Wine & Dine

Paul Gregutt
Wine Adviser
Q. Apart from specific wineries to visit, what suggestions do you have for someone planning on visiting the Sonoma Valley this summer?
A. If you are planning to visit any popular wine region, what you want is good insider advice from a local. In Sonoma, local resident Tom Wark, who runs a PR firm for wine industry clients, also finds time to put together a very entertaining (and opinionated) blog called Fermentations (fermentation.typepad.com).
A recent posting offered some excellent advice on how and when to do your wine touring in the region, and with Tom’s permission I pass some of his tips along.
1) Leave the kids at home. Not much for kids to do in the area, according to Tom.
2) Visit in mid- to late spring. Right now is a great time, before the summer crowds (and heat) kick in.
3) Pick a hotel on or near the Sonoma Plaza, near restaurants, wine bars and shops.
4) Spend a day visiting Glen Ellen wineries and a second day visiting those around Kenwood. That will minimize driving distances.
5) Get a good map, and use it to explore roads off the beaten trail of the local Highway 12.
6) Visit local wine shops run by locals who know everyone and everything happening in the Valley.
7) Fly in and out of Sacramento. This is also my airport of choice. It’s small, friendly, no more than 90 minutes from Sonoma and you won’t have to dodge Bay area traffic jams.
Paul Gregutt, author of “Washington Wines and Wineries: The Essential Guide,” can be reached at wine@paulgregutt.com.

Paul Gregutt
Wine adviser
When it comes to selecting your wedding wines, here are my Top 10 Wedding Wine Tips:

1. Pick a wine theme. How about “Hometown Wines?” Where are the bride and bridegroom from? You might select wines from each of their hometown regions. Of course, this works best on the West Coast, but everyone is from somewhere that produces something — wine is made in every state of the union and on every continent save Antarctica. Another way to theme: When buying your wedding wines, organize them in groups of bride wines and bridegroom wines. Use the occasion to show how being together, they are far better than alone. The bride’s wines could be white and the bridegroom’s red; or the bridegroom’s dry and the bride’s sweet.
2. Ask the parents and/or older relatives and friends if they would like to clean out their cellars and donate some older wines. If you have anyone among your friends and family who has been collecting wines for any length of time, I guarantee they have more than a few bottles that should really be drunk, but are waiting for a special occasion.
3. Negotiate corkage fees well in advance with your caterer. Depending upon who is catering and where your event is being held, the corkage fees can range from zero to as much as $20 or $25 per bottle. If you are being asked to buy the wines on site, you are going to pay dearly for them. You’ll save a lot of money if you provide the wines. Just be sure that any per-bottle corkage charge has been clearly agreed upon. That should be part of the overall bid for the venue, the catering and the service. You will really save money if you find a venue that will agree to waive all corkage fees.
4. If you are working with a caterer, make certain that he or she can provide a dedicated wine steward for your event. This person will see that your wines are properly chilled, that there is plenty of wine open at all times, and that guests have an easy time getting their glasses filled. If there is to be a special Champagne toast, your wine steward can coordinate that as well. An agreed-upon hourly rate, plus a tip for good service, should give you a clear idea of the cost.
5. Rather than rent wine glasses, you may be able to buy them new. Rental wine glasses are expensive, generally not very good, and often smell of dishwasher detergent. You’ll use them once and never see them again. If you look around at any of the big box retailers, you’ll find glasses that are as cheap or cheaper than rentals. You might even use tumblers, which can work for all but the most expensive wines. Best of all, when the reception is over, you can bring them home and have a lifetime supply of wedding tumblers.
6. When stocking your wine bar, plan on an equal mix of white wine, dry rosé, red wine and bubbly. Figure on a half bottle per guest, and don’t buy more than three bottles of the same wine. Always buy in case quantities from a wine seller who will give you case discounts on mixed lots. Be sure to stock plenty of water (still and sparkling) and non-alcoholic alternatives as well.
7. Don’t bother worrying about matching the wine with the food. Much easier to have a nice assortment of wines and let your guests explore on their own. Let them do the matching; it’s more fun and less hassle. And it’s another reason that you are far better off with a range of wines, not cases and cases of a single brand. One exception here: If you plan to serve bubbly with the wedding cake, it should be a sweeter style. The best choice would be an Italian spumante, moscato d’Asti or Prosecco. Not the sugary California stuff!
8. Somewhere in the mix of wines should be a few special bottles. The wine steward/bartender can keep them under the counter for you. The bride and bridegroom, the wedding party, and perhaps a few close, wine-loving friends can be offered a glass of something a cut above the party wines. Discreetly, of course.
9. If you want to be really sneaky, buy a few bottles of a super premium wine (such as Plumpjack) sealed with a screwcap. Make sure your inexpensive wines are cork-sealed. Most guests will avoid the screwcapped wine, thinking it’s the cheap stuff.
10. Stash a bottle of really good Champagne in the bridal suite. Even if everything else that’s poured is plain old party wine, make sure that the last toast of the night is the best of the night.

