From Paul Gregutt's column in today's Seattle Times:

Wednesday, November 2, 2005
Wine Adviser: Strengths, surprises from Spokane

By Paul Gregutt

When it comes to wines and wineries, Spokane is the Woodinville of
Eastern Washington.

Their wineries and tasting rooms are close to consumers, not
vineyards. Passionate newcomers have set up shop in the past few
years, making very exciting and often very affordable wines, in a
range of styles. Older, anchor wineries — specifically Arbor Crest,
Latah Creek and Mountain Dome — continue to offer excellent value and
reliable, consistent quality. Spokane's winters are a bit too raw for
grapevines. Though some equally northern vineyards are planted farther
west, the Inland Empire, at least to my knowledge, has not found a way
to grow good wine grapes. There is no Spokane "terroir" or even a
unifying style. The wineries purchase from widely separated vineyards,
and each winemaker has marked his/her own unique stylistic territory.
After tasting dozens of new releases, I was pleased to find that they
offer, taken all together, a full range of Washington best grapes and
strengths, and a few surprises as well. Here are some highlights.

Arbor Crest

Founded in 1982, this is the region's biggest producer. Its
spectacular tasting room is Cliff House, a national historic landmark.
The winemaker is Kristina Mielke-van Löben Sels, daughter of one of
the founders. Arbor Crest makes a full line of bright, sappy red wines
and consistently one of Washington's best sauvignon blancs. (Northwest
Wine Co. distributes)

Arbor Crest 2003 Sauvignon Blanc; $8. A firm, succulent style of
sauvignon blanc, lightly toasty, with good fruit flavors that fall
right on the cusp between citrus and stone fruits.

Arbor Crest 2002 Cabernet Franc; $16. Smooth and chocolatey, with
supple cassis and plum fruit. Tannins are thick but soft, tasting of
roasted coffee, leaf and stem.

Barrister

Pick of the week


Townshend Cellar Vortex Red; $15. This warm, ripe blend of cabernet,
merlot and cab franc mixes fruit from four different vintages. It's
pre-cellared and ready to enjoy, a big, rustic, ripe cherry-flavored
wine that finishes with a sweet streak of brown sugar. (Alaska)

Greg Lipsker and Michael White made their first wines just four years
ago but are moving quickly to turn Barrister into a 2,500-case
operation. A new winery building — a three-story brick warehouse in
Spokane's rapidly improving Davenport Arts District — was purchased in
2004; the renovated tasting room is open on weekends. Cabernet franc
has been their most successful wine to date, but the latest releases
of syrah, cabernet sauvignon and merlot are every bit as good.
(Self-distributed)

Barris ter 2003 Syrah; $26. Sensational fruit, co-fermented with
viognier, explodes with whiff after whiff of mineral, bacon fat, wild
berry and citrus rind. Flavors follow in a glorious rainbow.

Barrister 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon; $29. Barrister's first cab, it's
tarry, smoky, dark and dense. Black cherry, ripe berry and espresso
are wrapped together and spiced up with sniffs of fresh-cut tobacco.

Caterina

Caterina winemaker Mike Scott brought steady improvement to Caterina
wines during the 1990s, until a complicated turn of events led to his
departure to start his own winery (Lone Canary). Since then,
Caterina's red-wine releases have backed up. Monica Meglasson is now
winemaker, and her new vintages of viognier and sauvignon blanc show
real promise. The jury is still out on the reds. (Self-distributed)

Caterina 2003 Willard Family Vineyard Viognier; $20. Pretty lime,
tangerine and orange peel scents lead into soft and smooth fruit
flavors of rose petals and orange peel.

Caterina 2002 Sauvignon Blanc; $15. A dry style, which begins with
plenty of herbal components, then develops some pretty cotton-candy
scents as it warms in the glass. Drinking at its best right now.

