A note from the Editor

Brrrrr! No matter if you're east or west of the mountains, it's cold out there. During this time of year, wine country lies dormant. Most vineyard managers get to rest while the grapes are sleeping and prepare for the upcoming season. Towards the end of the month, it will be time to start pruning. Water starts flowing where the cuts are made (bleeding) and the grapes will begin to waken - a truly amazing process combining nature and nurture.

This month is "Red Wine & Chocolate" throughout the Yakima Valley as well as other parts of wine country. Soon after is the annual Spring Barrel Tasting, so get ready to venture over as spring awakens wine country and enjoy these exciting events. It's a great way to start your spring.


Salut!
Jackie Thai
Editor
Washington Wine Country 

Constellation Brands Consolidates Operations in Wine Country

The Canandaigua, NY based conglomerate, Constellation Brands, is restructuring its Washington state brand operations. Due to an unsuccessful attempt to renegotiate their Woodinville winery lease, Columbia winery operations and production will be joining its partner brands in Sunnyside, Washington.

Never fear. Columbia Winery is currently searching for a new space in the Woodinville area to house their tasting room and VIP hospitality facilities on a smaller scale. Meanwhile, production of Columbia Winery wines will now be done alongside Covey Run in Sunnyside and bottling for all three brands, including Hogue Cellars, will be done at the Hogue production center in Prosser.

"We will have one bottling center of excellence in Prosser," stated Glenn Coogan Vice President of Northwest Operations.

Constellation Brands, the world's largest wine company, acquired former Hogue Cellars owner, Vincor International, in April of 2006 in a $1.3 billion merger. Now Constellation markets the three brands under two separate entities. Columbia is marketed by Icon Estates while Covey Run and Hogue, along with Ste Chapelle in Idaho, are taken to market by Vitas. Both of these entities are ran from the West Coast offices in San Francisco, California.

Together the brands make up a large chunk of the wine production in Washington using 20,000 tons of grapes annually, second only to Ste. Michelle Wine Estates. Washington CEO Magazine recently released a list of the "Top 25 Washington Wineries." The list was based on 2006 case production and showed Hogue Cellars at #3, Covey Run at #4 and Columbia Winery at the #7 spot. The remaining top 10 spots were Ste. Michelle Wine Estates Brands with Charles Smith's House Wine coming in at #10.

With this level of production and grape usage, it seems only natural for production of the Constellation Brands wines to be closer to the source. "The merger also helps to create a solidified wine production team. It's much easier for everyone to work together in one location," continued Coogan.

Winemakers for the three brands include Kerry Norton (Columbia), Co Dinn (Hogue) and Kate Michaud (Covey Run) while Hightower Cellars Owner and Winemaker Tim Hightower oversees the Eastern Washington operations of the brands.

Facts & Tidbits

Part Two: The Market for Wine

For 13 consecutive years, sales in the U.S. of wine have increased. Growing demand for wine is driven by changing demographic factors which have also favored wine consumption:

1. While baby boomers have long led wine consumption’s growth, their interest in wine is echoed in the tastes of their millennial generation children (that are of drinking age), the largest generation in American history. This group has increasingly switched from beer to spirits and wine, as reflected in Gallup’s 2004 finding.

2. Women make the majority of wine purchases. The preference of the millennial woman for wine over beer has also led to increased wine consumption among the 21-30 male cohort, as they increasingly consume wine in social situations.

3. Not only are American consumers buying more wine, but they are also buying more expensive wines as they seek higher quality products. The largest segment of the wine market today is priced between $8 and $15 per 750ml bottle, with the fastest growing segment being priced over $15. There is also increased growth in spending for wines over $30 per bottle.

from the Wine Institute
 

Living Wine Country

Along The Wine Road

Meet Butch Milbrandt:  Washington Wine Guru

He may be new to winemaking but Butch Milbrandt is no stranger to the Washington wine industry. The Milbrandt brothers, Butch and Jerry, planted their vineyards along Columbia Valley's Wahluke Slope in 1997. For the past decade, they have sold their fruit to many highly esteemed Washington wineries and now, they are using their fruit to produce their own wine which has already earned Outstanding Acclaim from Wine Enthusiast.

Colleagues refer to Butch as passionate, and business savvy. One might also say he's simply, well, smart. Not only has he taken his background in agriculture, real estate, wholesale and retail business to become a premier grape grower in Washington state, it seems his success is due, in part, to his ability to get the right people on the bus.

"When you're an owner/manager, you can't do it all," says Butch, "and as a newer vineyard, it was crucial that we bring on experienced and highly credible people to make things happen."

Butch is referring to respected viticulturist James McFerran and veteran winemaker Gordon "Gordy" Hill. McFerran was instrumental in the initial planting and farming of the vineyard and continues to maintain the high quality fruit Milbrandt Vineyards has come to be known for. New to the Milbrandt Vineyards family, Hill, formerly of Northstar Winery, has taken on the direction of winemaking for the Milbrandt brothers.

A new tasting room is currently under construction and will open its doors this Spring in Prosser's ever growing Vintner Village.

Q: "So, why Prosser?"