The Wines
I suggest you find a single source for your purchases and work with a specific person to make your final selections. Ideally it should be someone you already know, or who comes recommended from a wine-knowledgeable friend or relation. Give that person a budget, a rough number of guests, and the following guidelines, and you are in business!

• Bubbly — You don’t want any cheap, sugary stuff from California. You want dry (brut) Champagnes or méthode champenoise (Champagne method) alternates. Spanish cavas and French crémants are welcome choices. For something inexpensive and domestic, try Domaine Ste. Michelle Blanc de Noirs.
• White wines — Get a good mix of dry and off-dry whites, avoiding the heavy and oaky styles. Be sure to include both riesling and chardonnay. This is a great category in which to get a bit adventurous. Try some less-familiar varietals from Italy, Spain or Austria.
• Rosé wines — Be sure to specify dry rosé. New releases from Washington are currently in the market and many are quite good. If you purchase rosé from elsewhere, ask for the 2006 vintage (rosé should always be fresh). Avoid “white” zinfandel (or “white” anything else) unless you want sweet soda pop.
• Red wines — Focus on young red wines from recent (2004 and 2005) vintages. Southern France, South America, southern Italy, most of Spain and Australia are all good sources for inexpensive reds. California and Oregon are not. Washington has some gems.

Pick of the Week
Hogue Cellars 2005 Shiraz, $7. Hogue Cellars wines have been rather spotty of late, but this well-made shiraz is a solid effort and a standout in a new lineup that marks a bit of a comeback for the brand. Included in the blend are both cabernet sauvignon and (believe it or not) a bit of lemberger — don’t ask me why. This is clean and crisp, and the fruit shows some tangy blackberry and black raspberry flavor. There is plenty of backing acid, and good varietal character.
Paul Gregutt, author of “Washington Wines and Wineries: The Essential Guide,” can be reached at wine@paulgregutt.com.

Paul Gregutt
Wine adviser
Q. We are planning on doing some wine touring in Napa and Sonoma this summer. Can you suggest any must-see wineries?
A. Visiting Napa, Sonoma or for that matter any of the widely varied wine country in California should certainly be a priority for anyone who loves wine. But it is almost impossible to make very specific recommendations since there are hundreds of tasting rooms in each major wine region.
Tasting rooms open constantly, and which ones you want to visit will depend mostly on your personal tastes, your timeline and your budget. Fortunately, a new guide to wine touring offers excellent and up-to-date advice. “California Wine Country” (Sunset Books, $19.95) takes advantage of the magazine’s extensive wine coverage and expertise. Some 29 maps provide big picture glimpses of wine-touring options from Mendocino to Baja.
Individual chapters are breezy and easy to skim, but contain good background essays, listings for wineries and non-winery things to do, suggestions for dining and lodging, and contact information including addresses, phone numbers and Web sites. It is always a good idea to check Web sites for special events, changes in schedules, and so on. But for a handy, current and user-friendly overview, this book is the best I’ve seen.
Paul Gregutt, author of “Washington Wines and Wineries: The Essential Guide,” can be reached at wine@paulgregutt.com.

