Since we live in Washington State and often drink wines from Washington State, we want to make sure that we continue to hone our knowledge of the entire world of wine and maintain well-rounded palates in order to make us even more objective when we evaluate wines from Washington State. Therefore, we are thoroughly enjoying our Wine Peeps Tasting Group which includes what we think is an excellent peer group of knowledgeable wine lovers to taste, share, and learn more about wine together. Unlike our monthly wine tasting dinners in which the guests rotate, this tasting group includes people who are committed to getting together once a month which we believe benefits all of us. In addition to trying varieties and regions that we do not taste frequently, the other main difference between this group and our wine tasting dinners is that each group member brings a bottle consistent with the month’s theme so no one knows all the wines in the blind tasting.

Last week, we met and explored Mourvèdre. Unlike our previous tasting group meetings, which have focused on a particular varietal from a specific region, this tasting simply focused on the varietal and each group member was free to bring a bottle of Mourvèdre from any region in the world. The only requirement was that it was either varietally-labeled as Mourvèdre (or a Mourvèdre synonym such as Mataro or Monastrell) or, for countries that do not varietally-label, it must contain at least 75% Mourvèdre. Mourvèdre is a late-ripening variety that often produces tannic, high alcohol wines that are characterized by aromas and flavors of game, earth, and red fruits. It is often used as a blending grape in Rhone-style wines, frequently with Grenache and Syrah.

We tasted nine bottles of Mourvèdre from around the world, and the consensus favorite was the 2008 Rasa Vineyards Vox Populi Mourvèdre from Washington State. I was glad to see this wine do well in the blind tasting because I had been particularly impressed with it on our recent visit to Rasa Vineyards in Walla Walla. The Mourvèdre that goes into Rasa’s Vox Populi was originally sourced to be a blending grape in their QED (a Syrah/Grenache/Mourvèdre blend). However, when some of their winemaker friends tasted barrel samples of it, they commented on how remarkable it was. Even some collectors who tasted it offered to buy it in futures and asked them to bottle at least some of it by itself. Therefore, Vox Populi or “voice of the people” was born.

Of the nine wines we tasted, three were from France, two were from Spain, one was from Australia, and three were from Washington State. I was especially excited to see how favorably the Washington wines performed against peers from around the world. The three wines from Washington State finished first, second, and fourth in the group consensus rankings.

From 1st to last in the group consensus rankings:

2008 Rasa Vineyards Vox Populi Mourvèdre (Minick Vineyard, Yakima Valley, Washington): 100% Mourvèdre. Deep, purplish ruby red. Gorgeous nose with red and black fruits, plum, raspberry, smoked meats, game, spice and white pepper on both the nose and palate. Medium to full-bodied with crisp acidity, medium to high drying tannins and a long finish. Big yet smooth and well-balanced.
Quality: 4.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 4 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Received as sample, suggested retail $45

2006 Syncline Mourvèdre (Coyote Canyon Vineyard, Horse Heaven Hills, Washington): 100% Mourvèdre. Deep, dark purplish red in color. Very aromatic with red fruits and spice on the nose. Game, earth, smoked meats, red fruits, and a hint of spice come through on the palate. Medium to full-bodied with very crisp acidity and medium to high, drying tannins. Well-balanced with a long finish.
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: PCC Natural Market (Seattle, Washington), $22; Available elsewhere, $29

2008 Juan Gil Monastrell (Jumilla, Spain): 100% Monastrell. Deep, ruby red. Very aromatic with dusty, smoky, and black pepper aromas that lead to chalky flavors, ripe red fruits, meat, and a hint of coffee. Medium to full-bodied with crisp acidity, medium to high, drying tannins and a long finish.
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Esquin Wine Merchants (Seattle, Washington), $16; Available elsewhere, $10 to $19

2006 Trio Vintners Mourvèdre (den Hoed Vineyard, Yakima Valley, Washington): 96% Mourvèdre, 4% Syrah. Deep, dark purplish red. Nice nose with cinnamon, spice, and perfume on the nose. Game, ripe red fruits, and smoke come through on the palate. Medium to full-bodied with lively acidity, medium to high, drying tannins, and a long finish.
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Esquin Wine Merchants (Seattle, Washington), $20; Available elsewhere, $27