A: "We're very happy to be a part of Wine Yakima Valley. We knew we needed a destination and a face for the winery to strengthen our marketing capability. Prosser is the right choice for us."

Q: "How does it feel to be part of this industry?"

A: "It's great. I think being an active participant in the industry is crucial. We all have to do our part and play well together. We're all working towards common goals and the success of Washington wines."

Q: "Why did you decide to go from vineyard to winery?"

A: "It's a farmer's dream to become the middleman. In this case, we get to raise our crop, add value to it and see it to market. Our grapes have been well accepted and our name was appearing on a lot of labels. We felt it was time, that the doors were open and that we would be readily accepted."

So far, so good! Visit www.milbrandtvineyards.com. 



Get a Taste of the Destination

Wine Yakima Valley's Red Wine & Chocolate Weekend

Taste red. Savor chocolate. President's Day weekend throughout the Yakima Valley celebrates the distinctive and elegant pairing: red wine and chocolate. Visit any of the 52 wineries of Wine Yakima Valley February 16 & 17 and sample special pairings. Each winery will have a little something different to offer. 

Here are just a few of the delicious pairings that you will find along your way. Claar Cellars in Zillah will be serving wine in chocolate cups. Downtown Yakima winery Kana will be serving a decadent chocolate creation by Swiss trained pastry Chef Ivone Petzinger titled "Chocolate is Better Than Sex." Tapteil Vineyards on Red Mountain will be pairing their reds with their very own Tapteil truffles made with Scharffen Berger pure dark chocolate. 

Anyone can stop in to enjoy this fabulous weekend; however, event "ticket holders" will receive a little something extra. For $20 (proceeds go to Wine Yakima Valley) visitors enjoy exclusive benefits not available to the general public such as specialty pairings, library tastings and tours as well as a signature wine glass from the event. For tickets, visit www.wineyakimavalley.org.

Red Wine & Chocolate Pairings Try some of these 10 top wine and chocolate combinations to bring out the flavors of your favorite varietal. Don't forget some of the lesser known Italian varietals that are on the rise in WA. Pairings selected by Winemaker Scott Pontin of Pontin del Roza Winery in Prosser 1. Dark Chocolate and a Bordeaux blend 2. Chocolate-Covered Biscotti and Sangiovese   3. Orange Chocolate and Muscat (orange muscat grapes - yum!) 4. Chocolate with Nuts and Tawny Port 5. Milk Chocolate and Malbec 6. Cayenne Pepper Chocolate (Theo's) and Syrah 7. Chocolate-Dipped Fruit and Dolcetto 8. Chocolate Ganache Truffles and Nebbiolo 9. Chocolate Covered Cherries (Chukar Cherries) and Merlot 10. Chocolate Hearts with Vanilla Cream Filling with an oaky Cabernet Sauvignon  - the ultimate Valentine's Day pairing!

2007 City Revitalization Fund Recipients:  Banner Campaign Spreads Far & Wide

Washington Wine Country has announced three new grant recipients from their 2007 City Revitalization Fund Program. Now in its third year, the Fund awards grants to support Eastern Washington “wine town” revitalization projects that inject a wine country theme.

The Historic Downtown Prosser Association, the Wenatchee Downtown Association and the combined application from the Yakima Valley Visitors and Convention Bureau and the City of Yakima received matching grants totaling $10,975 to provide the resources to erect street banners throughout major tourist areas. The banners carry Washington Wine Country’s “Perfectly Balanced” campaign promoting the region as one of the top wine producing destinations in the nation. The entire campaign to date delivers over 62 million viewings each year by city, street, highway and visitor traffic.

As stipulated by the City Revitalization Fund, the recipients leveraged the grant monies by providing a local match for their projects. Such merchant and city organization cooperation comes as good news to Washington Wine Country.

“The impact of the Perfectly Balanced banner and billboard campaign in Eastern Washington has been phenomenal,” said Janet Leduc, Founding Director of Washington Wine Country. “Each year, three-quarters of a billion dollars are spent on travel in the region. The banners remind travelers that they are in the midst of one of our state’s rapidly growing treasures, its world-class wine country.”

In Prosser, approximately 25 Washington Wine Country banners will be hung by this summer. The Historic Downtown Association plans to expand the wine country theme that exists in other areas of Prosser to their downtown core where visitor traffic is ever increasing.

The Wenatchee Downtown Association developed a banner combining Washington Wine Country’s “Perfectly Balanced” campaign with art from their Taste of the Harvest event. Fifty of the banners will be on display in their downtown streets in time for the 2008 harvest event.

At least sixty banners will be installed along both sides of North First Street in Yakima. “North First Street is a major North arterial into the city core,” said John Cooper, President and CEO of the Yakima Valley VCB. “It’s our hope that this banner project will help ‘jump start’ more initiatives among the business owners and neighborhood to improve the corridor.”

Yakima was the first to adopt the banner campaign in 2005 along Yakima Avenue and parts of downtown. Until now, there has not been an association to undertake the project for the North First Street area. The VCB and city are installing the banners on behalf of the community.

For more information on the City Revitalization Fund, contact David Wheeler, dwheeler@winecountrywashington.org.