Paul Gregutt
Wine adviser

This state has just reached an enological milestone: The 500th Washington winery recently joined the ranks. That in itself is reason to celebrate, and not a weekend goes by without a passel of wine-related activities that provide the opportunity to do so. A great resource for many of them is the Washington Wine Commission Web site: www.washingtonwine.org. Upcoming events on each side of the state offer wine enthusiasts unusual opportunities to taste, purchase and learn about Washington wines:
Vintage Walla Walla - May 31–June 2 at various venues in and around Walla Walla.
This is the Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance’s signature event, one that has been a real insider’s treat in past years. It follows the town’s wildly popular “Big Three” (Spring Release weekend, Balloon Stampede weekend, and Whitman Commencement weekend), and is therefore a bit in the shadows. Which is all just fine, because this is the wine-tasting event that the locals love most, and it is getting harder to get in as a result. Accommodations in Walla Walla are limited, so don’t plan on just showing up without a housing reservation.
Vintage Walla Walla 2007 will feature several new events. Among them is a Riedel stemware-tasting event on Thursday evening, several new and expanded educational classes, and Saturday picnics at area vineyards.
There is a strong food and wine focus to the weekend, as reflected in many of the seminars, with topics such as “Flavor Pairing,” “Cheese and Wine Pairing” and so on. Guest chefs are Pascal Sauton (Carafe Bistro, Portland), Jason Wilson (Crush, Seattle) and Bear Ulman (The Marc, Walla Walla). Also tied into the weekend is a Friday evening ArtWalk, highlighted by a special bronze pour at the Foundry.
The main event, of course, is the grand tasting, a sort of Taste Washington with an exclusive Walla Walla focus. More than 50 wineries will be pouring, and along with new releases, many will be offering library selections. Among those bringing rare, older wines are Abeja, Canoe Ridge, Cayuse, Dusted Valley, Dunham, L’Ecole N˚ 41, Leonetti, Reininger, Saviah, Trio, Va Piano, Walla Walla Vintners and Woodward Canyon.
The price of admission to the Grand Tasting is $125 per person. For complete ticket and event information, call 526-3117 or go to www.vintagewallawalla.com. Proceeds from the tasting and its associated auctions — many with large format bottles — go to benefit ArtWalla, a local arts organization.
My “Don’t Miss” winery for this event is Waters Winery, which has just opened its tasting room (at 416 N. Second Ave.).
Winemaker Jamie Brown has excellent credentials (James Leigh Cellars) and even better vineyard sources (he is the first winemaker to make a vineyard-designated wine from Leonetti’s Loess vineyard). Small lots of vineyard-designated syrah, cabernet sauvignon and Bordeaux blends are the specialty here. Waters has already established a reputation with some of the country’s top sommeliers, and a dedicated vineyard and winery are being readied near Pepper Bridge.
The winery’s current release is the Waters 2005 Columbia Valley Syrah ($25). It is a thoroughly delicious wine, showcasing bright, clean raspberry fruit against a foundation of firm, fine-grained tannins. Authoritative and substantial, it is a brilliant combination of finesse, tension and balance.
Not yet released, but being sold as futures, are three other exceptional syrahs:
Waters 2005 Loess Vineyard Syrah ($40) comes from a two-acre parcel of the Leonetti Cellar estate vineyard, planted in 2002. Dark berries, black cherries and rum (from one-year-old French oak) are buttressed by snappy natural acids. This wine has high-toned aromas and plenty of power; it needs just a bit more time to knit together and bring the barrel flavors into focus.
Waters 2005 Forgotten Hills Vineyard Syrah ($40) comes from a 10-year-old vineyard owned by Walla Walla artist Jeffrey Hill. It’s tight, young, tart and sappy, with fruit tasting of salmonberries and blueberries, with hints of mineral and flint. (There is also a 2005 Pepper Bridge Vineyard Syrah, untasted). For purity and polish, these syrahs are world-class.
