Wine Game Changes on Red Mountain
Washington's "grand cru" wine region could be about to get even better, W. Blake Gray reports.By W. Blake Gray/Wine Searcher | Posted Tuesday, 09-Apr-2019Red Mountain is one of the trendiest AVAs in the United States. Its name describes not what the mountain usually looks like – it's actually desert-gray, with green when the vines are in bloom – but what the wines usually taste like. It's famous for big, ripe Cabernets: some of the best in the country, yet much cheaper than Napa's best.But Red Mountain, a young AVA, is in transition. In 1985, there were just 60 planted acres and the site was unknown to all but the geekiest of wine fans. Now two extremely expensive projects at opposite ends of the mountain promise to permanently change its reputation in very different ways.On the very peak, which once seemed unplantable, former Microsoft executive Cam Myhrvold (brother of the food engineer Nathan) is...
