The new crop of wines on store shelves is so impressive, it’s almost overwhelming.
Most bottles on this list—our seventh annual accounting of the state’s best wines—come from the 2013 vintage. Higher temperatures and ample sun deliver wines that are often richer and have a darker fruit profile than you might associate with our state; think black cherries and blackberries rather than red cherries and blueberries.
These wines are accessible on first pour but still feel like serious, ageworthy creations.
And there’s more headed our way; 2013 was the first of three increasingly warmer vintages for Washington (do I hear a fourth in 2016?). From the early returns, the 2014 and 2015 wines look to be every bit as impressive.
Let’s lift our glasses to living in a wine region capable of everything from age-worthy cabernets to stunning syrahs.
Best of the Best: The Top 10 Washington Wines of 2016
The best of the hundreds of wines tasted this year.
Top Syrah
Is syrah Washington’s greatest grape variety? These 15 wines make a compelling argument.
Wines with a Sense of Place
At its best, wine not only delivers hedonistic enjoyment, it also conveys the essence of the land that produced it. Here are 10 wines that do just that.
Top Red Blends
These wines are far more than the sum of their parts.
Top Cabernet Sauvignon
No surprise—our most planted and most produced grape variety produces an abundance of top wines.
Top Merlot
Sometimes this grape gets a bad rap, but Washington makes merlot as well as any area of the world.
Best Value Wines
These bottles are $30 and under but deliver luxe-level flavor.
The Wild West
It’s an era of major exploration in both variety and place. Here are some of the latest standouts from the winemaking frontier.
Top Bordeaux-Style Blends
No disrespect to France, but this traditional blend—mostly based on cabernet sauvignon and merlot—has become a local signature.
Washington’s Best White Wines
Reds aren't our only stars.
6 Winemakers to Watch
These Washingtonians are responsible for some of the best wines our state has to offer. Keep an eye on them, their wineries, and their future vintages.
Methodology
How Sean did it.
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