Washington Wine Highway - May 26 and 27; 11 a.m.- 4 p.m. daily at Chateau Ste. Michelle, Woodinville.
If a gala, outdoor wine tasting sounds like a fine way to spend your Memorial Day weekend, you may want to check out the second annual Washington Wine Highway event.
The grounds will be set for casual strolling among regional pavilions highlighting wines from the Yakima Valley, Red Mountain, Walla Walla Valley, Columbia Valley and Puget Sound appellations. Along with wines and winemakers, each pavilion will feature food purveyors and travel specialists from the featured region.
The idea behind the Washington Wine Highway is to allow visitors to take “a mini road trip” through Washington wine country. Unlike most such events, here you may actually purchase wines as well as gift certificates from the restaurants. The list of participating wineries is impressive, and includes many boutiques and brand new producers.
The restaurants are also impressive. Among them are Bellevue’s splashy new 0/8 Seafood Grill, Woodinville’s Barking Frog, El Gaucho, the Herbfarm, Salty’s on Alki, Troiani, Union Square Grill, Waterfront Seafood Grill and Wild Ginger.
For ticket and event information go to www.washingtonwinehighway.com/event. General admission is $65 for either day, $110 for both. On-site parking will cost an extra $25 a day. The Washington Wine Highway is tied in with (and co-sponsored by) The Bellevue Collection, whose first annual Culinary & Wine Showcase (May 23-27) is also putting the spotlight on Washington wines and restaurants. See www.bellevuesquare.com/event/event.php for complete details on wine tastings, seminars and winemaker dinners.
My “don’t miss” stop on the Washington Wine Highway is Hightower. This Red Mountain boutique will be harvesting their first estate vineyard grapes this fall. I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Tim and Kelly Hightower and taste through every vintage of cabernet and merlot they have released, beginning in 1997 (when the winery was in Woodinville).
The wines have been remarkably consistent, though fruit sources have changed. All eight cabernets are in fine condition, as are the merlots (which were first made in 2000). Current releases, from 2003 and 2004, are stylistically in line and show continued, steady improvement.
Hightower Cellars 2004 Merlot ($28) is a smooth blend of Red Mountain and Horse Heaven Hills merlot, with a generous (18 percent) supplement of cabernet sauvignon. Satiny smooth, glossy and tightly wound fruits taste of ripe raspberry, and the bright acidity adds intensity to the toasty, coffee-inflected finish.
Hightower Cellars 2004 Red Mountain Red ($50) is a dark, dense, ripe and oaky blend that wraps the fruit in rich layers of smoke, cedar, honey and butterscotch. If you are looking for a Washington take on ripe, high-octane California reds, this is a good place to start.
Hightower Cellars 2003 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($35), a rich, ripe and chocolatey cab, hits your mouth in all the right spots. It brings the tastes that consumers love right to front and center — sweet fruit and rich chocolate.
Pick of the Week
Domaine de la Tourmaline 2005 Muscadet “Saint-Fiacre,” $14.
Muscadet is forever stuck with the oyster wine image, and it does set up an oyster like nobody’s business. But why stop there? These are wines that capture the delight and delicacy of a glorious spring day. Wines to chill and sip from tumblers, sitting on your deck or patio, feeling a warm breeze (finally!). This wine, from Chadderdon Selections, captures all that and more. It’s fresh, creamy and surprisingly rich, while keeping the alcohol low and the acids high. Bring on the picnic food, with or without oysters. (Distributor: Elliott Bay)
Paul Gregutt, author of “Washington Wines and Wineries: The Essential Guide,” can be reached at wine@paulgregutt.com.

