—story and photos by Ross Courtney
—graphic by Jared Johnson
Winemakers are asking for white grapes. Brokers are scrambling to keep up with white wine demand. Growers are planting or grafting white varieties.
Washington’s white wines are having a moment, regaining ground on the state’s red tide and casting a gleam of light in dark times.
“It’s good news, but we have to be cautious about it,” said Dustin Tobin, chair of the Washington Winegrowers Association and vineyard manager for Yakima-based management company Winemakers LLC. He doesn’t want the state to overplant whites, the way it overplanted reds in the past 10 years. “As farmers, we’re kind of our own worst enemies.”
Washington has white wine history. Riesling and Chardonnay dominated the early plantings, as 1970s heat-unit research said whites would do well in the cool Northwest. Gewürztraminer and Chenin Blanc were popular, too.
Over time, producers learned Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah could thrive as well. In the early 2000s, the red-to-white share hovered around 50 percent, with investment in premium wines focused on reds. In 2016, when new red acreage began producing, the share swung to about 60 percent red, with rapid growth at lower price points.
The state may be veering white again, especially at the premium level, an area some consider Washington’s best growth opportunity.
“What I believe is happening is that there is a surge in white wines amongst the boutique end of the market,” said Erik McLaughlin, a Northwest wine industry consultant based in Walla Walla.
Traditionally, whites have sold at lower prices and been considered less “serious” than reds, said Jean-François Pellet, winemaker and partner at Pepper Bridge Winery in Walla Walla. Unfairly, in his opinion.
“White has to be considered seriously, too,” said Pellet, who started his career with white wines, learning from his father in Switzerland. “White wine is difficult to make. White wine is also very serious wine — as serious as red.”
The numbers
Price per ton for grapes overall increased from 2022 to 2023, according to the Washington State Wine Commission’s grape production report for 2023, a year of drastic volume decreases, partly due to contract cuts by Ste. Michelle Wine Estates. The year before, white prices overall increased, despite volume increases, while reds went down.
Washington trends are nuanced, though. Despite cuts, Ste. Michelle and other giants account for such a big share that when they make changes, changes elsewhere hardly move the needle.
Anecdotally, McLaughlin has seen a shift toward premium whites. For the past eight or nine years, Walla Walla has been known for expensive reds. If winemakers wanted whites, they shopped. Now, companies are planting white varieties, he said.
Kristina Kelley, executive director of the Washington State Wine Commission, has noticed white movement as part of a “generational shift.” Gen Z consumers surveyed in 2023 by the Wine Market Council said they drink Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris, along with rosé and sparkling wines.
She also calls such conclusions premature. The Ste. Michelle volume reductions are only a year old. The premiumization trend is more obvious, she said. Nationwide, sales of Sauvignon Blanc in the $15- to $25-per-bottle price range were up by 35 percent from April 2023 to April 2024, according to the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America. Sales of Cabernet Sauvignon — of which Washington has a glut — jumped 72 percent in the same price category and time frame.
“It’s really good news,” Kelley said. “Consumers are looking for quality.”
White wine demand
Several factors are fueling the demand for white wine. Summer tasters seek fruity, chilled options. Others want the lower alcohol content or lower prices of whites. And consumers may just want something different.
Adam Schulz, a Tri-Cities bulk wine broker, has struggled to source Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris for customers in recent years. South Africa, Spain, Italy and New Zealand have noticed the same trends, he said.
“It’s a global situation,” he said.
Wineries usually want both reds and whites, said Marty Clubb of L’Ecole No. 41, one of the early pioneers of premium white wines in Walla Walla.
As red demand surged, producers planted reds and removed whites. His winery emphasized whites the whole time, but he was one of the few.
He believes the excitement about whites, especially at higher price points, will be good for the industry. Wineries seem willing to invest in the required extra labor and lower yields for quality in the white ranks.
“I think it’s an opportunity for Washington to transform itself,” he said.
In the vineyards
The trend could offer benefits. Whites typically harvest earlier in the season, allowing growers to spread labor needs and giving wineries an earlier start.
Les Collines Vineyard east of Walla Walla is adjusting to the white trend, said Brad Sorensen, vineyard manager. Since he arrived in 2018, the vineyard has removed about 40 acres of lesser-performing Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot but has expanded Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon while also adding Marsanne, Roussanne, Piquepoul, Grenache Blanc and Viognier. Some of those new blocks sold out before they started producing, he said.
“A lot of people were looking for whites, and there weren’t really many planted,” he said.
In the Horse Heaven Hills, south of Prosser, Justin Andrews, a partner in McKinley Springs Winery, has seen the white-red-white pendulum swing on his own farm.
In 2015, he grafted 30 acres of Riesling to Cabernet Sauvignon, to keep up with appetite for the signature red. This year, he cut 10 of those acres back to the graft union. Elsewhere, on newer ground, he grafted Viognier and Sauvignon Blanc onto Cabernet vines. Both blocks should return to production next year.
“The sites are probably better for whites, but we put them into Cab because that’s what the client wanted,” Andrews said.
Not anymore. His farm tore out 400 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot this year. White is in demand, at least for now.
“Trends are hard to read in the alcohol industry,” he said. •
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