Two of my favorite wine columnists/critics, Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher, recently offered some high praise for Washington syrah, tasting through over fifty wines and then singling out half a dozen as their favorites. Check out the video above or you can read the details at The Wall Street Journal site. Here is their overall assessment of Washington syrah:

As a group, these are the most exciting red wines being made in America today that you might actually find on a shelf.

This is a strong testament not only to the quality of syrah in Washington state, but more importantly the amazing wines coming from Walla Walla Valley producers. Five of the six winemakers behind Dorothy and John's favorite syrahs are based in Walla Walla. And if further evidence wasn't needed to highlight this special region, three of the six favorite wines were comprised of Walla Walla Valley fruit.

One other thing to note about the approach Dorothy and John take when writing about wine is their emphasis on highlighting their favorites, rather than calling out these wines as the "best". I wish more folks covering wine, both old and new media types, would follow their lead and stop using the ubiquitous yet gratuitous phrase "best wines".

Congrats to all Washington syrah producers and especially to those highlighted as Dorothy and John's favorites.