Paul Gregutt
Wine adviser

Q.We would like to start a small wine tasting group to meet regularly and learn a bit more about wine. Can you suggest a format for organizing a home tasting group?
A. There are many ways to do this, but if you really want it to be a learning, rather than purely social occasion, I would suggest the following:

• Set a regular date (monthly if possible) and get it on everyone’s calendar.
• Choose a specific topic, such as a specific grape (riesling), a specific place (Yakima Valley), a specific vintage, a specific produce, etc. Keep it as focused as possible, for each tasting.
• Either everyone brings a bottle, or one person buys all wine for the night.
• Figure one bottle per person, 12 people maximum (8-10 is ideal).
• Strip off capsules, pull corks and place bottles in plain brown bags.
• Taste a bottle at a time — one ounce pours — and make notes.
• Remember tasters are sampling and spitting, not drinking.
• Go through the wines again, discuss, and vote (like, didn’t like, favorite, etc.).
• Reveal its identity after you go through each wine the second time.
  Have a good reference book handy such as “Oxford Companion to Wine,” “The New Sotheby’s Wine Encyclopedia,” or “The Wine Bible,” and read some highlights out loud.

If you want to add a challenge, have the host put a “ringer” into the mix and see if anyone can guess which wine does not fit the evening’s topic.
Most importantly, provide food, water, spit cups and a dump bucket. Have fun!

Paul Gregutt, author of “of “Washington Wines and Wineries: The Essential Guide,” can be reached at wine@paulgregutt.com.

