I never had the honor of meeting David Lake, but I had the pleasure of enjoying his wine for many years, with two memories clearly standing out with these experiences.

One of the most enjoyable Washington wine experiences was at a Taste WA seminar entitled, "An Ode to David Lake". The flight featured eight wines, including an '83 Cellarmaster's Riesling, a '91 Otis Vineyard Cab, a '92 Red Willow Cab, and a '95 Red Willow Syrah, each matched to a more recent release. I will never forget that 1983 Cellarmaster's Riesling Columbia Valley (9.1%), a wine that offered a transformative experience in terms of my appreciation for Washington riesling.

On a more recent occasion last spring, we opened a 1996 David Lake Signature Red Willow Vineyard "Milestone" Merlot (13%), a blend comprising 15% cab franc. This bottle, which had been a gift from my father-in-law, Bob, eventually became the oldest Washington wine in my cellar. Although nothing spectacular, this David Lake wine was intriguing, offering some fruit on the nose, along with an earthy funk to it. It was delicate but rich on the palate, with smooth, silky tannins on the finish. Experiencing David Lake's merlot brought me back to 1996, the year I moved to Seattle and started enjoying Washington wine, a lot of which was this variety.

From 1979 to 2006, David Lake established quite a legacy in Washington state. He was the first to introduce wine consumers to Washington syrah, cabernet franc, and pinot gris, along with the state's first single-vineyard bottlings. While the grapes Lake used were cultivated in the New World, his winemaking style was that of the Old World, favoring an approach that produced low alcohol, food-friendly wines. What a gifted winemaker David Lake was and remains in every bottle opened and every glass poured.

Here is list of others celebrating Lake's legacy:

Andy Perdue of Wine Press Northwest
Paul Gregutt of The Wine Enthusiast
Sean Sullivan of Washington Wine Report
Vivian of Wine and Beer of Washington State
Jancis Robinson
NY Times Obit