I can’t believe it. I just wrote this article what seems like yesterday. Has another year really gone by this quickly again? I think that overall, 2010 was a pretty good year in the wine world. It had its ups and downs. Here is my very brief review, and guesses for what 2011 brings.
In the vineyards we started off with a huge bud break in the spring, turned into a beautiful summer, and ended with a cool and wet fall harvest. By and large, the vineyards produced some really nice juice this year, which we will be enjoying for years to come.
Because of the strange growing conditions I know that we got better juice in some places, and worse in others. Expect your white wines to cost a little more, and expect more ice wine from this vintage at a lower than ever cost.
Speaking of lower than ever cost, 2010 cinched a case for lower priced wines from our region and the world in general. You can get a pretty good bottle for between $5 and $10. It won’t be awesomely stupendous, but it won’t be rot-gut either.
The reason for this is that the economy has forced winemakers to really look at cost in the bottle and not at the artistic side of the winemaking business. Wine has become seen as a farming commodity rather than a piece of art in the consumer’s eyes. This is both good for the consumer and bad for mid-sized wineries trying to get ahead.
Don’t get me wrong. Competition in the market place, and a few less micro wineries will shake out those who are just trying to get rich quick. Only really serious winemakers are going to shake out in the next few years.
In 2010 the world got a little bit smaller. Changes in distribution regulations and shipping are bringing more of the world’s wines to even the northwest. Here in the Eastern Oregon and Eastern Washington region we saw a huge increase in imported wines and beers.
As we celebrate new wineries and winemakers joining the ranks, we also said goodbye to some of our great local pioneers of the industry. Bud Mercer from Prosser, Eugene Foote, a Seattle winemaking pioneer, and Prosser wine pioneer Jerry Hinzerling all left us this year to go to better vineyards beyond. I wish their families well.
While I’m on the subject of wine pioneering, I want to mention a trend that is really picking up in our region. In 2010 and beyond I think we’re going to see a dramatic increase in niche varietals. This year brought a huge increase in Mourvedre, Counoise, Sinsault, and other rare varietals that have been just grown experimentally up to now. You, the consumers are starting to enjoy the new flavors and exotic names that are becoming available on the market. Look to see more in 2011.
What were my favorite wines of 2010? This year I tasted some amazing wines from different producers all over the world. Next week I’ll pull out my notes and give you some opinions on what I think was truly superior. I’ll also give you my winemaker of the year, as well as the up and coming winemaker to watch for.
Until then…Enjoy!
Showing posts with label Wine Pioneer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wine Pioneer. Show all posts
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Goodbye Jerry Wallace. Thanks For The Wine & The Memories
Jerry Wallace, who launched Hinzerling Winery in Prosser, Wash., in 1976, passed away January 6th at 90 years of age.
Wallace was Seattle police officer beginning in 1944. He worked as a special driver for the mayor, among other tasks until his retirement in 1972.
In 1972, he and his family moved to Prosser, Washington, where they planted one of the earliest commercial wine grape vineyards in the region. Hinzerling Vineyard was the first in the state to use drip irrigation. Wallace and his wife, Dee, also founded the Roza chapter of the Enological Society of the Pacific Northwest.
In 1976, Wallace and his son Mike launched Hinzerling Winery, making it one of the state's oldest wineries. The winery is best known for its Ports and dessert wines. The most recent wine that I reviewed from Hinzerling was Mike's Cream Sherry which is one of the best I've ever had.
In 2008, Jerry Wallace was nominated as a Legend of Washington Wine by the state wine industry. He is survived by his three children, Mike, Pam and Steve, as well as eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
To end this blog entry I want to finish with a personal letter to Jerry's son Mike and the rest of the Wallace family:
To the family and friends of Jerry Wallace:
My wife and I met Jerry in 1987 at the Prosser winery while traveling through the valley on our Honeymoon. We were a couple of young kids from Idaho, just old enough to drink, and highly curious about wine. Like many other 21 year olds, we thought that Riesling was the only "good" wine, and had spent a large portion of our trip through Washington and British Columbia tasting and purchasing just that. When we walked through the door of Hinzerling and met this striking gentleman we knew we weren't in a winery like any other. First, the winery wasn't some fancy million dollar complex with art on the walls. It was an old garage with the lab counter also acting as the tasting room bar. Also, the guy who was running the tasting room was also the guy who actually had made the wine. Needless to say, we were mesmerized. We spent over an hour listening to his stories and his methods for making wine. He actually convinced us to taste a few wines we had never considered, including our first tastes of Cabernet Sauvignon.