2007 Hewitson “Old Garden” Mourvèdre (Barossa Valley, Australia): Deep, ruby red. Aromatic with dirt, earth, and red fruits on the nose; earth and ripe red fruits on the palate. Medium-bodied with crisp acidity, medium tannins, and a long finish.
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 1 bang for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: K&L Wine Merchants (California), $42; Available elsewhere, $33 to $42

2006 La Bastide Blanche Bandol Cuvée Estagnol (Bandol, Provence, France): Deep, dark ruby red. Peppermint, dirt, and earth on the nose lead to more earth and barnyard notes on the palate. Medium-bodied and lively with medium to high, slightly bitter, tannins, and a long finish.
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 1 bang for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Full Pull Wines (Seattle, Washington), $32; Available elsewhere, $30

2007 Viña Honda Monastrell (Jumilla, Spain): 100% Monastrell. Deep, ruby red in color. Nose is a bit tight at first, and then cardboard, oak, and cracked black pepper come through. Grapefruit rind, red plum, and chalky notes on the palate. Medium to full-bodied and tart with medium, drying tannins, and a long, somewhat bitter, finish. Very different profile than the others in the tasting.
Quality: 3 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 3 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: K&L Wine Merchants (California), $10; Available elsewhere, $10 to $14

2008 Domaine Astruc dA Mourvèdre (Vins de Pays du Languedoc, France): Deep, dark purplish red. Smoke, red fruits, game, and earth come through on both the nose and palate. Medium to full-bodied with crisp acidity, medium to high, drying tannins, and a long finish.
Quality: 3 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 3 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Esquin Wine Merchants (Seattle, Washington), $10

2005 Chateau Pibarnon Bandol (Bandol, Provence, France): 90% Mourvedre. Deep, ruby red. Stinky cheese, expired milk, dirty diapers, and barnyard aromas lead to stinky cheese and rotten eggs on the palate. Medium to full-bodied with crisp acidity, medium to high, drying tannins, and a long finish. The aromas and flavors are not pleasant. Not sure if it’s just a flavor profile we don’t like or whether this bottle actually had a problem.
Quality: 2 stars (out of 5)
QPR: NR (not recommended)
Where to buy: K&L Wine Merchants (California), $40; Available elsewhere, $30 to $53

Fielding Hills Winery, a small, family-owned winery in Wenatchee, is one of the top wineries in Washington State. Owner/winemaker Mike Wade and his wife Karen are longtime apple and cherry growers who have turned a middle portion of their orchard near Mattawa into a vineyard. Their Riverbend Vineyard, planted in 1998, is in the Wahluke Slope AVA and is their sole source of grapes. Strictly red wine producers, Fielding Hills’ current production is about 850 cases per year but will be increasing to about 1400 cases with the 2009 vintage. We have tasted their wines from their inaugural vintage in 2000 through their current releases and continue to be impressed. They are so consistent; it is not a question of whether their wines will be good but where they will fall on the quality spectrum between “very good” and “Wow!” In fact, we recognized Mike Wade as Best Winemaker in our Wine Peeps’ Best of 2009 in Washington Wine Country.

In 2008, their 2005 Syrah “wow-ed” us and was the first Washington wine that we gave a 5-star (out of 5) Quality rating. Recently, we had the opportunity to taste all five new releases from Fielding Hills in a blind samples tasting. Fielding Hills has done it again; we were “wow-ed” by their 2008 Cabernet Franc. Regular readers will realize that this fact is quite remarkable because we have not always been big fans of varietal Cabernet Franc. This particular wine, however, is wonderful and a great representation of what quality Cabernet Franc can be. Dad (John) and Mom (LaGayle) were especially excited with how this wine showed in the blind samples tasting because they helped to bottle it in May. They thought it was an excellent wine when they tasted it at bottling, but it has definitely improved with some bottle age and should continue to improve for a few years.

