Hot Summers Produced Lush Red Wines, Perfect for Northwest Winters

This article appears in print in the February 2018 issue. Click here for a free subscription.

After two of the coolest back-to-back summers in Washingtons wine-growing history (2010 and 2011), Mother Nature boomeranged, with four straight growing seasons each warmer than the previous, culminating with scorchers in 2014 and 2015. Wines made from 2014 and 2015 grapes have produced plush reds perfect for the dark and cold of midwinter. They also make up the preponderance of Washington reds on the market.

Since 1989, I have not seen warmer vintages back to back than in 2014 and 2015, says David Larsen of Kent-based Soos Creek Wine Cellars.

The data back him up. Washington State University (WSU) tracks a metric called growing degree days, which calculates the amount of heat accumulation in a growing season. WSUs Benton City station at the base of Red Mountain recorded the two highest figures in the stations 21-year history in 2014 and 2015 almost 50 percent higher than in a cool year like 2011.

Hot summers can present challenges in the vineyards. Each vines leaf canopy must be managed to protect the grapes from damaging afternoon sunburn, explains JJ Williams of Red Mountain-based Kiona Vineyards. Vineyard workers must walk each row to ensure all the vines receive enough water from drip irrigation lines.

Sometimes, the ends of each row can fool you, Williams says. They can look perfectly fine, while the middle of each row is dried out.

Experienced farmers like the Williamses know how to manage these challenges. They also understand the potential for outstanding wines from warmer years. Grapes are like any crop: Give them more heat and sunshine and theyll ripen faster. Riper grapes come with riper flavors and higher sugar levels, which translate into more robust alcohols after all that sugar is fermented. The finished products are rich, supple and delicious.

This style of red is perfect for the long gloom of a Pacific Northwest winter. Theres something warming about glugging down a rich red wine after a cold day of cleaning gutters. Its the adult equivalent of the mug of steaming hot cocoa, minus the marshmallows. Furthermore, big ripe reds dovetail perfectly with the foods we eat this time of year.

Pauls Warm-Vintage Picks

2014 Corvidae Rook Merlot, $14

Corvidae is a value label for Wapato-based Owen Roe, and winemaker David OReilly has turned out a spectacular value with his 2014 merlot. Its a delicious truffle of a wine, mixing pure cherry fruit with rich high-cacao chocolate. Sneaky fine-grained tannins emerge on the finish, offering wonderful scaffolding for all that supple, delicious fruit. Serve with: Garlicky pork sausages on a bed of warm, mustardy green lentils.

2015 Nathan Gray Syrah, Den Hoed Vineyard, $16

Nathan Gray is a value label for Woodinville-based importer/distributor Cru Selections, and this syrah is a well-priced single-vineyard beauty, coming from high-elevation Den Hoed Vineyard in the Yakima Valley. The nose offers marionberry fruit with top notes of violet and peony, and bass notes of earthy soil and espresso. This is a lovely, fruit-driven Syrah that delights with its freshness and inner-mouth perfume. Serve with: An olive-studded lamb stew.

2014 Soos Creek Soleil, $20

Most of this blend of cabernet sauvignon (68 percent) and merlot (32 percent) comes from the outstanding Champoux Vineyard in Horse Heaven Hills. It is an intense palate stainer, with plush fruits black currant, black plum, cherry complicated by subtleties of tobacco leaf and espresso. The finish is long, rich and satisfying. Serve with: Coffee-rubbed, smoked brisket.

2014 Kiona Cabernet Sauvignon, Red Mountain, $25

Two-thirds of this wine comes from Kionas estate vineyards on Red Mountain, including a significant amount from the North Block, planted in the 1970s. Rich red raspberry fruit is swaddled in warming barrel tones of vanilla and cocoa powder, balanced by a bright vein of citrus-peel acidity. The toothsome finishing tannins are true to cabernet, very true to Red Mountain. Serve with: Wine-braised short ribs on a bed of soft polenta.

2015 Old Scratch Cabernet Sauvignon, $28

Old Scratch is a value label for Chris Gorman of Woodinville-based Gorman Winery. Gorman is a winemaker who has no problem embracing warm vintages to make wines that are hedonist fever dreams. This one comes predominantly from Quintessence Vineyard, a newer site on Red Mountain thats been turning heads in recent years. The nose pairs Rainier cherry fruit with lovely green earthy tones, almost like the peppery watercress notes youll experience in good cabernet franc. The texture offers just-right chewiness, carried by dusty, medium-grained tannins, which leave a lingering finish of chamomile tea. Serve with: A porterhouse steak, for the full hedonist experience.

Versions of these stories appear in the February issue of Seattle magazine.