The Washington Reds

Eastern Washington may be one of the least attractive vineyard areas in the world, flat and lizard-dry. It takes no imagination at all to picture how it must have looked before extensive irrigation arrived with the damming of the Columbia River.

Winegrowing is a relatively new venture for eastern Washington farmers, who are more used to crops like corn, wheat, apples and hops. And the climate is downright weird, at least compared to traditional wine areas. Summers are baking-hot; winters see near-Siberian freezes. Spend 24 hours in a desert and you’ll know what eastern Washington is like.

And so it seems preposterous that many Washington wines manage to be as good as they are. Washington winegrowing turns convention on its head, but you can’t deny the goodness in your glass.

For example, you’d expect the hot days to create “flabby” low-acid wines, yet Washington wines can be, if anything, too crisp, even downright acidic. The cold nights help the grapes retain their acidity. At the same time, those high-sunshine summer days--and long ones, at that; Washington is farther north than much of Maine--invest the grapes with real flavor.

Twenty years ago, people were betting on Washington’s white wines, especially then-fashionable Riesling. Red wines were deemed--by some, anyway--inappropriate to eastern Washington’s climate. I don’t know why. Pioneer Washington winery Chateau Ste. Michelle produced a landmark 1975 Cabernet that’s still drinking superbly today.

Now the thinking is reversed, probably forever. Although lovely white wines are being produced (especially Chardonnay, Riesling and Semillon), Washington’s claim to fine-wine fame is unquestionably its Cabernets and Merlots.

Nationally distributed Chateau Ste. Michelle and its spinoff label, Columbia Crest, have won praise for their red wines. It’s a rare Merlot fan who hasn’t warmed to the price value of Columbia Crest Merlot, which sells for as little as $9.95.

At the high-price end, the oaky, emphatically flavored Cabernets and Merlots of Leonetti Cellar and Woodward Canyon Winery, both near Walla Walla, have cult followings. Finding these wines is a chore in itself, never mind the fact that both producers can command $50 a bottle.

Equally noteworthy, but at an opposite stylistic extreme, is Quilceda Creek Vintners, which makes Cabernets of unrivaled finesse. This small winery, producing little more than 1,000 cases of Cabernet a year, has the best track record of any Washington winery, an almost unbroken string of successes dating back to the mid-1970s.

No other Washington Cabernet is as graceful yet profound. Owner-winemaker Alex Golitzen did benefit from the fact that his uncle happened to be Beaulieu Vineyards’ legendary winemaker Andre Tchelistcheff. Still, the style and, above all, the perseverance are Golitzen’s. The latest vintage, ‘93, sells for $40.

In fairness, most Washington wineries ask reasonable, sometimes astonishingly low, prices. Columbia Winery, for example, consistently turns out one of America’s best Semillons, and you can find it for as little as $7 a bottle. Even Columbia’s high-end David Lake Signature Series, named for the winemaker, rarely tops $25 a bottle.

Washington is willing to take a chance on little-known grape varieties, too. Where else in America is anybody making Lemberger? Several Washington wineries issue red wines (of varying quality) made from this Austrian grape, also known as Blaufrankisch.

The best rendition, a real stunner, comes from Kiona Vineyards. Every year, without fail, Kiona’s Lemberger is implacably dark, almost black, with an entrancing, spicy scent, the sort of wine that begs for grilled meats. Kiona Vineyards isn’t distributed in Southern California, but the winery gladly ships. The 1996 Lemberger is the latest release and sells at the winery for $10 (Kiona Vineyards, [509] 588-6716).

Worth noting is a winery that has so far escaped national attention, although one of the larger producers in the state. Some of Washington’s best bargains are coming from Covey Run Vintners. (It was founded in 1982 as Quail Run Vintners but subsequently changed its name because of a prior trademark claim by a California winery.)

For several years, Covey Run produced some pretty mediocre wines along with others that showed glimpses of real quality. In recent years, it has issued a string of superb wines, some selling at ridiculously low prices for their quality. Two are worth highlighting.

*1995 Covey Run Vintners Cabernet-Merlot, Washington, ($11.95): This is the sort of polished, supple red wine you do not want to encounter at a blind tasting. You’ll probably blow your wine-tasting reputation by confidently identifying it as something that sells for much more.

The key to its quality is not only Washington’s ability to grow outstanding red wine grapes but the deft blend of grapes: 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot and a noteworthy 22% Cabernet Franc. The result truly is greater than the sum of its parts, as all blends purport to be but few are.

This is smooth, slightly spicy wine that slides down with the sort of finesse that suggests good red Bordeaux. The price makes this a real stunner. Look for a street price as low as $8.95 a bottle.

*1995 Covey Run Vintners Chardonnay, Columbia Valley, ($11.95): Securing really good, true-tasting Chardonnay for a plausible price is the toughest game in town these days. There are plenty of Chardonnays on the shelves, but a disturbing number are bland and indistinct. Others have been so heavily oaked that they taste of nothing else, usually for good reason.

But Covey Run’s ’95 Chardonnay is a textbook demonstration of what a pure, true Chardonnay should taste like. The Chardonnay taste shines through, unencumbered by oakiness. Such a wine--at least at such a price--is rare enough that it’s almost a shock to taste it.

What makes Covey Run’s achievement all the more notable is that the winery issued a whopping 24,000 cases of this wine. For something as fine as this, that’s a lot of wine. It’s a tour de force of blending. At a street price as low as $8.95, this is a bargain in Chardonnay as it should be made.