Washington State Initiative 1183 Will Impact Wine In Oregon

I’m not one to get into political debates. I don’t even like talking to people about my voting preferences. However, there is a bill coming up for election in Washington that may greatly affect your wine buying and I think you should simply be aware of its impacts.

This bill is a hotly debated bill in the state of Washington. Initially I thought this wouldn’t effect anyone living outside of our state, however the more I ponder this bill I think that the wine industry and our region will be very greatly affected.

The reason for the affect is that wine country is located very much on the borders of Oregon and Idaho. Many people who work in Washington wine live in Hermiston, Pendleton, and Milton Freewater.

Conversely, I also know that many people from those towns come to Costco in Washington to shop and take advantage of not paying sales tax in Washington while receiving the great prices on items that would simply cost more in those towns.

In the last election, and in the current upcoming state election Costco has mounted a full force effort at passing what is now Initiative 1183. As it stands now any store that is more than 10,000 square feet in size and wishes to participate will be allowed to sell hard liquor. It will abolish state liquor stores, and allow for individual companies to purchase the ability to operate a liquor store in the existing spaces.

The bill will also abolish the standing laws concerning wine distribution in the state, and allow retailers to purchase wines at any agreed price directly from the manufacturer. There will be no longer a need for wine distributors in the State of Washington.

“So”, you say, “How does this affect me?”

First, understand that all wine in this region is picked up from the manufacturer, delivered to a warehouse, and then distributed out to individual retailers and establishments by a bonded distributor who pays the taxes. If the bill passes these distributors will no longer be needed, especially in situations such as WalMart and other large chain stores.

Seems like a pretty good deal huh? Well, actually maybe not. The problem is that distributors make all their money on delivering their goods to the large entities. They actually lose money or barely break even on distributing to restaurants and smaller stores such as convenience stores.

When distributors are short cut by these large retailers they will no longer have any reason to carry those wines for the small people. The only answer is that wineries will have to start selling their wines door to door in order to keep smaller businesses selling their product. This will actually cost more, and hurt supply.

Second, it seems like a good deal that we’ll be able to buy booze and wine at really cheap prices from Costco. Doesn’t it? Ask the small retailer who has his kids in your classes, has you do her hair, or buys a burger every day at your drive-in. They are already hurt by Costco and WalMart’s burn and pillage methods. It’s no wonder that Costco has paid $11 million to win this campaign. They stand to earn a lot of money very quickly when they get this bill to go through.

Oh, and by the way, buying wine and booze in one state and transporting it across state lines back to Oregon is against the law in both states. I recommend buying local.

Enjoy!

Barossa Valley Versus Red Mountain…Which Shiraz Stacks Up?

Frequently I’m asked about the difference between Shiraz and Syrah. When I’m asked, I always ask the questioner which one they prefer. They usually can’t really say, but most have a suspicion that the Shiraz is better. The surprise comes when I tell them that they are the same grape, just under a different name.

Actually, Syrah and Shiraz are a branch of the Rhone Noble Varietal Hermitage, who’s name is protected by the French wine growing region by that name. Syrah and Shiraz, although different in name, are by and large, the same grape variety regardless of the region they are from.

However, after several years of pondering, I decided to compare two relatively famous Syrah/Shiraz regions of the world. One local, the other not so local, to see what differences really exist between them.

Locally, I decided on a 2005 Terra Blanca Red Mountain Syrah. The other wine that I chose was a 2005 Cameron Hughes lot 39, from the famed Barossa Valley of South Australia.

Red Mountain, located just outside of Benton City, Washington sits between 500 and 1500 feet above sea level. The Barossa Valley is almost exactly the same altitude range. According to Google Earth they are 13,015 miles away from each other. Also, According to Google, the best way to make this trip is to Kayak from Seattle to Hawaii, to Japan, and then to Australia. Traveling by these means would require 54 days and apparently some good sunscreen.

Both wines were relatively the same price, falling in the just above $10 range. (I wanted this price range because I wanted everyone to be able to replicate my study without going broke.) You can certainly use wines that are much higher in price and quality than what I chose. Some of the most famous vineyards from the Red Mountain Region are Klipsun, and Ceil du Cheval. Penfolds makes a Barossa Valley vineyard that has scored well into the upper 90’s several times over the past decade.

There were differences in the bottles. Terra Blanca uses a Rhone bottle with a real cork, and the Hughes is a Bordeaux bottle with a screw top. The Hughes is 14.5% alcohol and the Terra Blanca is 13.5%.

Upon opening the Terra Blanca, I noticed the familiar smells of dark berries and vanilla. It poured into the glass a dark inky purple. Flavors of dark berry jam layer on the tongue, and finish long and smooth, with fruit and tannin carefully balanced. There is definitely a nice lingering flavor of anise.

The Cameron Hughes poured out of the bottle possibly inkier and darker than the Terra Blanca did. Basically closer to black than purple. Even the bubbles created by pouring were inky. The nose was more veggie, like a bowl of fresh green beans and sliced eggplant. The flavors of fruit were dark, ripe plums.

My decision after virtually traveling over 26,000 miles, and tasting wines from both skilled winemakers on each side of the world, was that both were quite delicious for their own qualities. The Terra Blanca definitely was more berry in its profile, with the Hughes showing more veggie qualities. Both will taste great on their own, or with food.

Personally, I would suggest the Hughes with a Porterhouse, and finish of the night with dark chocolate, gorgonzola, and the Terra Blanca.

Enjoy!