Banking on Washington. Getting into the game of being able to pick your clients posed far more interesting surprises than I ever anticipated. For one, I am not saying I was able to write a list of dream clients and poof now I am representing them for marketing. What I have been able to do is take a 30,000 ft view of the landscape of the American wine scene and then take some positions on what I feel a complete book of wineries should look like to be as successful as possible. Hints: Washington.

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By chance, I had some friends in Washington send some of their wines as they heard I was looking for some American brands. I took it as yeah this will be fun to try and possibly might be able to make some sense for at least a single brand. A blueprint of mine for the building out of this book of wine was to never cannibalize sales of an alike winery by representing two of the same category. I figured that is why at best I could represent possible two brands at max to maintain this blueprint. Now there are possibly seven brands I will represent from Washington.

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After being constantly impressed with the brands I was tasting as the boxes were arriving at my house, I kept finding valid excuses to consider representing yet another brand. One only does rosé. Two are entry-level but are entirely different in style and story. One seems cheeky but drinks like serious juice. Another is incredibly well-packaged while doing both Rhone and Bordeaux varieties. Another is flashy and can back it up. The last is a tiny tiny production Bordeaux blend that will make one or two distributors very happy to sell.

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The common thread to all of them is balance, purity of fruit, lift from benefiting being further north than California so maintaining bright acid naturally is easy, and great value. Comparative to California’s famed areas for these styles, the difference in price was staggering.
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Washington will be harder to sell initially versus just being able to use trusted regional names like “Napa”, “Sonoma”, or the AVAs within these two juggernaut counties. Convincing the average consumer to spend their money more wisely by giving them what they want (big fruit/made in the USA/varietal-based wines) at a better price is going to take a lot of effort. Washington wines have personality and beauty while being cheaper so if there was ever a time to give a shot, economic instability is probably a pretty good indication the time is now.

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Commonly seen in on lists will be 25 Napa Cabs at over $200 a bottle and only two Washington reds. Knowing customers want like-style wines…there is room for more. You just have to be willing to support the category if you believe in it. I think the next few years will prove the decision to bank on Washington to be a very smart move.