A little while back we sent our Vineyard Rascal off on a quest for Discovery in the faraway lands of America. Not on the Santa Maria though – she flew with BA.
Rebecca’s mission was to find new and exotic wines from the Western state of Washington, sitting just above California.
Sounds great, right? “Lucky bugger”, you’re probably grumbling, ‘cos we certainly were, imagining scenes reminiscent of Sideways or A Good Year.
Well, the reality was actually quite different. There was no West Coast party or relaxation on this adventure, but intense lengthy travel from vineyard to vineyard. Rebecca didn’t mind though, she is the vineyard rascal after all, and she’s very excited about the wines from this region:
“This relatively young industry is on a quest to deliver amazing wines and this was reflected in the best they had to offer; elegant, restrained and fruit driven with velvety tannins. Washington State has grown from under 300 wineries in 2003 to just under a 1,000 today. The growers and wine-makers, without exception, were enthusiastic, dynamic and thrilled to be part of this wonderful wine producing state.”
Alongside the talented winemakers, the outstanding climate of Washington state has meant that 45% of the wines coming out of it have received a score of 90+ points from Wine Spectator, topping France, Spain, Italy and California. Despite this, these same wines are between 33-50% cheaper than all of the latter regions!
The oldest and one of the most prominent appellations of Washington, by the way, is called Rattlesnake Hills. How about that for a selling point.
With all that in mind, our Vineyard Rascal was so impressed that she returned with not one, but two new and exclusive wineries to add to our portfolio.
First up is Savage Grace.
Named, not just after its husband and wife owners, Michael and Grace Savage, but also to represent the struggle of the grape as it grows (savage) before it can produce a wine that is delicate, balanced, approachable yet expressive (grace/Grace).
Next we have Two Mountain Winery.
With 5 generations of farming and a love of land in their blood, and after developing their knowledge of wine in Europe and greater Washington respectively, the Rawn brothers bought the very same land that they were raised on in 2006.
Between them, we have a range of six absolutely stunning reds and whites. All of them are vegan, and all bar one are Organic and Sustainably-made, for those of you following our Sustainable Wine campaign.
What more could you possibly ask for?
A sample?