While the 2008 Cabernet Franc is the best Cab Franc I’ve ever had, the four other new releases from Fielding Hills are also quite impressive. The 2008 Merlot and 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon received 4.5 stars (out of 5), the 2008 Syrah received 4 stars (out of 5), and the Tribute Red Wine received 3.5 stars (out of 5).

If you are ever in the Wenatchee area, Fielding Hills is a stop you do not want to miss. I encourage you to give Mike and Karen a call to make an appointment to visit the winery. And regardless of whether you are able to visit or not, try to get your hands on a bottle or two of Fielding Hills wine and enjoy.

Tasting notes for the five 2008 Fielding Hills wines, in my personal order of preference:

2008 Fielding Hills Cabernet Franc (Riverbend Vineyard, Wahluke Slope, Washington): Deep, dark red in color. Gorgeous nose with black fruit, floral, herbal, and a hint of bell pepper aromas. Luscious red and black fruits, black cherry, herbal notes, and a hint of earth come through on the palate. Medium to full-bodied with crisp acidity and drying tannins. Extremely well-balanced and smooth with good complexity and a very long, lingering finish. The best Cabernet Franc I’ve ever had. Wow!
Quality: 5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Received as sample, suggested retail $30

2008 Fielding Hills Merlot (Riverbend Vineyard, Wahluke Slope, Washington): Deep, dark red. Gorgeous nose with black cherry and plum aromas. More black cherry, plum, as well as leather, and cocoa come through on the palate. Medium to full-bodied with good, crisp acidity and smooth tannins. Well-balanced with a long finish.
Quality: 4.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Received as sample, suggested retail $36

2008 Fielding Hills Cabernet Sauvignon (Riverbend Vineyard, Wahluke Slope, Washington): Deep, dark, inky purplish red in color. Gorgeous nose with black fruit and spice rack aromas. Black cherry, blackberry, blackcurrant, spice, pencil lead, and a hint of tobacco come through on the palate. Full-bodied and fruit-forward with crisp acidity and medium to high tannins. Well-balanced with a long, lingering finish.
Quality: 4.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Received as sample, suggested retail $42

2008 Fielding Hills Syrah (Riverbend Vineyard, Wahluke Slope, Washington): Deep, dark, inky purple in color. Very aromatic with blackberry, cinnamon, clove, and violets on the nose. Blackberry, black plums, spice, and a hint of black pepper come through on the palate. Full-bodied with crisp acidity and medium to high tannins. Well-balanced and smooth with a very long finish.
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 4 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Received as sample, suggested retail $38

2008 Fielding Hills Tribute Red Wine (Riverbend Vineyard, Wahluke Slope, Washington): Deep, dark purple. Very aromatic with ripe red and black fruits on the nose; black cherry, blackberry, and licorice on the palate. Medium to full-bodied, fruit-forward, lively acidity, medium to high tannins, and a long finish.
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 3 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Received as sample, suggested retail $32

This week’s Wine Word of the Week is mercaptans.

Official definition from Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine:
Mercaptans, or thiol compounds, are a group of usually potent and often foul-smelling chemical compounds formed by yeast reacting with sulfur in the lees after the primary alcoholic fermentation. If not removed from the new wine (which can usually be achieved by simple aeration, by prompt racking, for example, or by the addition of a small amount of copper sulfate), less volatile and even more unpleasant compounds tend to be formed.

Layman’s terms from Kori:
Mercaptans is a wine fault characterized by a very unpleasant odor, sometimes described as burnt match, rotten cabbage, garlic, or onion-like.

As you might imagine, the first thing that attracted me to this book, Red, White, and Drunk All Over by Natalie MacLean, was its title. Then after perusing it at my local Barnes and Noble, the clincher for me was the tout on the inside back cover flap:

“A galloping read, which educates, entertains, and amuses…[Natalie] is the George Plimpton of wine writers: she shares insights from her ‘day in the life of’ a vineyard worker, a winemaker, a wine sales person, and a sommelier.” –Ann Noble, professor of viticulture at UC Davis and creator of the Wine Aroma wheel

That quote hooked me, so I bought the book and read it the same day. I thought it was great. I challenge you to try to read this book without smiling. I read this book almost four years ago before we started this blog. I hadn’t written a review because I thought that by now it would be out of print, but I just saw it in a bookstore recently so I thought a review would still be of value. If I didn’t think you expected more detail, I’d just say, “Go buy it!” and leave it at that.