Grande Ronde

Grande Ronde Cellars, begun in 1997, maintains a focus on red wines
from Walla Walla vineyards. Michael Manz (of Mountain Dome) is the
winemaker. Though the red wines are sourced from excellent sites, it
was the winery's chardonnay that stood out in my tastings, perhaps
because California's David Ramey is the consultant. (Self-distributed)

Grande Ronde 2002 Chardonnay; $20. A California-style chardonnay, with
a creamy, textured mouthfeel. It's still quite fresh, though the
youthful acidity is rounding out a bit.

Latah Creek

Mike Conway made wine at Parducci, Worden and Hogue before opening
Latah Creek in 1982. His wines have always been value-oriented,
everyday, everyman wines, and they show a confident, veteran hand at
work. Most recently, the winery's best efforts have been its
rieslings, muscats and lovely, Prosecco-style Muscat Canelli. (Vehrs
distributes)

Latah Creek 2004 Johannis-berg Riesling; $8. A classic Washington
riesling, bright, fresh, crisp and clean, with a sweet background wash
of honey under the ripe peach and apple flavors.

Latah Creek 2004 Muscat Canelli (Washington); $10. This fruity delight
has lots of spritz and peaches. It's both sweet and tart, and very
lightly bubbly, almost like a Prosecco.

Lone Canary

Mike Scott is a veteran Spokane winemaker who started his own winery
in 2002. Originally destined to be named Wild Canary, a nickname for
the goldfinch (the state bird), Scott ran a-fowl of another alcoholic
product named for a wild bird. Hence, Lone Canary. His sensitive,
low-key, European approach to winemaking often recalls the similar
style of Columbia's David Lake. (Vehrs distributes)

Lone Canary 2003 Rosso; $20. Mostly sangiovese, this delicious red
blend is nicely graced with leafy, herbal tobacco flavors, much like
true Chianti.

Lone Canary 2004 Sauvignon Blanc; $10. An elegant, creamy style.
Though light, it is neither thin nor watery, just unassuming and very
food-friendly.

Mountain Dome

Michael Manz and his son Eric share winemaking duties at this
dedicated producer of méthode champenoise sparkling wines. Outside of
Oregon's Argyle, they are making the best bubbly in the Northwest, and
occasionally rise to Champagne-quality level. (Unique distributes)

Mountain Dome NV Rosé; $25. The rosé is barrel-fermented, barrel-aged
pinot noir. It shows fine, pretty bubbles and a nice core of sweet
cherry fruit.

Mountain Dome NV Brut; $16. This lush, fruity blend is mostly from the
2001 vintage. A delicious sparkling wine with crisp, fleshy, green
apple flavors.

Robert Karl

Robert Karl Cellars hit a home run with their first wine, a '99
cabernet sauvignon, and have been knocking it out of the park ever
since. Sleek, compact and polished, their Bordeaux blends and varietal
red wines consistently draw rave reviews. Their claret is one of the
top five under-$20 red wines in the state; unfortunately, the 2002 is
sold out and the 2003 won't be released until spring. (Grape
Expectations distributes)

Robert Karl 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon; $26. Dense, firm and muscular,
it's layered with cassis, berry, cherry, cranberry and more. Give it
extended airing and it delivers rich, thick flavors of red and black
fruits, streaked with smoke, anise, herb, soy and chocolate.

Robert Karl 2002 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon; $33. Tight and austere,
tasting of cassis, plum and cherry fruit. Put this one in the cellar
for 10 years.

Townshend Cellar

Don Townshend was (and still is) a seller of commercial cooling
equipment. Bitten by the wine bug on a sales call to a winery, he
began home winemaking just a decade ago. It seems he has a natural
gift. His first commercial vintage was 1998, and he gives his
self-described "big red wines" up to 30 months in new oak and a year
in bottle before release. I found quality across the board. (Alaska
distributes)

Townshend 2004 Riesling; $10. An off-dry style, perfectly balanced,
with just enough sweetness to offset the puckery acids.