High Praise for Washington State Whites, including DeLille & Gramercy
Washington’s White Wine Paradox Often overshadowed by the state’s reds, the 2017 vintage shows it’s time to pay attention to Washington’s white wines. By Sean P. Sullivan In Washington’s earliest days as a grape-growing region, the state was thought too cool to successfully ripen many warm-climate red grape varieties. Subsequently, cool-climate white grapes, especially Riesling, dominated production and brought early acclaim. But as the industry developed, successful cultivation of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and others showed that red wines could also excel. This led to increased plantings, so much so that by 2013, for the first time, the majority of Washington’s grape production tilted from white varieties to red. And now, there have been several points over the past 20 years at which the state’s red wines have seemed to overshadow their white wine counterparts in focus and recognition. Today, 50 years into the state’s development as a wine producer, white bottlings seem both imperiled...