As a teaser, I’ll tell you that Natalie shares in the book how she first became interested in wine, and then in becoming a wine writer, and then takes you on a very interesting journey as she travels through the Burgundy and Champagne regions of France, helps Randall Grahm with harvest in California, and then goes undercover as sommelier for a night in a five-star restaurant. It’s very educational yet also fun to read.

One of the most interesting chapters involves a classic disagreement over a single wine between two of the world’s most famous wine critics, Robert Parker and Jancis Robinson. Parker loved it; Robinson absolutely hated it. It illustrates clearly that wine ratings are subjective and not absolute. Natalie talks about how she didn’t score wines for the first five years she wrote about them but eventually responded because her readers wanted scores. Most people don’t want a detailed analysis of the wine; they just want someone they trust to tell them what’s good.

A quote in the book by New York Times critic Eric Asimov caught my attention and has influenced how we taste at Wine Peeps (i.e. We put great value on tastings we do with food, both our during-the-week family private tasting dinners and our monthly wine tasting dinners, as a validation of our samples and trade tastings scores).

It almost seems, Asimov mused, as if he and his colleagues “taste wine every way but the most natural way: slowly with friends or family at a meal, with plenty of time to savor—and swallow—a glass or two.”

There’s much more to this book, but I’ll let you discover it for yourself. I highly encourage you to pick up a copy of this book today.

Have you already read Red, White, and Drunk All Over? If so, please leave a comment and let us know what you thought of it.

Cheers!

Would you like a quick suggestion for a good wine to drink tonight (or this weekend) that won’t break your budget and is widely available? Many of our readers have said this is something they would like, so here is this week’s selection, the 2007 Latah Creek Semillon from Washington State.

Our selection criteria include:

• A very good Quality rating of >=3.5 stars (out of 5)
• A price tag of <=$15
• Must be widely available

Latah Creek Winery, owned by Mike and Ellena Conway, has been in business 28 years and produces about 17,000 cases per year. Latah Creek remains a family owned and operated winery with the Conway’s daughter Natalie serving as assistant winemaker since 2005. This wine is a great sipper, with or without food. Best of all, it retails for less than $9 and received a QPR rating of 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5).

2007 Latah Creek Semillon (Washington State): Very pale, straw yellow in color. Very aromatic with straw and floral notes on the nose. Tropical fruits, melon, cantaloupe, guava, and mango come through on the palate. Dry and medium-bodied with lively acidity. Well-balanced and refreshing with a long finish.
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Fred Meyer (Seattle, Washington), $8.39

Wine is a beverage to be enjoyed, preferably in the company of friends. Unfortunately, though, many people find wine intimidating. For many, making it through the onslaught of bottles at the local grocery store or wine shop and actually choosing a bottle is just half the battle. Now, it’s time to drink it. If all you want to do is drink a glass of wine with dinner and not think about it, that is perfectly acceptable. However, if you would like to have an idea of what to look for in a wine to evaluate it and discuss it with others, here is a basic tasting methodology for you to follow or adapt to your own purposes. It is broken down into five steps (the 5 – S’s): See, Sniff, Sip, Spit or Swallow, and Summarize. Be sure to take good notes (mental or written) during each step.

First, pour about 1/3 glassful of wine in an appropriate tasting glass.

SEE: Tilt the glass at a 45-degree angle away from you against a white background with good lighting.

• Is the wine brilliant, clear, or hazy?
• Do you see any bubbles or ropiness?
• Is the color pale or intense (appropriate for the varietal)?
• Does it have good color depth or density?

Sight is the first of our senses that we use in wine tasting. What you see gives you a sneak preview, clues as to what to expect.

