The expanding reach of northwest wines

Back in the late 1970s, when the California wine industry was in its infancy, there was a wine competition held in France where wines from California were tasted blind and judged versus a lineup of French Premier and Grand Cru wines. The competition, the results and the “tsunami” of change it set off in the wine industry is the subject of the movie Bottle Shock. The movie (starring the late actors Alan Rickman and Dennis Farina, among other notables) is wonderful. A great story no doubt, but the movie is also illuminating on how the reach of California wine grew. It forever changed the wine industry there, and in many ways, for the entire industry in the U.S.

Fast forward to today and we now see how the reach of Northwest made wines — those from Oregon, Washington and Idaho — is rapidly expanding. The best wineries from our home region are now sought after across the entire U.S. and in the far flung markets of Asia, and they are even gaining some fans and buyers in the old world markets of Europe. Through some fascinating and forward-thinking joint ventures with producers in South America, the wines are penetrating the markets there too.

The wines produced close to home here are well made. They cross a wide stylistic range, and given the diversity of climate and terroir in the three state area, cover most every varietal category. There is something made for every palate preference and budget point one could crave. So it is no wonder, when you look at this wide range of wines available, that they are popping up nearly everywhere.

Just this past week, I had conversations with customers new and old from faraway places about getting access to wines that, to us here in North Idaho are very familiar, but to them are new and therefore even more exciting. The orders derived from my contacts were as diverse in every regard as the wines made here, so we only see the reach of and demand for our “local juice” increasing.

What does it mean for us as wine consumers here? Are we still going to be able to get our favorites? The answer almost certainly is yes. By most any standard, the wine industry in the three state area of the Northwest is young and still growing rapidly. When we taste with winemakers and other wine professionals representing wineries from the Northwest and all areas, one of the questions we always ask is, “What is your total production?” Our follow up question is “Is that the amount you ultimately want to produce?”

With rare exceptions, the current production levels — regardless of the market segment they target — for Northwest wineries is smaller by a factor than those from California. Also consistently many of the wineries here are still growing, they answer the second question many times by sighting a case production number higher than they are currently making. While land planted to wine grape vineyards is growing, it is the one constraining factor on growth of production from the Northwest.

The wineries here are growing their production to meet this worldwide demand. Barring a vintage like 2011, when grape tonnage harvested was cut in half, wineries will likely meet local, national and international demand. All of these factors bode well for what is an already big contributor to the economic health of the region. It also provides us a means to find our favorites when traveling, and for those wineries not yet accessing such far away wine markets, it makes that entry easier as buyers become more familiar with the appellations.

For some of our local wineries, it provides a growth opportunity as more nearby markets become overwhelmed with choices made close to home. This expanding reach and the commensurate demand appears to us to have little downside. As long as we continue to have access to our own favorites, the trend contributes to a healthy wine industry that benefits both us in the business and wine consumers alike.

If there is a topic you would like to read about or if you have questions on wine, you can email George@thedinnerpartyshop.com, or make suggestions by contacting the Healthy Community section at the Coeur d’Alene Press.

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George Balling is co-owner (with his wife Mary Lancaster) of the dinner party, a wine and table top décor shop located by Costco in Coeur d’Alene. George worked as a judge in many wine competitions, and his articles are published around the country. You can learn more about the dinner party at www.thedinnerpartyshop.com. Be sure and check out our weekly blog at www.thedinnerpartyshop.com/home/blog-2 You can get all of these articles as well as other great wine tips by friending us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/#!/dinnerpartyshop.