Higher Prices Likely For Domestic Wine

It doesn’t take a degree in economics to see that higher wine prices are sneaking up on us. It’s that supply and demand thing.

“There are a couple things that are driving up the price of wine, but the biggest is the phylloxera in California,” said John Allen, one of the owners of Vino! wine shop in Spokane.

Phylloxera are microscopic insects that get their jollies by munching the roots of grapevines. In California, thousands of prime acres of grapes have been ripped out and replaced with disease-resistant vines. But those plants will take at least three years to bear fruit.

Meanwhile, grapes are in short supply at the same time people are starting to drink more wine. The price category that will most likely be squeezed out is the quality $10 bottle.

Typically, when California comes up short on grapes, it looks to Washington and other vinifera grape growing regions to fill the void. But harvests have been on the light side in the Northwest in recent years, too.

This past winter has been especially devastating in Washington’s wine country as bitter temperatures did some serious damage to the vines, especially the current best seller, merlot. While it’s still a little early to evaluate the full extent of the damage, some growers are guessing the ‘96 harvest will be a complete loss.

That’s why it might not be a bad idea to stock up on bargains now. It could be just the motivation you’ve been waiting for to start that cellar.

These days, Allen said he steers customers looking for good value towards wines from Chile and Australia. He’s high on the shiraz (a slightly spicy, light red) from producers down under such as Rosemount Estates, Wyndham Estates and McGuigan Brothers. All are around $10.

Loris Stupel at The Spokane Wine Company said she hasn’t seen any dramatic cost increases - aside from the jump in the price of the already unattainable Leonetti Cellars merlot, up to $40-plus this year. She said Northwest wines are still among the best buys in the ever-crowded market.

Among some of her favorite reasonably priced Washington wines are the Kiona cabernet and the new releases from Powers winery: the ‘93 cabernet sauvignon and the ‘94 cabernet-merlot blend, which sell for $13 and $11 respectively.

While white-hot California zinfandel (that’s red zin) has been getting loads of attention, more vintners are coming out with a spicy, French-style syrah. Stupel said the Bogle syrah is a big seller at $7.

Jim Duncan at The Wine Cellar in Coeur d’Alene sells quite a bit of affordable petite sirah from respected producers David Bruce and Guenoc. He said it’s a nice alternative to the increasingly pricey merlot and cabernet.

“I’ve never seen prices go up so fast, especially on red wines,” he said. “But surprisingly, people are willing to pay.”

My favorite cheapies include the Eschol cabernet and chardonnay from Trefethen, semillon (a great food wine) from just about any Washington producer and the concentrated, robust Italian red, Salice Salentino from Dr. Cosmo Taurino. All are under $10, the semillon often under $5.

Prep time

Just a reminder: The Gonzaga Prep wine tasting is Saturday from 7:30 until 10 p.m., but if history repeats itself, it’s advisable to arrive fairly early because the best wine is slurped up pretty fast. Tickets are $15 in advance but cost $17.50 at the door. Buy them early at area wine shops.

Among the choice wines poured at this event are the ‘93 Seven Hills cabernet, Columbia’s chardonnay, Latah Creek’s ‘95 riesling, Hyatt Vineyards’ merlot, Gordon Brothers’ ‘91 cabernet, the pinot gris from Erath Vineyards, Hogue’s chardonnay and the Kunde chardonnay and cab. Also stop by Rodney Strong, J. Lohr and Caterina.

Dessert wine lovers should check out the latest from Quady, which makes a couple of wildly fragrant orange muscats.

The ticket price includes a monogrammed glass and some munchies, but I recommend coming to this event with a full stomach so you don’t get tipsy.

Also, if you’re going to sample any serious amount of wine, plan on swishing and spitting. Take a bite of bread in between to cleanse your palate. Take notes on what you like. Remember, this is a tasting, not a race to see how much wine you can consume in 2-1/2 hours.

New winemaker

Michael H. Black has been hired to replace the departed Paul Vandenberg as winemaker at Worden’s winery in Spokane.

Black, who has been in the business since 1988, worked his way up from a cellar helper at Edna Valley Vineyards to winemaker for Jankris Winery. While there, his wines won numerous awards.

Black also worked as a vineyard manager and a cellar master at Creston Vineyards in San Luis Obispo County, a huge 200,000-case operation that specialized in private labels for restaurants and supermarkets. Creston also had its own label and did custom crushing for Caymus and Kendall Jackson.

Black said he was attracted to the area by the prospect of working on a smaller scale.

“I’m looking forward to working at a place where the emphasis is on quality versus volume,” he said.

Black has no major changes in store for Worden’s.

“The last thing I want to do is shock customers who like the wine,” he said. “Any changes will be made over the long run and will be subtle.”

Well done

Wine writers have been known to dish out an inordinate amount of gushing praise, but one tribute from a syndicated columnist in Los Angeles is particularly meaningful for one Washington winemaker.

David Forsyth, Hogue Cellars’ main man, has been named winemaker of the year by Los Angeles Times columnist Dan Berger. Forsyth is the first winemaker outside California to receive this distinction.

Berger was especially fond of Forsyth’s treatment of Hogue’s semillon, sauvignon blanc, chenin blanc, riesling, merlot and cabernet. (That about covers the whole line.) Of course, savvy wine drinkers in these parts have been hip to Hogue for years. It is one of the most consistent producers of reasonably priced wines in the Northwest.

, DataTimes MEMO: Grapevine is a monthly feature of IN Food. Leslie Kelly welcomes questions and comments from readers about all aspects of wine. Write to Grapevine, Features Department, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210. Call 459-5486; fax 459-5098.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Leslie Kelly The Spokesman-Review