SNIFF: Swirl the wine gently in the glass to aerate it and release its bouquet, then put your nose inside the rim of the glass and take a couple of slow, deep sniffs to smell for aromas.

• Is the wine clean, or are there any off-odors?
• Are the aromas faint or intense?
• What are the aromas? Does it smell like fruit, flowers, spice, etc?
• Does the wine smell oaky? (American Oak: overt, vanilla, perception of sweetness; French Oak: subtle, spicy, kicks in on the mid-palate)

SIP: Take a small amount of wine into your mouth, let it lie on your tongue a few seconds and then slowly draw in some air through your lips, and then swish the liquid around like mouthwash, bringing it into contact with every part of your mouth.

• Is the wine sweet or dry? (<0.5% residual sugar is considered dry)
• Does the wine fill your mouth, i.e. have body? Does it feel more like water (light-bodied) or cream (full-bodied)?
• What are the flavors and are they intense or diluted? (Do they have the subtlety of an Old World wine or the boldness of a New World wine?)

Take another sip and evaluate the acidity, tannins, and alcohol.

• Is there a tingle around the sides or tip of your tongue? Does it have sourness like lemonade (tart), is it flat like water, or something in between (crisp, zesty)? Wines with high acidity leave your mouth initially feeling dry but that dryness is soon replaced with significant saliva production.
• Is there a puckering dryness (astringency), a rough gritty feeling, or even bitterness on your tongue or inner cheeks, like strong iced tea would cause? Wines with high tannins leave your mouth feeling dry and cottony.
• Does the wine taste hot at the back of your mouth? This can be a sign of high alcohol.
• Are the flavors, acidity, tannins, and alcohol in equilibrium? If yes, then the wine is said to be well-balanced. Too much alcohol and not enough acidity and tannins means a wine is soft. Too much acidity and tannins and not enough alcohol means a wine is harsh. A well-balanced wine will become smooth and integrated as it matures.
• Do you find something new in the wine each time you come back to it? Do you taste a number of different flavors? If yes, then the wine has good complexity.

SPIT or SWALLOW: Spit or swallow the wine and record your impressions. If you are tasting a number of wines (at a tasting event or visiting wineries), I highly encourage you to spit. Otherwise, you end up drinking too much which won’t feel good the next morning and you won’t be able to really tell which wines you like and don’t like after the first few you taste.

SUMMARIZE: After you spit or swallow, you can close your mouth and breathe out through your nose for further evaluation of the wine.

• Is it free of measurable wine faults? Off-odors such as musty, moldy, rotten eggs, and fingernail polish remover can be indicators of wine faults.
• How long after you swallow do the flavors linger? A finish of <5 seconds is short, 5-9 seconds is moderate, 10-15 seconds is long, and 15+ seconds is lingering. The longer the finish, the better.
• What is the wine’s overall quality?
• Do you like the wine personally?
• How would you describe the wine in one sentence? Try to describe what you like or don’t like about the wine rather than just saying “I like it” or “I don’t like it”. It doesn’t have to include any fancy wine-speak, just a simple sentence like, “This wine is not well-balanced; I’d prefer a wine with more fruit and less alcohol.”
• And, finally, keep written tasting records. You’ll find it valuable and entertaining to look back on in the future.

I hope that these basic steps demystify the wine tasting experience and allow you to taste wine with confidence. After all, wine is just a beverage, and you should have fun drinking it and talking about it. Cheers!

Jim Bernau founded Willamette Valley Vineyards, located in Turner, Oregon, in 1983. Through his work as a small business lobbyist, he helped pass legislation to develop the Oregon wine industry. He was also involved in the establishment of the Oregon Wine Advisory Board. When he planted his estate vineyards, he chose to focus on Pinot Noir and other cool climate varieties that he believed were best suited for the cool climate of the Willamette Valley. Willamette Valley Vineyards is now Oregon’s third-largest winery, producing over 130,000 cases each year.