Paul Gregutt
Wine adviser

If you Google “Value Wines,” all hell breaks loose. I get about 1,290,000 results — which means there are far more things being written about value wines than there are wine brands in existence.
There is little disagreement among the vast majority of wine consumers that what we are all looking for are the bottles that provide an extra measure of pizzazz at an every day price. Though I taste (and spit) thousands of different wines in a given year, the wines that I purchase, cellar and drink are always — without exception — wines that I perceive to be values.
Value wines don’t necessarily have to cost under $12. Not only do the wines provide value, in terms of relative peer-group quality, they are also cheap — in real dollars. These are the wines we want to bring home and introduce to the family. They are the keepers.
Two regions whose least-expensive wines consistently deliver such value are southern France and Argentina. For many reasons (but most often, I believe, because the cost of land and/or labor is significantly less than in many other places) the cheap wines from both places have a high percentage of successes.
When I say success, I mean that these are wines (mostly red) that have not been tampered with, tarted up with oak chips or residual sugar. They don’t need a truck, camper, weasel or platypus on the label to attract your attention. They have muscle and verve, and they let the grapes, whatever they may be, express nuances beyond just ripe, jammy fruit. They are, in a word, authentic.
Jean-François Arnoux visited Seattle recently and poured a selection of his family’s Rhône wines. As is so often the case, he began the conversation by proudly displaying a copy of the original land grant made to his ancestor — in 1717.
Talk about cheap land! Arnoux, about to complete his family’s third century of winemaking, is headquartered in the picturesque village of Vacqueyras, which has emerged in recent times as a bargain wine hot-spot for those who love grenache-based, southern Rhône wines. Apart from a dazzling array of Vacqueyras, Arnoux & Fils produces simple Côtes du Rhône, Côtes du Rhône Villages and Côtes du Ventoux wines in a no-frills, Old World style.
Some fruit is sourced from the family vineyards, some is bought, but all comes from low-yield vines. Though all these wines carry the Arnoux name, the labels are a bit confusing, with different designations, bottle styles and graphics. Never mind. Your wine seller can hunt these down (they are distributed by Grape Expectations).
Arnoux “Seigneur de Lauris” 2003 Côtes du Rhône, $8. From 40-year-old vineyards, this blend of 60 percent grenache and 40 percent syrah is pleasantly aromatic, a pretty rose/plum color, with scents of rose petals, flavors of sour plums, and a finish of chalky tannins. Drink it with grilled steak and spring mushrooms.
Arnoux “Seigneur de Lauris” 2003 Côtes du Ventoux, $8. Here the blend is reversed: 65 percent syrah and 35 percent grenache. I found more of the meat, garrigue and herb scents characteristic of the Rhône, with more tannin, more herb, and more overall authenticity.
Arnoux “Vieux Clocher” 2003 Cairanne Côtes du Rhône Villages, $10. The CdR-Villages designation indicates a higher quality level, and this wine delivers. A ripe, pruney nose leads into flavors of cooked prune, fig Newton and earth. It’s a bit over-ripe but not over-extracted, and finishes without any heat or burn or aggressive tannins. It’s a rustic, but very flavorful wine.
More value wines
As wrote in a recent column, Argentine malbecs have long been that country’s best red wine effort. Here’s one that has just come into Seattle from Pinnacle International Imports. The brand is Gouguenheim (some distant relation to Guggenheim, as in art museum), and the star of the show is the Gouguenheim 2005 malbec. To begin with, the packaging is stellar — simple, classy graphics, fine paper stock and a hefty bottle. But a snazzy package means nothing if the wine can’t measure up. This malbec can easily pass for a wine that costs three times as much. Spicy and dense, it’s packed with raspberry and cherry, floating on a base of acid and rock.
Two other Gouguenheim wines to look for: the 2005 syrah (sappy and succulent, with berry, cherry and chocolate); and the 2005 cabernet sauvignon. All three wines are 100 percent varietal, grown in high-altitude vineyards in a desert climate. They are made by Bodegas y Vinedos Valle Escondido S.A. Oh, I almost forgot. The price: $10 a bottle.
Such bargains as these may seem elusive at best when you scan the shelves for domestic wines. Sadly, California’s cheapies are mostly corporate concoctions that resemble soda pop more than wine. Oregon and Washington have only a handful of wineries that produce wines in quantities significant enough to kick in cost-effective value pricing. I’m afraid that many consumers overlook the best of these brands (familiarity breeds contempt?) — Chateau Ste. Michelle.
Under the supervision of recently installed head winemaker Bob Bertheau, Ste. Michelle has ramped up the quality of its chardonnays and red wines at all price levels. But the least-expensive white wines, labeled simply Columbia Valley, still offer some of Washington’s (and the nation’s) very best values. Vintages are changing, so be sure to look for the latest releases as noted here.
Chateau Ste. Michelle 2006 Pinot Gris, $10. Fresh and crisp, mingling light citrus and green apple fruit with interesting herbal enticements of white pepper and tarragon.
Chateau Ste. Michelle 2005 Chardonnay, $10. Soft and creamy, this sets the stage for the winery’s bigger, oakier single vineyard chardonnays. Mixed stone fruits, pineapple and an elegant, full-bodied mouthfeel.
Chateau Ste. Michelle 2005 Sauvignon Blanc, $10. Clean and detailed, with citrus, dried herbs and no new oak. It leaves you with a hint of flint and an irresistible urge to pour another glass.
Chateau Ste. Michelle 2006 Riesling, $7. Chateau Ste. Michelle and its sister brand Columbia Crest are together the leading riesling producers in the country. This 2006 is a little light, off-dry, with flavors of peach, pear and apricot.
Chateau Ste. Michelle 2005 Semillon, $7. With 22 percent sauvignon blanc in the blend, this delivers flavors of fig and melon along with fresh grain and a bit of spice. It’s balanced and crisp — a good summer sip.
Pick of the Week
Chateau Ste. Michelle 2006 Dry Riesling, $7. Dry riesling, which used to be an odd sidebar to a dead category, has blossomed into national stardom. This textural, complex wine delights with scents of blossom and citrus rind. It retains just enough residual sugar to broaden the fruit flavors across the palate, leading into a long and nicely detailed finish. Truly a superb and versatile food wine.
Paul Gregutt, author of “Washington Wines and Wineries: The Essential Guide,” can be reached at wine@paulgregutt.com.

