In the early 1980s, Wine & Spirits magazine named a Washington state Cabernet Sauvignon the best in the nation. It was a surprising announcement, since Washington wines at the time were under-the-radar in terms of quality and sophistication.
“Buyers looked upon Washington as a winemaking oddity with absolutely no hope whatsoever of delivering wine of the caliber of California, Europe, Australia or other well-established wine regions of the world,” said Lorne Jacobson, writing in the Puget Sound Business Journal. “Potential distributors often met presentations with downright skepticism or a perfunctory ‘no.’”
Fast-forward to 2019: Washington has become a leading wine producing region, home to more than 900 wineries and more than 350 grape growers. In 2007, Washington vineyards occupied about 31,000 acres. By 2017, that figure had grown to 50,000 acres, the approximate size of California’s Napa Valley.
At Leonetti Cellar, the harvest crew sorts through the grapes as part of a stringent quality-control process. (Leonetti Cellar)
The award-winning Cabernet was bottled in 1978 by Walla Walla vintner Gary Figgins who almost did not enter the competition because he did not want to give up two bottles of his wine. The announcement catapulted the nascent Washington wine industry from infancy to adulthood in a single season.
Figgins had started Leonetti Cellar in 1977 and it was Walla Walla’s first commercial winery. He named it for his grandparents Francesco and Rosa Leonetti, who had emigrated from Calabria in 1902. Along with growing fruits and vegetables in their new home, the Leonetti’s also had a small vineyard. In fact, Figgins’ first Cabernet Sauvignon grapes were grown on an acre of hillside behind the original Leonetti homestead. Today, Leonetti Cellar is managed by Gary’s son Chris, who enjoys growing Sangiovese in tribute to his Italian roots.
I vini di Walla Walla sono amati e celebrati in tutti gli US, inclusa Portland, dove ha recentemente avuto luogo un tasting event
Although commercial-scale planting of wine grapes did not begin until the mid-20th century, Italians and wine in Washington state go back decades. In 1825, members of the Hudson’s Bay Company planted grape vines at Fort Vancouver in the southern part of the state. As immigrants from Italy, France and Germany moved into the territory, they added their own plantings.
One of those immigrants was Frank Orselli, a Lucca native who arrived in Washington Territory in 1857. Orselli is generally credited as the first Italian to arrive in the Walla Walla valley. He eventually saved up enough money to buy 180 acres on which he planted vegetables, fruit trees and grapes.
Grapes from Eastern Washington are harvested for Col Solare wines, a collaboration between Washington’s oldest winery, Chateau Ste. Michelle, and Italy’s famous winemaker Piero Antinori. (Andrea Johnson Photography)
The wine that Orselli produced was very popular, particularly with the soldiers stationed at Fort Walla Walla. In 1875, the local newspaper, The Walla Walla Statesman, reported that Orselli had the largest winery in the area and had crushed 6,000 pounds of grapes that year. Orselli would later open one of Walla Walla’s first tasting rooms.
Why is eastern Washington such a good home for Italian wine grapes? For one reason, much of the wine-growing area of Washington is just a few miles north of its counterpart in northern Italy. So, even though Walla Walla, for example, is half a world away from the Piemonte region geographically, not to mention culturally, it sits at 46 degrees north of the equator, about 70 miles north of where Piemonte lies.
In addition, both regions have benefited from unique soil structures. Much of Washington was covered by the great Missoula floods at the end of the last ice age. When the ice withdrew, tons of sediment were deposited, creating the fertile soil that is home to the state’s outstanding vineyards.
The wine that Orselli produced was very popular, particularly with the soldiers stationed at Fort Walla Walla
The most prominent grapes grown statewide are Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Riesling, but many winemakers still prefer grapes native to Italy. That was the case with Gino Cuneo. Cuneo started out making Pinot Noir but his Italian heritage nudged him toward grapes such as Nebbiolo and Sangiovese. In 2001, he went in with some partners and built a winery in Carlton, Ore. The partnership suffered problems, though, and in 2008, Cuneo went his own way and opened Cuneo Cellars.
In 2011, he moved his operation to Walla Walla, and a few years later, opened a tasting room across the street from the city’s historic Marcus Whitman Hotel. Today Cuneo Cellars is one of the few wineries in the Northwest that is entirely devoted to Italian varietals and the Italian style of winegrowing and winemaking.
Some Washington vintners chose to form partnerships with wineries from the Old World, bringing authentic Italian winemaking philosophies and knowledge to the Pacific Northwest. That’s the story behind Col Solare, a winery located in Benton City, about 70 miles from Yakima.
In 1992, Marchese Piero Antinori, whose family has been making wine in Italy since the 1300s, visited Washington’s Columbia Valley to see first-hand what was going on with the state’s wine industry. During his time in the Northwest, Antinori became intrigued with the idea of merging two distinct grape-growing and winemaking cultures.
He formed a partnership with Washington’s oldest winery, Chateau Ste. Michelle, and in 1995, the team introduced Col Solare, Italian for “shining hill.” Located on Red Mountain high above the Yakima River, Col Solare winery occupies 40 acres with commanding views of its fan-shaped vineyards.
At the southern edge of Washington in the Columbia Gorge, along the Oregon border, sits a small winery with the unforgettable name of Idiot’s Grace. Opened in 2002, the owners plant about 26 wine grape varieties. One-quarter of those are Italian native species, and from those, Idiot’s Grace produces a Dolcetto, Barbera and Primitivo.
Throughout Washington state, the contributions that the early immigrants made to the wine industry are huge and their impact will be felt for generations to come. Whatever grapes they chose to plant, whether from Tuscany, Piemonte or southern Italy, these pioneers helped ensure that Italian grapes are a vital contributor to the state’s successful wine industry.
Donate