Willamette Valley Vineyards, the winery itself and its vineyards, are certified sustainable through LIVE (Low Input Viticulture and Enology) and Salmon-Safe programs. It is also one of the first wineries in Oregon to become carbon neutral. Bernau believes that the soil where the Willamette Valley Vineyards winery and vineyards are located is similar to the red clay soil found in the world-renowned Grand Cru Pinot Noir vineyards of Romanee-st-Vivant in Burgundy, France.

Recently, we had the opportunity to taste some Willamette Valley Vineyards wines in a blind samples tasting. We tasted four of their wines from the 2008 vintage and would recommend all four. We especially enjoyed the 2008 Estate Pinot Noir. Marked by a cooler than normal growing season, the 2008 vintage is considered one of the best vintages ever in Oregon. While Willamette Valley Vineyards has been around for 27 years, we knew very little about them prior to this samples tasting. Therefore, they are an exciting new discovery for us.

Oregon’s Willamette Valley is a great place to visit, particularly for Pinot Noir lovers. Our last trip to the Willamette Valley was in 2008, and we are anxious to visit again. We will definitely be adding Willamette Valley Vineyards to our list of places to visit on a future trip to the area. In addition to their tasting room at the winery in Turner, Willamette Valley Vineyards wines are also available for tasting at the Travel Café Visitors Center in Salem.

2008 Willamette Valley Vineyards Estate Pinot Noir (Willamette Valley, Oregon): Medium, ruby red in color. Beautiful bouquet with aromas of red cherry, earth, and oak. Red cherry, strawberry, dark chocolate, and a hint of smoke come through on the palate. Medium-bodied with crisp acidity and medium tannins. Well-balanced and smooth with a long, slightly spicy, finish.
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 4 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Received as sample, suggested retail $40; Available elsewhere, $30 to $40

2008 Willamette Valley Vineyards Pinot Gris (Willamette Valley, Oregon): Pale, greenish straw yellow. Very aromatic with floral and lemon notes on the nose. Citrus fruits, especially lemon and lime, as well as green apple and tropical fruits come through on the palate. Dry and medium-bodied with very tart acidity and a long finish. Residual sugar: 0.15%
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 3 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Received as sample, suggested retail $15; Available elsewhere, $13 to $18

2008 Willamette Valley Vineyards Riesling (Willamette Valley, Oregon): Pale, greenish yellow. Aromas of honey and peach come through on the nose; peach, dried apricot, and a hint of pineapple on the palate. Medium sweet and light to medium-bodied with crisp acidity and a long finish. Residual sugar: 4.3%
Quality: 3 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 4 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Received as sample, suggested retail $12; Available elsewhere, $8 to $15

2008 Willamette Valley Vineyards Pinot Noir (Willamette Valley, Oregon): Medium, ruby red in color. Nose is a bit tight at first then aromas of raspberry, strawberry, and a hint of oak come through. More red fruits, black cherry, and clove on the palate. Medium-bodied with tart acidity, medium tannins, and a long, bitter finish.
Quality: 3 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 3 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Received as sample, suggested retail $25; Available elsewhere, $20 to $27

Today’s post is part of a series featuring the Women of Washington Wine. In an industry once dominated by men, more and more women are joining the ranks as winery owners, vineyard owners, and winemakers. Being a woman myself, I am fascinated by these women and what they have done and continue to do. Through this series, I hope to introduce you to some of the brightest female faces in the Washington wine industry.

Darcey Fugman-Small and her husband Rick Small founded Woodward Canyon Winery in 1981. Located in Lowden, Washington, about 13 miles west of Walla Walla, Woodward Canyon was the second modern-era winery in the Walla Walla Valley. Both Darcey and Rick are actively involved in the winery, Darcey as General Manager and Rick as Director of Production. Pioneers in the wine industry in the Valley, the Smalls were instrumental in the establishment of the Walla Walla Valley AVA in 1984. Darcey was also involved in the establishment of the Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance in 2001 and is the only original board member still serving. Woodward Canyon produces 17,000 cases per year. The Smalls also own their own 42-acre Woodward Canyon Estate Vineyard in the Walla Walla Valley and are partners in Champoux Vineyards in the Horse Heaven Hills.

