Cultura Wine: Zillah, WA’s Answer to Bordeaux, FR

In recent years, there has been a frenzied scramble to convert once-lucrative but now too-costly-to-maintain fruit orchards into money-making vineyards in Washington State.  Because economics was the driving factor behind many of these conversions, we saw a lot of behemoth production facilities churning out “approachable” wines (read: sweet, white cheap stuff) from immature vines in order to cash in on the wine craze perpetuated by films such as Sideways.  Touring wine country has never been easier, with the Napa Valley adopting the Disneyland for Oenophiles approach charging upwards of $20 per tasting at movie star-owned estate vineyards reachable by stretch limo, train, and I’m sure eventually hovercraft.  I imagine plans for a wine-themed park complete with a floating river of red called the Merlot Meander.  States beyond California are quickly following suit, and Washington is no exception.  I see the fundamental difference between the vineyards in the U.S. and those of the great winemaking regions in France, Italy, and Spain as time.  There is simply no way to rival the old world in terms of established character, which is not to say we cannot produce world-caliber wines, which we certainly do.  We simply need to be mindful not to turn the experience into a soulless affair more about pumping out bottles of two buck chuck than great Brunello.

I recently had the opportunity to do a wine tour of Washington’s premier growing destinations in Zillah and Prosser.  It becomes apparent rather quickly that there is some contention in the Yakima valley wine community, given the fact that there are two separate organizations of vineyards that do not recognize one another nor put vineyards outside their organization on their marketing handout maps.  Wine tasting in Prosser is like walking through a strip mall wherein every store is actually a tasting room– literally.  There are essentially two groupings of tasting rooms nestled quaintly (ha!) beside each of the corresponding freeway exits for the town.  One grouping is a stone’s throw from a roadside trucker’s motel, and from the other you can taste wine while listening to the soothing sound of Interstate 82 buzz past.  To say the tasting experience lacks character would be an understatement.  There is one important exception in the boutique tasting room operated out of a quaint home in the heart of actual downtown Prosser called Hinzerling Winery.  They’ve been around since 1976, a long time relatively considering their cohort, and it shows.  They produce some of the finest fortified wines I’ve tasted this side of the Atlantic, but on a very limited scale with the focus on quality.  In fact getting them to actually sell a bottle of something is like trying to get Sarah Palin away from the media- they just don’t want to part with such good stuff!

Zillah is 20 minutes and a world away from Prosser in terms of the wine experience.  The tasting rooms are for the most part located on the vineyards, and you reach them via stunning country roads that wind through lush vineyards and orchards.  You can even do a tasting tour on horseback, which is not to be missed! The standout winery in Zillah is undoubtedly Cultura Wine.  Cultura released its first vintage in 2005, a small production of 180 cases.  By 2008 they were up to 600, so while the growth is there, the focus is very obviously on putting out superior, classy wines.

I had the great pleasure of meeting the winemakers Tad and Sarah Fewel- not a drop of pretension exists in either of them and they simply could not have been more gracious.  I desperately wanted to go to Cultura after the proprietors of the Bed and Breakfast we were staying at heard we were grilling rack of lamb for dinner and gave us a bottle of Cultura’s mythical, sold-out 2006 Cabernet Franc as a perfect pairing.  One sip, with or without the lamb, was all it took to get me begging Sarah to let us come by and see what they were up to over at Cultura!  Sarah kindly agreed to open the tasting room for us despite it being typically closed on Thursday.  The moment I walked through the front door, the attention to detail was obvious, from their waxed bottle tops hand-dipped by Tad himself to the meticulous layout and labeling of their oak barrels.

They did not have a lot of stock on hand, as with their limited production, wine flies off the shelves, but everything we did taste was exceptional.  Despite the Cab Franc being sold out, Sarah was able to rustle up a few bottles for us and I cannot say enough good things about this wine.   I would hardly expect gentle, soft character out of a single varietal bottle of Cab Franc, so I was heartily surprised to find it herein.  I won’t presume to fill your head with notes of cassis and chocolatey finishes, but I will say that it’s been three days and I can still taste the smooth buttery velvet of that wine gliding past my palate.

We also had the chance to sip a glass of an “05 blend of Cab Franc and Merlot while we toured the winery, which made it’s way into our pile of purchases as well, and of that wine I would say that Sarah’s raw talent shines through in perfecting an ideal blend.  It is apparent at Cultura that the winemakers are involved in every step of the process, from plucking the vines to designing the labels, and the fact that they care so much really shows in the depth and presence of their wine.  As with cooking, it is the same in winemaking that if you put love, emotion and passion into the process the end result will shine.  Someone could follow the exact process in a clinical, non-committed fashion and the end result would be an inferior wine.  The love is there at Cultura, and it shows!

Cultura is releasing five new wines on October 3^rd at what promises to be the most fabulous release party in recent memory- I would urge you to stop by if you’re in need of some sunshine and fine wine.