Yeah, I think WA State is such a underrated wine region still somehow, but once people discover it, there are some serious wines here.
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Brig, that one was made by Will’s dad, Chris Camarda, IMO one of the most talented winemaker (and blender) around. But the grape didn’t fall too far from the vine with Will, who is making phenomenal wines as well.
I bought my first two cases of Andrew Will wine when the 1989 Cab was first released in about 1991 for $20, IIRC. It continued to drink well for more than 20 years. It would be interesting to find a bottle now to see how it is doing!
Welcome, Will!
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Yes welcome Will! I still have some Andrew Will wines from the late 1990s, and they are drinking superbly. And I like the Guido phone number corks! 
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Glad to hear the wine is still drinking well! Appreciate the tasting notes.
I’m still impressed by WA wines in general on the age-ability. I have had some older 80’s Woodward Canyon that was still drinking very well.
Drank a ‘94 AW Merlot blind and although it was new world, was just coming into its prime.
I wasn’t going to post because I have many views about this…. Many not positive, I started in the business in ‘02, I remember when Christophe and Charles pulled up in their shitty white van that wreaked of herb… asked Charles why his winery was ‘k’ cellars and he told me dead pan… ‘because it’s killer’… my thought was that he wasn’t going to last long, who’s the idiot now.
I’m from Oregon, bit my teeth on Pinot and was a Sous chef that worked in Italian restaurants, PDX loves their Italian wines, not so much super Tuscans but northern and southern Italy… so for me, I drink Piedmont, Burgundy, Riesling and champagne… forgot, Northern Rhône, so tannin and acid
In Washington you bite your teeth on cab/Merlot and Syrah, so when you start drinking more seriously, you start with BDX, Cali can and Super Tuscans… different ends of the spectrum… so chocolate and oak.
Also, look at the wine shops, PDX has some amazing wine shops, loaded with (sometimes) overpriced treats but always ahead of the curve… Seattle, what are the great wine shops and what are their allocations?
I have always said, you can tell the NW winemaking region by the quality of the wine shops…
Lastly, Oregon to me is honest, open and more than welcoming, it’s a tight knit community in some parts (some parts not so much) but always friendly to each other… sure there is the outlier, but in general they get along… Washington to me is too fragmented, grapes are 2-6 hours away from many of the wineries (you can’t just hop in your truck and show your customers your vineyards)… so that passion and intellectual curiosity is somewhat stunted… but there is also a passion that is much more palpable coming from Oregon than Washington and I think it all comes down to which grapes you grow….
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jbray23-
Very interesting and honest post and, perhaps unsurprisingly, I don’t agree with a lot of it. First and foremost, I’m really surprised that someone in OR would assert that, “…[after starting with WA wine], so when you start drinking more seriously…” is a thing. So people who mostly buy and drink WA wines aren’t “serious” wine drinkers?
Also, can you explain why there you think there is a correlation between a wine region and its wine shops? That struck me as odd.
While I don’t have enough data to know whether there is, “…but there is also a passion that is much more palpable coming from Oregon than Washington…” (but my knee-jerk reaction is to disagree…you’re from Oregon, so you’re more in-tune with that region it appears), I do think the assertion that “palpable passion” has anything to do with the types of grapes grown is ridiculous. Do Pinot Noir-first collecters and drinkers like to talk more about how Burgudy and Pinot are the only “real” grapes/wines and Bordeaux or Rhone varities and wines are less “serious?” Yes, I think they do. But I don’t think that equates to more passion in the wine regions at all.
Anyway…interesting post to say the least. Cheers.
I guess you’ve never been to Walla Walla, WA. There are dozens of wineries surrounded by their vineyards and I’ve taken a walk through many of them. True, many wineries are also getting grapes from various areas in the region, such as Red Mountain or The Rocks District. Rotie Cellatrs has their tasting room at The Rocks surrounded by vineyards, btw. I’ve found many of the vineyards and winemakers to be very close, even best of friends. We were at a Va Piano Harvest dinner years ago and I think it was half filled with other winemakers.
Everybody has their favorite wine and region. I haven’t been to Oregon enough to make any sweeping judgements on the wines or winemakers but I think it’s also an enjoyable place with some great wine.
I believe by “bite your teeth” you mean the expression “cut your teeth”.
Cheers
Yes, correct, Walla Walla is a bit of an anomaly that way, woodinville is a long way from red mountain is my point.
It seems more fragmented as you have wineries and vineyards all over Washington, yes you have them in Oregon, but you’re generally not making Walla Walla wine in the willamette valley. The wine maker circle seems closer in Oregon by proximity.
Yes cut my teeth… managing three kids while trying to post may be a bad idea…
Brandon,
Not trying to put anyone down with the term ‘serious’, there are many serious wine drinkers that drink Washington wine, sometimes that’s all they drink with an occasional venture into different regions.