Recently, Darcey was kind enough to take time out of her busy schedule to answer some questions for me and our Wine Peeps readers.

Highlights from Q&A with Darcey Fugman-Small:

How did you first get involved in the wine business?
Rick was already making homemade wine and had planted the first few rows of grapes when I met him in 1979. In fact, our second date was bottling his homemade chardonnay, so I guess that was my first foray into the business. Prior to that I had been exposed to wines by my parents and, of course, consumed some in college, but that was the extent of my experience. He had plans to start a winery even then. We were married in 1980 and founded the winery in 1981 in partnership with his parents who we later bought out.

What were the steps that led to where you are now?
Just slow, constant growth to a point where we feel that we are at the right size to maintain quality and control the brand.

In the early days, my involvement was limited to helping a bit during crush and bottling, working in the vineyard on weekends and being at some tastings and dinners as I had another full-time job as a land use planner for the County. I spent 22 years with the County going from Planning Assistant to Director, and then left in 2000 to come to the winery as General Manager. I had learned a lot about the winery over the years and knew how to manage a budget, staff, and projects through my work at the County so the transition was not too difficult even though I had to essentially create the position. My beginning here was about the same time as the explosion of information and communication demands due to email and the Web, so getting that under control was one of my first priorities. We had also recently opened our new tasting room, which brought an increased retail presence and required additional employees.

My original plan was to work about 3 days a week, which soon went out the window. As the business has changed, so have the duties of my position. We have a great team which will hopefully allow me to begin to pull back a bit from the day to day tasks in order to be able to spend more time looking at the business from a strategic point of view. Sometimes it’s too easy to get so involved with the minutiae that the big picture gets ignored.

Has being a woman been an advantage or a disadvantage in your wine journey?
I don’t know. My previous career in planning was also a male dominated sector, so it is an arena that I am comfortable in and don’t think about a lot. Not to generalize too much, but women are often more observant and perceptive which may give us an edge in the sales/customer relations end of the business. In the cellar, that perception can lead to a strong set of sensory skills.

Are there more opportunities available to women today in the wine business than when you started?
I have never perceived the wine industry to be discriminatory to women and have known women in both the production and business side of the industry since the beginning. Albeit, there are more women now in production and viticulture and as active owners than there were when we started. I think a woman can have a role wherever she wants in the industry if she is willing to work hard and knows her stuff.

What advice do you have for a woman wanting to get involved in the wine business today?
Try it out. There are many opportunities for internships, education, volunteering for organizations, etc., to discover all of the various possible positions in the industry. The wine industry tends to be a very supportive industry as a whole, and I think most of the women in the industry are particularly so which would make it fairly easy to find a mentor. Go to tastings, read traditional wine media and new media, travel, learn about food, take classes. There are now positions in the industry that did not exist 10 years ago. The wine world is very large so don’t limit the possibilities.

What are your thoughts about the Washington wine industry, in general?
It is a very exciting place to be. We are so young relative to the rest of the wine world. When you get outside of the Northwest, you realize how little awareness of Washington wine there really is. Even with the strong competition from around the world (which we need to be very aware of), we do have a compelling story and a lot of opportunity.

In recent years the Washington wine industry has grown at a rapid rate. Do you expect that trend to continue?
Yes, but probably not at the frenetic pace of 3 or 4 years ago. There will likely be some shakeout due to the economy and the fact that some people got into the business with unrealistic expectations or no understanding of the amount of work involved in selling the product (assuming that you have a good product). Establishing a vineyard and/or winery in Washington is still a bargain though when compared to doing so in the better-known appellations in California, so growth here will continue. And, of course, there is the romance of the business.

I understand that you were involved in preparing the original petition for the Walla Walla Valley AVA. Could you share a bit about that experience and your involvement?
With my background in planning, I was pretty well equipped to put the application and map together, to write the legal description, and to deal with the federal process. Becky Hendricks, who was then an owner in the original Seven Hills Vineyard, gathered the information on the Oregon side of the appellation, and I took on the Washington side.