We purchased two bottles of wine from Jerry that day. One bottle of Rouge to enjoy on our first anniversary, which was delicious by the way. The second bottle was a bottle of 1985 Cabernet Sauvignon, which we still have in our wine cellar being stored for our 25th anniversary reception. Jerry was convinced that the bottle would be still good on our twenty fifth if we took good care of it, and we have. I'm not sure if it will win any awards or even be better than vinegar for the salad dressing, but the storage of that wine, and the thirst for wine knowledge that Jerry instilled in me that day has stayed with me for 23 years.
In two years we will open that bottle and serve it in some ceremonial way to our guests in the rememberence of Jerry. Mr. Wallace, thank you for sharing your love for wine and life with two dumb kids from Idaho.
Sincerely,
Rich Breshears
Wine Columnist for Eastern Oregonian Newspaper, and wine blogger at onerichwineguy.blogspot.com
Wallace was Seattle police officer beginning in 1944. He worked as a special driver for the mayor, among other tasks until his retirement in 1972.
In 1972, he and his family moved to Prosser, Washington, where they planted one of the earliest commercial wine grape vineyards in the region. Hinzerling Vineyard was the first in the state to use drip irrigation. Wallace and his wife, Dee, also founded the Roza chapter of the Enological Society of the Pacific Northwest.
In 1976, Wallace and his son Mike launched Hinzerling Winery, making it one of the state's oldest wineries. The winery is best known for its Ports and dessert wines. The most recent wine that I reviewed from Hinzerling was Mike's Cream Sherry which is one of the best I've ever had.
In 2008, Jerry Wallace was nominated as a Legend of Washington Wine by the state wine industry. He is survived by his three children, Mike, Pam and Steve, as well as eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
To end this blog entry I want to finish with a personal letter to Jerry's son Mike and the rest of the Wallace family:
To the family and friends of Jerry Wallace:
My wife and I met Jerry in 1987 at the Prosser winery while traveling through the valley on our Honeymoon. We were a couple of young kids from Idaho, just old enough to drink, and highly curious about wine. Like many other 21 year olds, we thought that Riesling was the only "good" wine, and had spent a large portion of our trip through Washington and British Columbia tasting and purchasing just that. When we walked through the door of Hinzerling and met this striking gentleman we knew we weren't in a winery like any other. First, the winery wasn't some fancy million dollar complex with art on the walls. It was an old garage with the lab counter also acting as the tasting room bar. Also, the guy who was running the tasting room was also the guy who actually had made the wine. Needless to say, we were mesmerized. We spent over an hour listening to his stories and his methods for making wine. He actually convinced us to taste a few wines we had never considered, including our first tastes of Cabernet Sauvignon.
We purchased two bottles of wine from Jerry that day. One bottle of Rouge to enjoy on our first anniversary, which was delicious by the way. The second bottle was a bottle of 1985 Cabernet Sauvignon, which we still have in our wine cellar being stored for our 25th anniversary reception. Jerry was convinced that the bottle would be still good on our twenty fifth if we took good care of it, and we have. I'm not sure if it will win any awards or even be better than vinegar for the salad dressing, but the storage of that wine, and the thirst for wine knowledge that Jerry instilled in me that day has stayed with me for 23 years.
In two years we will open that bottle and serve it in some ceremonial way to our guests in the rememberence of Jerry. Mr. Wallace, thank you for sharing your love for wine and life with two dumb kids from Idaho.
Sincerely,
Rich Breshears
Wine Columnist for Eastern Oregonian Newspaper, and wine blogger at onerichwineguy.blogspot.com
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