Paul Gregutt
Wine adviser

Q. I am curious how you handle the wines you evaluate and score. Do you stand them up for at least a day? Do you decant the wines prior to tasting and if so for how long?
I know Wine Press Northwest decants the wines they rate and then pours it back into the bottle right after pouring it into the decanter. They call it double decanting. Do you have a standard method?
A. These are certainly fair questions to ask. But to summarize: I taste wines in the most controlled conditions possible, where the stemware and environment are favorable to give the wines the best possible showing. Most of the time I am tasting brand new wines, and they are subject to a myriad of ills. I want to do all I can to make certain they are rested, not bottle-shocked or travel-sick, and that there are no interfering aromas, noises, foods, etc. That means I stand them up (often for a week or more), I use good stemware, and I give them the most important elements: time and attention. Some of my tastings are done blind, most not.
Sometimes wines are decanted, but not as a general practice. I taste in peer group flights, no more than a dozen wines or so at a time. I return to the wines frequently over a period of hours, sometimes days, and try them both with and without food. If I suspect that I have had an “off” bottle, I try to taste a second bottle. I sometimes taste with winemakers so that I can get their comments.
I taste wines thoroughly as soon as they are officially released, and use those tasting notes as the basis for all of my writing. If I have the opportunity to re-taste after some months have gone by, I compare notes and make any changes necessary.
Paul Gregutt, author of “Washington Wines and Wineries: The Essential Guide,” can be reached at wine@paulgregutt.com.

Paul Gregutt
Wine Adviser

The universe of scents and flavors is as rich and multifaceted as the realm of music. This stunning diversity is a large part of wine’s allure, but also the biggest challenge to someone wanting to learn. Where to begin?
Build your knowledge by expanding on what you know and like. The wines of Western Australia are a natural choice for anyone who loves Washington wines. Along with the odd coincidence that Western Australia and Washington share the WA abbreviation, their wines have a lot in common.
Just as Washington wine styles are quite separate and distinct from California, so do Western Australian wines differ from the more familiar Australian exports - the tropical, oaky chardonnays and thick, jammy shirazes. If your palate is already attuned to Washington scents and flavors, the jump to Western Australia will be as natural.
Both WAs make a wide range of wines, and have vineyards planted in a variety of marginal (good for wine grapes) locations. Both rely heavily on irrigation, and use it advantageously. Although Western Australia as a whole is unfamiliar to most wine drinkers, it includes a great many subregions, each with a distinctive climate and varied strengths in winemaking.
This brief column cannot begin to do justice to the region’s many successes, but I will try to provide some quick guidelines. Riesling is a wine that is experiencing a global renaissance, and in the Great Southern part of Western Australia - the coolest region - the Rieslings are particularly fine. These are often bone-dry, thrillingly racy and textural, vivacious, tongue-tickling wines.
In this market you can find the Rocky Gully 2005 Dry Riesling ($15), from the Frankland River section of Great Southern. It’s crisp and elegant, with oily acidity, bright mineral and citrus cutting through, and a bit of petrol in the finish. (Cavatappi distributes)
Other producers whose Great Southern Rieslings are well worth watching for include Goundrey, Alkoomi, Ferngrove, Houghton, Howard Park and Plantagenet.
On Australia’s southwest coast, where the Southern and Indian oceans converge, is the region known as Margaret River. Vasse Felix, Moss Wood, Cullen, Leeuwin Estate and Cape Mentelle are the most famous producers, but Margaret River is home to more than 120 wineries and almost 10,000 acres of vines. Super-premium wines are the norm here - don’t look for penguins, kangaroos or wallabies on these labels. You pay a bit more, but you get extraordinary wines.
Among the white wines, the chardonnays are excellent, vivid, driven by fresh, natural acid - sometimes stainless steel fermented, sometimes matured in oak, but quite delicious. Various combinations of sauvignon blanc and semillon (sometimes called simply SBS) are also made; for me, these are the most exciting white wines for their seamless blend of green berries, herbs and citrus, often underscored with a pleasing bitterness. Margaret River reds may be a bit challenging at first, but they offer firm, structured fruit, good length and some herbal elements reminiscent of Bordeaux.
Taken as a whole, Western Australia has a book’s worth of terroir, vineyards, wineries and pioneering tales (many involving kangaroos - in the vineyard, not on the bottle). Because the just-completed 2007 harvest was a very difficult one throughout Australia (fires, drought and other woes), it is anticipated that the country’s wine glut of recent years will soon dry up. Prices for these prestigious wines will most likely begin to climb in the next year or so. A visit to the western United States later this month by a group of producers is sure to excite interest from the trade.
I cannot say enough great things about this region. These are authentic wines, stylish and natural, balanced and complex. They have a vivacious acidity that amplifies the whites, and muscular tannins, laced with herbs that bring the reds into a firm, sculpted, earthy European framework but with distinctly New World fruit. Listed here are a few of the producers and vintages that are currently available in the Northwest.