That experience led me to become involved in the establishment of the Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance in 2001, where I am the only original Board member still serving.

How do you and your husband, Rick, divide the duties at the winery?
Rick is involved in the production side of the business, which includes winemaking and vineyards, as well as some trade/sales activity; whereas, I am involved in the retail/consumer relations/charitable giving/event/marketing side. He manages the production/distributor sales staff and I manage the retail/hospitality/marketing staff. When people ask, I tell them that I herd cats. Rick and I cross over and make major business decisions together.

What is your vision for the future of Woodward Canyon Winery?
We want to continue to strive to make better wines, both in the vineyard and in the winery. We are not going to take anything for granted and will work hard to keep up with all of the changes in the industry, be they new media or sales models.

Sustainability and fostering a sense of place will become more significant. We grow produce for our staff, local restaurants, and to do events. That tie-in between the generational land and what foods it can produce, along with the wine grown there, and the fact that we prepare most meals here ourselves, is something that we will emphasize more.

Our daughter is running the lab at Long Shadows, and our son is a cook at Luc in Seattle, so their interests at this point in time are in sync with where we see the winery headed. We will be looking at how that may occur over the next several years.

Feel free to share any other thoughts that you believe would be of interest to our readers.
This is a great business and there is a very nice lifestyle that goes along with it, but “business” is the key word. While grape growing and winemaking may seem glamorous or romantic, it is really farming, making a product, and selling that product. To be successful, you have to be quick on your feet and work hard. And, it helps to love what you do and to enjoy sharing it, which I do.

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Many thanks to Darcey for sharing her story and thoughts with us. I wish her and Rick all the best and will continue following their work and Woodward Canyon Winery with great interest, and I hope that you will too.

This week’s Wine Word of the Week is vieilles vignes.

Official definition from Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine:
Vieilles vignes is French for ‘old vines’. The term is used widely on wine labels in the hope that potential buyers are aware that wine quality is often associated with senior vine age. There are few effective controls on the use of the term, however, and little agreement about exactly how many years it is before a vine can be deemed old.

Layman’s terms from Kori:
Vieilles vignes, French for “old vines,” is a term often seen on wine labels. It is a commonly held belief that old vines produce better wines. However, use of the terms vieilles vignes or old vines is unregulated.

A month ago, I wrote a post analyzing Washington Ballot Initiatives I-1100 and I-1105 and concluded by saying that I was leaning toward a “yes” vote on I-1100 and a “no” vote on I-1105. Since then, I have been continuing to study the issues and have engaged in discussion with a number of knowledgeable persons about the pros and cons of each. Now that I have received my ballot, it’s time to make a decision. Today, I am recommending that all Washington wine lovers vote “Yes” on I-1100. And, vote “No” on I-1105.

While I am not a big fan of the initiatives process, and I certainly don’t want to do anything to hurt the wine business, the politicians here in Washington State have had almost 80 years to straighten out our terrible, dysfunctional, intellectually dishonest, state-controlled liquor monopoly through legislation and have done nothing meaningful. That’s why we have these initiatives, and that’s why I-1100 deserves your vote. It’s not perfect, but it’s the best chance we’ve ever had to correct this mess. It can always be tweaked after we see how it works.

What disappoints me the most about the campaign against I-1100 (and I-1105, for that matter) is the disingenuous rhetoric about health and public safety. California has private liquor sales rather than a state-controlled system, and yet California has fewer drunk-driving deaths per-capita than we have in Washington State. The beer and wine wholesalers who are funding the negative ads don’t want us to stop drinking or to drink less. They simply want to ensure that they continue to get their cut of virtually every bottle sold in Washington.

The bottom line: I-1100 is pro-consumer. Since Wine Peeps is a consumer-focused wine blog, I am encouraging you, the consumer, to support I-1100. Sure, Costco is the main corporate supporter of I-1100, and no one is hiding that fact. Costco wants to buy wine without a government-mandated middleman and price controls, so they can offer wine at lower prices to you and me. That, my friends, is the free enterprise system. Join me in voting “Yes” on I-1100.