Say it ain't so ... WA wine better than CA

[Roy Hersh]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/p ... ser31.html

Seattle wine writer Paul Gregutt believes that Washington wines are comparable at better-than-Callifornia prices.

After reading this ... what do you think?

[David Spriggs]

"The Three Palms vineyard merlot from Sterling Vineyards, perhaps the most iconic California merlot of the past three decades".

For me, the Duckhorn "Three Palms" is the most iconic.
As for Washinton wines, other than the big names (Ch. St. Micelle, Columbia Crest, etc), they just don't get that much distribution in California.... and I suspect that is true for California wines in Washington. If we are strictly taking about under $14, then Washington probably has better values. But I could argue that Argentina, Chile, and Australia are better values than both of those. :)
-Dave-

[Andy Velebil]

As for Washinton wines, other than the big names (Ch. St. Micelle, Columbia Crest, etc), they just don't get that much distribution in California.... and I suspect that is true for California wines in Washington. If we are strictly taking about under $14, then Washington probably has better values. But I could argue that Argentina, Chile, and Australia are better values than both of those. :)
-Dave-

I agree Dave, I wish WA wines were easier to find here in Cali as I think the cooler climates of some of these areas would be very much up my alley. I've had only limited experience with WA wines, but have generally liked what I've had so far.

as to the article..I don't think they are necessarily better per se. But for sure there are better values out of WA, especially since many CA wine prices went through the roof a few years ago. My personal feelings are that CA wine makers got a little to carried away with raising prices and they're now paying the price. Given the current economy and lower high end wines sales out of this region I do hope they lower prices back to something more reasonable. I know my new vintage Cali wine buying has been cut way back as a result of the price hikes. I'm focusing more and more on Douro wine, not just because I love the region, but they offer far better price to quality ratio than Cali ones do.

[Roy Hersh]

I love CA wine! I also happen to like some WA wines. There has been a very significant improvement in the quality of what is being produced here in WA over the last decade to fifteen years. Andy is right on, that the cooler night time temps and blazing and longer, hot day times allow for more "heat summation days" here, while also injecting a better level of acidity.

I think there are a dozen world class WA wineries that can compete with just about any wine but the truly greatest wines in the world. Quilceda Creek, which is not one that I am a huge fan of, produces arguably the highest scoring wines even compared to first growth Bdx. year in and year out. The rest in the top tier are really very very good and a fraction of the price of insane cult CA Cabs which long ago had any semblance of QPR or even reality to the pricing, imo.

Nonetheless, there is no question that there are far more high end CA producers than here in WA. That said, I would agree with the author that overall, WA wines do provide better value for money on similar quality wines. It is a shame that more don't make it down to CA, but that has a ton more to do with the insular nature of restaurants and wine shops in CA, which pander to the wineries of the home-state. It has been that way for years. Groups like Wine Library, in New Jersey ... sell as much WA wine as anywhere in the nation, so it is really a matter of focus too.