and Cameron. Chehalem uses 31 acres of the vineyard for its Pinot noirs, Chardonnays, Pinot gris and Pinot blanc. With additional planting to resume after a couple year hiatus, which begins this year, Bill and Cathy want to create signature wines of their own, while maintaining their relationships with the other wineries. Winery construction will begin later this year on a 5,000+ case facility situated discretely on the 350-acre Dundee Hills property which has been in Bill's family for a couple generations and on which they now live. Completion is expected before the 2002 harvest. Ernie Munch is the architect and Chehalem's co-winemaker Cheryl Francis is providing technical design direction and will also be winemaker, given the task of developing a distinctive style appropriate to the Single Estate Vineyard. She will retain her role at Chehalem as the startup kicks-off with minor quantities. Tyee
Owners receive Private Landowner Stewardship award Margy and Dave Buchanan, owners of Tyee Wine Cellars, were presented this winter with the Private Landowners Stewardship award at the annual convention of the Oregon Wildlife Society held in Portland, OR. The statewide society of wildlife biologists and ecologists chose the Buchanans for "their leadership as land stewards, conservationists, and sustainable agricultural producers in the Willamette Valley". The Buchanans are co-owners of the Buchanan Family Century Farm and Beaver Creek Vineyards. Week of 5/19 Pierre in Town Pierre Rovani, Robert Parker's partner and Oregon wines reviewer, was in the Willamette Valley this week. He visited, among others, Patty Green Cellars, St Innocent, Panther Creek, Domaine Serene, and Ken Wright. Although he does not review the wines of Beaux Freres since Robert is a part owner, we suspect he tried the wonderful Beaux Freres 99 Pinots. It'll be interesting to see what he thinks of the 99 vintage.... Pacific Northwest Wine Coalition The Pacific Northwest Wine Coalition launched its first ever tasting of Northwest wines in Tokyo, Japan recently to spark more trade of wines in Washington, Oregon and Idaho. Steve Burns, executive direction of the Washington Wine Commission, said more than 250 trade and media people sampled wines from 20 wineries in three states at the Tokyo American Club last month. "There is a huge future for (Northwest) wines in Japan,
particularly the upper end, higher priced, vineyard-designated/reserve
wines," Burns said. "It went very well." Tom Hedges, owner of Hedges Cellars, said Japan, Canada and England are the top three markets for wine in the world. "There is a big interest in Washington right now because of the connection with the Mariners," Hedges said. "This is a trip we should make once a year. I believe the market in Japan for our wines could be developed. The interest is there." The Japanese want to learn more about wines, Hedges said. At first, most of the wine imported was French. In recent years, as they developed palates, the country has reached out to other countries such as the United States. "We need to let them know what we have here in the Northwest," Hedges said. Week of 5/12 New Walla Walla Appellation forms Wine Alliance Walla Walla wineries and wine grape growers recently formed the Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance, a non-profit association established to promote quality, excellence and awareness for the Walla Walla Valley wine region. The Alliance will provide an organized and unified marketing organization that will develop programs and activities to further enhance the Walla Walla Valley’s reputation as a premier wine region. Members met in Walla Walla, on May 1, 2001, to formally establish the association and elect its first board of directors. The voluntary organization has support of the majority of growers and wineries in the region. The first role of the board will be to interview and hire a director who will be the liaison for the public, media, wineries, and vineyards. The Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance is the result of a six month cooperative effort between the Appellation’s many wineries and growers. Previously, members of the local industry organized informally and worked together on a volunteer basis. With the phenomenal growth of the valley’s wine industry a more formal venue is necessary, but the cooperative atmosphere remains. According to Steve Burns, the executive director of the Washington Wine Commission, "The creation of the Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance mirrors the amazing growth we are seeing in the rest of the Washington wine industry today. It also sends a positive, “coming of age” message to the wine world that the vintners of the Walla Walla Valley and in fact, Washington State speak with a unified voice firmly focused on making the best wines in the world." Marty Clubb of L’Ecole No. 41 is president of the newly elected board. Redhawk Vineyards Up For Sale After 16 years, Tom Robinson is selling Redhawk Vineyard for $1.5 million for the 24-acre estate. The West Salem winery is known for its whimsical labels, such as the best-selling pinot noir, “Grateful Red, (paying homage to the Grateful Dead), “Rat Race Red,” or “Big Foot Blend.” Although the winery is profitable, Robinson says his new dream is to travel, fish for Alaskan king salmon, and relax. As chief cook and bottle washer, Robinson grows the grapes, makes the wine and manages the winery. The 58-year-old says it’s been a great way to make a living, and he loves the spirit of camaraderie among other wineries in the state. But he wants a less demanding lifestyle. “I’ve had a few lookers
already and am waiting on an offer from one of Production varies at the winery with grape availability. Redhawk's biggest year was 1996 when 8000 cases were produced. Robinson said he is down to half of that now. “It is becoming more difficult to produce a vintage Pinot Noir (Grateful Red) in the $10 price range,” Robinson said. “I've seen Pinot grapes go from $500 a ton to $1800 and up.” A former school teacher in Alaska, Robinson said he plans to fish and visit friends from Alaska to Guam after the winery is sold. Wine.com Sold for $10 million eVineyards, the Portland, OR., based wine retailer has acquired Wine.com, a much larger Napa Valley competitor for about $10 million, according to sources Wine.com began in 1994 as Virtual Vineyards and raised more than $80 million. Last summer, the online retailer merged with WineShopper.com, which was back by about $120 million. In January, the combined company began layoffs. Insiders say Wine.com spent too much money on employees and technology. eVineyards, on the other hand, operated with a $21 million budget and kept a lean operation. The company employs about 50 people, but Brett Lauter, eVineyards chief marketing officer, said another 10 or so employees will be hired within a week or two to carry the additional load. The sale pushes eVineyards in front of online wine sales. It major competitors include Winetasting.com and Gerlings & Wade. Company officials say former customers of Wine.com will see a seamless transition to eVineyards.
Red Mountain, located near Benton City, Wash., has become the state’s fifth appellation, joining the Columbia, Yakima, and Walla Walla valleys and the Puget Sound region. The Red Mountain region becomes the smallest appellation with about 3,500 acres. Eight wineries and three vineyards are located in the area. The wineries are Terra Blanca Vintners, Taptiel Winery, Oakwood Cellars, Sandhill Winery, Seth Ryan Winery, Kiona Vineyards Winery, Hedges Cellars and Blackwood Canyon Vintners. Klipsun, Ciel du Cheval and Artz vineyards are also located at Red Mountain. However, nearly 40 wineries use grapes grown at Red Mountain. Red Mountain produces mostly Bordeaux varieties, including cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc and some syrah. “Red Mountain is one of the state’s premier red wine growing regions,” said Steve Burns, executive director of the Washington Wine Commission. “Governmental approval allows the industry to distinguish the quality fruit produced on Red Mountain.” Growers and winery owners have spent the past three years trying to get the appellation approved.
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