The Golden Age of Pacific Northwest Wines?

While California remains the powerhouse of American wine production, its landscape is shifting from the mosaic of family-run estates that used to dot the back roads of Napa and Sonoma to a more corporate-driven ecosystem. Companies like E. & J. Gallo and Constellation Brands have been actively acquiring independent wineries. Gallo alone purchased over 30 wine brands in recent years. 
 
That doesn’t automatically mean lower quality wines, but large corporate entities tend to spend just as much if not more on brand building as they do on the quality of their products. 
 
Here in the Pacific Northwest, winemaking is still very much an artisanal pursuit, dominated by small family and independent producers. Over 70% of Oregon’s approximately 1,100 wineries produce fewer than 5,000 cases per year. In Washington’s roughly 1,050 wineries, that number is closer to 90%. 
 
And yet, Pacific Northwest wines regularly earn top spots on annual wine lists and consistently earn 90+ scores from critics. 
 
Washington and Oregon are not immune to the economic (and climate) factors behind the shift to more corporate ownership, but for now the Pacific Northwest is a winemaker’s paradise and we should enjoy living in our region’s golden age.