If you're looking for a last minute gift for someone who enjoys wine, I suggest giving them something that will provide a sense of place: a VinMap. VinMaps are the creation of Suzi Surbey, a cartographer who has transformed wine producing countries, states, and regions into beautiful expressions of wine geography. Suzi has recently released an updated map of Washington, detailing the state's AVAs and 500 wineries. If your interests extend beyond the Pacific Northwest, then Suzi has maps of specific wine regions and the major wine producing countries around the world. About a year ago, I purchased individual maps...

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Posted by Thad at 08:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Fall is always a busy time for wineries, with harvest bringing in the new vintage and the previous years' bottlings being released. It seems Paul Gregutt, wine columnist for The Seattle Times, has been just as busy crafting some enjoyable and insightful pieces on the Pacific Northwest wine scene. Terroir Is Not A Small Dog! - an excerpt from Paul's new book, "Washington Wines & Wineries", which should be a good read considering the witty approach he takes with this piece about Washington state vineyards. Acquiring A Taste - a recent cover story for the Pacific Northwest magazine's annual wine...

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Posted by Thad at 01:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Andy Perdue at Wine Press Northwest has put together an interesting ranking of the top ten vineyards in Washington and Oregon. For the Washington ranking, Andy surveyed several winemakers who had at least 15 Washington vintages behind them and source their fruit from several vineyards. For the Oregon list, it is unclear how he came up with the ranking, but nonetheless it serves as a very useful guide for wine from that state. In reading the list, you may not find one of your favorite estate vineyards, as Andy only covered those places that primarily sold fruit to other wineries....

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Posted by Thad at 07:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The cooler temps and shortening days here in the Pacific Northwest signal the harvest season is upon us and with it comes crush. While reading the updates on this year's harvest, I am reminded of Brian Doyle's excellent book, "The Grail: A Year Ambling & Shambling Through an Oregon Vinyard in Pursuit of the Best Pinot Noir Wine in the Whole Wild World". If you have ever been curious about what it's like to work in a vineyard and/or winery during crush, then this is the book to read. In this wonderful account, Doyle shares the year he spent...

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Posted by Thad at 09:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

With just one day left in June, I am suddenly realizing what little has been done in the way of my getting out and exploring the places producing wine in the Pacific Northwest. To be fair, a couple of trips took me away to Colorado for vacation and then Oklahoma for a family visit. But even still, the rest of month seemed to have slipped away. Fortunately, I have been able to travel virtually to wine country by following the posts of a couple of fellow Washington wine bloggers. Both Gene of Seattle Wine Blogger and Catie of Through the...

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Posted by Thad at 12:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)