It takes a village to raise a child, they say, but it takes a good deal more than just a village to make a regional wine industry a success. That was one of the take-away messages of the Washington State Wine Awards, although it might not have been the most important one. You be the judge!
And the Winner Is …
The Washington State Wine Awards (organized by the Washington State Wine Commission) isn’t a wine competition, as you might expect from the name. There’s no Oscar-like presentation for “Best Bordeaux-style Blend” or “Outstanding Un-oaked Chardonnay under $12.”
No wines receive awards at all! Instead, it is an opportunity for the wine industry in this state to recognize the villages of people who help get the wines into consumer hands.
This event used to be focused on restaurants and their wine programs, but this year they wisely decided to open it up and recognize people throughout the retail, wholesale, tourism and hospitality industries, giving them credit for what they do to support the cause of Washington wines.
What a great idea! I’ve pasted a few of the awards at the end of this post, click here to download a full list of the winners.
Surprise!
About 60 wineries set up tasting tables for the event — what’s a wine award without wine? — and it was fun to sample wines while talking to such a broad representation of the local “trade.”
I was lucky to run into food writer and cookbook author Cynthia Nims and I asked her what her take-away was from the event. She thought for a moment and then her eyes lit up — surprise!
Cynthia knows knows Washington wines very well, but she said that could always find something new, something surprising at events like this — a sign of the industry’s dynamism. I guess that’s what makes wine (and food, too) so eternally fascinating. We shared our new discoveries and surprises and returned to the tasting.
Hitting the Price Point
The third interesting reaction came from my guests at the event, colleagues Pierre Ly and Cynthia Howson, who frequently assist me with Wine Economist research projects. They grabbed the tasting menu and two glasses and headed out to do an experiment of their own design.
Taking turns, they would taste the wines “blind” — blind in a limited economic sense of not knowing how much they might cost in this case, since it was obviously impossible not to know something about the wines in this atmosphere.
They’d taste, think it over, and then give a “is it worth it?” score — how much would they be willing to pay for this wine?
It’s an interesting idea and challenging, I think, given that the wineries were pouring wines that ranged from $9 (Silver Lake Winery) to $120 (Côte Bonneville) per bottle!
Village, Value and Surprise
Their conclusion? Well obviously there were a few wines that cost far more than they would or could pay. But on the whole they found the wines to be excellent values, with prices falling well within their clearly subjective “I’d buy that” range.
And, interestingly, they reported several wines that they’d now be willing to buy that are well outside their usual comfort zone — they never would have considered them without tasting them first.
The village, the value and the ability to surprise and delight. All of this reflects well on Washington wine today and bodes well for its future, too!
Partial list of Washington State Wine Awards
Restaurant of the Year Visconti’s Italian Restaurant
Sommelier of the Year Thomas Price, Metropolitan Grill
Retailer of the Year Metropolitan Market
Walter Clore Honorarium Doug Charles, Compass Wines
Independent Restaurant of the Year Copperleaf Restaurant at the Cedarbrook Lodge
Best Event Featuring Washington Wine Washington Wine Challenge, Urbane
Best Restaurant Group MacKay Restaurant Group
Independent Retailer of the Year Wine World & Spirits
Retailer Chain of the Year Yoke’s Fresh Market
Retailer Steward of the Year Doug King, Metropolitan Market
Tourism Champion of the Year Seattle’s Convention and Visitors Bureau
Tourism Concierge of the Year Anne Peavey, Seattle’s Convention and Visitor Bureau
Hotel of the Year Hotel Vintage Park
Distributor of the Year Young’s Market Company
Salesperson of the Year Kris Patten, Young’s Market Company
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Images: This year’s beautiful grand award (top), Cynthia Nims (center) and Pierre and Cynthia (photo from a different tasting).