Recommended from Cape Mentelle
(Alaska distributor):
2006 Sauvignon Blanc Semillon, $16. An assertive, delicious, tangy, penetrating SBS that walks the line between a fine Sancerre and a New Zealand sauv blanc.
2004 Chardonnay, $24. There is plenty of oak in the nose, backed with mature flavors of tropical fruits. Rich, ripe and smooth.
2003 “Trinders” Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot, $19. Dark, satiny and very herbal, with mushroom and olive, cherry/berry fruit, and silky tannins.
2004 Shiraz, $24. Closer in style to our own syrahs, this has got lift, verve, bright acid and a lovely citrus component.

Recommended from Leeuwin Estate:
2004 Riesling “Art Series.” Dry, papery and intense.
2003 Chardonnay. A lovely wine, with concentration, detail and sweet, ripe, peachy fruit.
2000 Cabernet Sauvignon. Herbal, with some green tannins, along with solid, chewy fruit.
Recommended from Evans & Tate (Grape):
2005 Chardonnay, $18. Plenty of oak, but enough fruit to back it up and pack the palate with rich flavors.
2003 Shiraz, $18. Good, dense fruit, sappy and thick, lots of new oak, with some thickness to the tannins and a supple muscularity to the fruits.
Recommended from Vasse Felix:
2005 “Adams Road” Chardonnay. There is plenty of oak here, but the fruit has the acid and muscle to stand up to it, with tangy orange, Meyer lemon, pineapple and a bit of pink grapefruit.
2003 “Adams Road” Shiraz. Clean, immaculate, persistent black cherry fruit flavor, with excellent weight, structure and depth.
Recommended from MadFish (Budget label for Howard Park):
2006 Riesling. Clean, fresh and focused, with a hint of residual sugar.
2006 Sauvignon Blanc. Grassy, herbal and pungent, light tropical fruit.
2006 Chardonnay. The bestseller, all stainless, melon and peach fruit.
2004 Shiraz. Clean, bright and packed with berry fruit.
Recommended from Howard Park
2006 Riesling. Great acid and concentration, with grapefruit, lime and citrus.
2005 Chardonnay. Again you find the crisp acid, elegant styling and persistent citrus flavors.
2004 “Leston” Shiraz. Smoky, smooth and concentrated with a powerful finish.
Recommended from Watershed
2005 “Awakening” Sauvignon Blanc. Grassy and sharp, with green berries, crisp pineapple, hints of nettles and fresh herbs.
2006 “Shades” Sauvignon Blanc Semillon. For lovers of crisp white wines, sweet grassy scents and flavors, and moderate (12.5 percent) alcohol levels, this wine is a home run.
2005 “Unoaked” Chardonnay. The lack of oak lets the fruit shine — cantaloupe, white peach, sweet apple with a mid-palate sensation of texture and weight, and plenty of acid to lift the finish.
2004 Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot. Critics often name Margaret River as the premier cabernet region in Australia. If you value depth, texture and nuance, and if you don’t mind some herbal, mushroomy elements in the wine, you will be seduced.

Pick of the Week
Concannon Vineyard 2005 “Select Vineyards” Chardonnay, $8.
Just based on the heft of the bottle (massive!) and the overall look and feel of the package (classy), this wine seems like a steal. But most importantly, the juice inside delivers the goods. If you like a well-constructed California chardonnay, not too oaky, showing bright, smooth, sweet tropical fruit and plenty of polish and texture, look no farther. (Young’s – Columbia)

How To Find recommended Wines
Unless noted, all recommendations are currently available, though vintages may sometimes differ. All wine shops and most groceries have a wine specialist on staff. Show them this column, and if they do not have the wine in stock, they can order it for you from the local distributor (noted in parentheses).

Paul Gregutt, author of “Washington Wines and Wineries: The Essential Guide,” can be reached at wine@paulgregutt.com.