Spring Barrel Tasting at Yakima Valley Wineries

Every year in the Yakima Valley, local wineries open their doors for a special event – Spring Barrel Tasting!  Spring is a wonderful time in the Yakima Valley, with buds on all the vines and trees, and new grass giving our beautiful brown hills a green tint.  

The winemaking process begins in the fall when grapes are picked.  Pressing and fermenting takes place in the next few weeks, and then the juice settles down for a long winter’s nap in tanks or barrels.  Periodically, the winemaker will taste the wine as it’s aging, to determine how the process is going, and to make any adjustments that are necessary.     

So the Spring Barrel Tasting event is exactly that – a chance for the public to taste wine straight from the barrels!  

There is no charge for either Spring Barrel Tasting or Pre-Barrel Tasting events.  Some wineries are offering additional library tastings, private tastings with the winemaker, or special food pairings for those who have purchased Reserve Tickets (purchase here for $20 each). However, keep in mind that the main attraction - barrel tasting - can be enjoyed at all wineries for no additional charge!  If you wish, you can purchase a logo glass at your first winery stop of the day, and use it for tasting at all the wineries you visit throughout the weekend (you may also bring a glass from home).

If you can’t attend the 2008 Spring Barrel Tasting weekend, April 26-27, take advantage of Pre-Barrel Tasting April 19-20.  Pre-barrel Tasting was begun in response to enormous popularity of the Spring Barrel Tasting event, in an effort to offer customers a chance to beat the crowds.  (Before long, we may have to have a Pre-pre-barrel tasting weekend!)  The fifteen wineries of the Ratttlesnake Hills Wine Trail will also be open for Pre-Barrel Tasting on Friday, April 18th, and for Barrel Tasting on Friday, April 25th.   

Interview with David Lowe of Wineglass Cellars, March 2007:

David Lowe of Wineglass Cellars talked with EverythingYakima.com about winemaking and barrel tasting. 

EverythingYakima:  What wine will you be sampling from the barrel this weekend? 

David Lowe: We are going to be tasting a 2005 barrel of Marcoux Vineyard Syrah.   

EY: Is this wine from grapes that were harvested last fall, or the previous year?

DL: It takes at least one year, sometimes two before a wine is presentable enough for public tasting.

EY: Ok, so that means the wine people will be sampling from the barrel this weekend grew in 2005 or possibly even 2004.  Wow!   How would you describe barrel samples in comparison to finished, bottled wine?

As a winemaker (personally only) I cannot stand the taste of wine less than six months old.  The wine younger than that has a green and unpleasant taste to me and it is such an overpowering sensation that it’s all I can sense.  After 6 months then I can start to get a feel for how a wine will turn out in a glass. 

Barrel samples are always good!  I take my time to select a good and tasty barrel from my stock of barrels.  I want to offer the public as fine an experience as possible and having a tasty barrel is part of it. 

EY: Does blending take place while wine is ageing in the barrels? 

My blending decisions are made just before bottling.  I do not know what wines I have or their characteristics until the barrel ageing process is completed.  When it comes time to blend I bring all the barrels down that are ready for bottling and taste every barrel, rating each on 9 different parameters.  From this list I pull my favorites for Reserve and blend the rest and taste to be sure it's still good wine.  Sometimes I have to put some "reserve" wine back into the general blend to beef it up in some area.  All in all it's the "art" part of winemaking and the part I enjoy the most. 

Some winemakers make blending decisions before fermentation is complete.  My hats are off to them for getting through some awful flavors and being able to make wonderful wines at this terribly awkward stage of winemaking.  And some of the best winemakers in Washington make wines this way.  Some even blend in the field by co-fermenting harvested fruit together. 

EY: Thankyou David!  It’s amazing how much there is to this winemaking process - it truly is an art. 

Be sure to stop by Wineglass Cellars next time you're wine tasting in Yakima (click here for a map and driving directions).