Generally as a person grows through wine, they tend to diversify and dig deep into many regions, I’ve worked retail a lot and have seen many customers go from Washington to the Loire and never go back.
The wine shop comment… we get many Washington wine makers coming into the shop, many have no idea what people are doing in different regions, techniques, grape varieties, ect it seems odd but true, of course this is painting with a broad swath, but I’ve seen it many times… when an Oregon wine maker comes inI generally they geek out and pick up a bunch of different stuff. I believe that intellectual curiousity has translates to the public and to the wine shops as well. If people are buying a more varied selection, distributors bring more and varied items in…
I get asked all the time why shops in PDX are better than here, I believe the winemaking community and proximity of the region is a huge factor in that.
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Great thread and nice to see Will from Andrew Will on the board. I love PNW wines and just returned from my annual 10 day visit to Oregon and the Willamette Valley. I would love to visit Seattle, Woodinville and Walla Walla sometime in the near future. That being said, I have very limited vacation time and choose to visit with my Oregon wine friends. My preference is to drink wine with food, so I’m normally reaching for an Oregon Chardonnay or Pinot Noir. I have a plethora of Andrew Will wines and opened a 2003 Two Blondes with my steak on Tuesday night for the July 4th holiday. I probably have at least 1/3 of the bottle left on the counter, so I’ll try to add a tasting note this weekend, but it’s drinking very well right now. Perhaps Will’s involvement can lead to more WA wine folks taking interest in the board, but excellent posts by many upthread…
An interesting thread for sure, but the “their” instead of “there” grammar error in the thread title is driving me nuts. Maybe it’s just me 
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I live five minutes from the Willamette Valley and have visited many of the wineries but prefer going to Woodinville and Walla Walla to taste the wines there. My cellar is loaded with WA wines, very few from OR. Will be back in WW in Sept.To each his own.
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Couple interesting theses that you present, and thoughtful as always.
The fact that over 70% of WA population lives on I-5 corridor and vineyard land is a resulting 3-6 hours away is an interesting phenomenon. I’d add to that, WA is basically all negociant winemaking, meaning most vineyard owners just sell grapes, while most wineries just make wine. There is a huge level of trust in those who lead the viticulture side of ledger. There is a forced commitment if you are a winemaker who owns a vineyard to “be on” 12 months a year.
No other West Coast region has the physical distance that WA does and the very low % of Estate wineries or wineries that own a high % of vineyards that go into their wines. Not Napa, Sonoma, Willamette Valley, Paso, etc…only one I can think of is Rogue Valley.
People don’t understand how far in the middle of nowhere Walla Walla is and the lack of supporting infrastructure like hotels, restaurants, etc.
It was an issue in the Willamette valley for a long time but the proximity to PDX saved it.
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Commenting as a Washington winemaker … there’s a lot to parse out here, jbray23.
For sure there are differences between Oregon and Washington. I feel like the Willamette is connected to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay growing regions all around the world through IPNC and the exchange of international harvest interns and winemakers and Burgundian investment in Willamette Valley vineyards and wineries. The Oregonian winemaking community seems naturally mindful of wine growing as an international pursuit with historic traditions. So I can believe that these guys are adventurous buyers when they come into your shop.
Up here at the warehouse winery in Woodinville, you’re right I am far away from the vineyards I buy fruit from. It’s weird, trust me I get it. The disconnect between vineyard and winery I am actively trying to overcome (es por eso estoy aprendiendo espanol). Washington wine as a brand category is less united relative to the Willamette - it’s a blessing and a curse how many different varietals and styles of wine we can grow in the Columbia Valley.
If I may be so bold as to defend my tasting groups made up of Washingtonian winemakers, enologists, cellar managers, somms, beverage directors, distributor reps and regular guy enthusiasts, we taste wine from all over so I’ve got a beef with the characterization that we have a stunted intellectual curiosity and passion.
thanks for selling my chenin 
Erica
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Commenting as both an Oregon winemaker (38 years) and a Washington winemaker (36 years)…I
have a huge beef with any stunted curiosity or passion characterizations. A place I learned much about the greater world of wine was Dan McCarthy’s shop in Seattle.
As I am both close to and hours from my vineyards, I can say confidently that the most important quality-driving factors are management and terroir. My being next to or far from doesn’t change those. I mean, really, what could I tell Paul Champoux or Lonnie Wright or Kevin Chambers about
wine grape growing? I provide the money. They make it happen.
There is plenty of driving necessary at harvest time, but it is a small price to pay.
For Christ’s sake, I get to make Oregon Pinot noir and Washington Cabernet! Who wouldn’t want to do that?
Peter Rosback
Sineann
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