Edible Seattle is a rag that has no real purpose other than to generate advertising revenue. The editor, Jill Lightner is light on the facts and heavy on the opinion. Maybe it's one of those magazines you buy in the airport to read on a long boring flight. (Five minute down, three hours and forty seven minutes to go.)
In the the July/August 2012 issue they
published an article by Ron Holden about the Rattlesnake Hills AVA.
Mister Holden makes numerous errors and assumptions in this article
that was intended to put down the Rattlesnake Hills as an AVA. (He
loved the Snipes Mountain AVA in the previous edition.) He neither
understands the AVA process nor the facts surrounding the
establishment of the Rattlesnake Hills AVA. Paul Gregutt, on the
other hand, took a tour with me of the Rattlesnake Hills and the
somewhat far away Sagebrush Ridge before he wrote about it. Mr.
Holden did not, so he has no idea how far away and how different
Sagebrush Ridge is. (Lots of wind machines is a clue.)
The title of the article, 'Snakes on
the Plains: Rattlesnake Hills,' is misleading. One of the major
differences between Prosser Flats aka Sagebrush Ridge and the
Rattlesnake Hills is the Hills – many of them, according to Dr.
Alan Busacca, soil scientist, giving us a large choice of terroir.
Crank up Dick Boushey and you will
always get a put down of the Rattlesnake Hills. Quote, “I know of
no regional style, specific variety or type of wine that is unique to
this proposed area.” In reality, the reason that we wanted to
distinguish this AVA was specifically the fact that Paul Portteus and
I both noticed that Bordeaux varieties grown in Prosser flats had a
distinct vegetal character in all but the warmest years. I purchased
Cabernet Franc and Merlot from the FaireAcre mother block for years.
The FaireAce mother block is adjacent to Boushey's vineyard. One year
it was so vegetative I sold it to another winery to be blended into
box wine. We wanted people to know that wine labeled Rattlesnake
Hills would not be vegetal. (Yes, I know the quote is from Decanter
Magazine from 2006. Odd that it showed up here since a search of
Decanter Magazine does not reference it. Want to guess who is behind
this? I think I know and it's not Dick.)
Mr. Holden refers to the “Snake in
the Grass” party. I'm sorry, it is the “Snake in the
Glass” party. Where was Ms. Lightner on this fact check?
Mr. Holden must have been a little
confused in our telephone interview. The Morrison Vineyard was
planted in 1968 for Ch. Ste. Michelle, but when I started using the
fruit in 1987 it was already going to Quail Run Winery. I'm not sure
when Ste. Michelle stopped using the fruit and Quail Run took over.
Bonair Winery started using half the fruit in 1987 and purchased it
all by 1989. Bonair Winery purchased the vineyard in 2002 but maintains the original name for historical reasons and to
differentiate it from our Ch. Puryear Vineyard.
Last, but not least, is that picture of
Pinot Noir. Less than 1% of the AVA is planted to Pinot Noir and I
thought I had it all located. That picture also showed up on
Wikipedia about six years ago with no credit other than 'the
Rattlesnake Hills.' Well, mystery: solved. The one-acre vineyard is
in the Rattlesnake Hills (surprise) and belongs to Windy Point
Vineyards. Finally, credit can be given where credit it due. Liz says
all you have to do is step out of the car to take the picture.
In summary, very poor journalism.
