Sean P. Sullivan Northwest Wine Report

17/08/2025

Saturday night folks! What's everyone opening up this evening?

16/08/2025

Friday night folks! Rainy weather strikes back! What's everyone opening up this evening?

Make sure to check out my articles from this week if you haven't already:

Wine Reviews August 11th 2025

Jamie Peha looks back on a career in Washington

VIN-STAR Imports uses “wine diplomacy” with British Columbia wines

Link in the comments.

Go!

15/08/2025

Craig Pacheco was inspired to start his import company after becoming involved with connecting British Columbia wineries with Washington and Oregon fruit after the 2024 freeze. Along the way, he discovered high quality, well-priced B.C. produced wines that fit into certain niches. VIN-STAR Imports was born.

“The goal with VIN-STAR Imports is not to try to go head-to-head with the standout wines that Washington and Oregon are well known for,” Pacheco says. “The idea is to try to complement our best with the best from the north side of our shared Cascade ecosystem.”

Story at Northwest Wine Report.

Craig Pacheco of VIN-STAR Imports (left) with Lightning Rock owner Ron Kubek (right) and winemaker Sébastien Hotte (middle) Relations between the U.S. and its neighbor to the north have been strained of late due to an active trade war. Craig Pacheco, owner of VIN-STAR Imports, sees the

14/08/2025

I'll let you all in on a little secret. Most people don't click on links for articles. At best, they hit a like button and continue scrolling right along.

Now what social media content creators want is "engagement." Likes are great, but ideally you want a lot of comments and a lot of shares. That ensures more people will see the link leading to more shares and likes and better SEO - search engine optimization. But the central problem is, again, most people don't click on links.

So, how do you ensure engagement? You write an SEO title that is GUARANTEED to get a lot of comments and a lot of shares. You write something controversial that will push buttons. This is what this SEO headline is for this Wine Spectator article about Jackson Family's Jett wines from Washington.

The article has nothing, and I mean NOTHING, to do with this headline. If you click on the article, you'll see that the actual article headline is something entirely different, and the article doesn't discuss the question that it asks here for a single second. Again, this headline was just written strictly for SEO purposes. This is done all the time in the industry.

But again, most people won't click on the link to the article. What they will do is engage with comments and shares (as I did), riffing on the headline. That will lead to more comments and more shares. Mission accomplished from an SEO perspective.

It's a shame, as this is a well-written article from Tim Fish, and Jett is an important project for Jackson Family and for Washington. Such is the way of social media these days. Social media folks stoop to creating false headlines to generate engagement. Unfortunately, it is effective.

My favorite example of this comes from the page IFL Science. They once posted a headline "Research shows ma*****na comes from alien DNA."

There were thousands, and I mean thousands, of comments. "That's crazy!" "I always knew that was true." "This is bogus. How could you publish this?" On and on.

If you clicked on the link it said, "Actually, science doesn't show this at all, but what it does show is that people don't click on links." They then laid out that research in detail.

My advice? Don't play the game. Don't give hot takes or angry responses or shares. Instead, ignore the article or - dare I say it as someone who publishes links to articles all the time - click on the link and see what the article is about before commenting. It's likely the article is about something completely different.

If you see outlets doing this repeatedly, ignore them completely. It's a shameless attempt at manipulation. Honestly, it's depressing to see Wine Spectator resorting to this type of thing.

Do read the article though. I'll put my own article about Jett in the comments as well.

California-based Jackson Family Wines is betting on it with its vineyard purchase in Walla Walla and its new Jett brand of red wines. Get our reviews of the 2022 vintage!

14/08/2025

Lovely example of this variety on a pleasantly cool summer evening. It's aromatic and flavorful while being crisp and tart.

13/08/2025

Later this summer Jamie Peha, executive director of the Auction of Washington Wines, will step away from the organization. She won’t call it a retirement but rather a “rewirement.” Peha does so after having spent more than 30 years in the Washington wine industry.

“I’ve devoted my career to elevating Washington wine,” Peha says.

At Northwest Wine Report, a look at Peha's career.

Jamie Peha, copyright Heather Curbow Later this summer Jamie Peha, executive director of the Auction of Washington Wines, will step away from the organization. (Full disclosure: My wife works for the Auction.) She won’t call it a retirement but rather a “rewirement.” Peha does so after having

12/08/2025

All right folks, harvest draws nigh! Let's have some predictions for when growers will start picking. I'll post my thoughts in the comments after others have had a chance.

11/08/2025

50+ new wine reviews published, including the latest from Avennia, Balsall Creek, Capital Call, Dunham, Echolands, Estival, La Rata, Left Coast, Luke, Mercer, Square the Circle, Top Source, and X Novo.

The wines include several debuts. The first is from X Novo Vineyards. The winery was founded by Craig Williams and his family and has two estate vineyards in Willamette Valley’s Eola-Amity Hills. Williams spent 32 years at Joseph Phelps and was senior vice president of winegrowing from 1999 to 2008, in charge of all winemaking decisions.

The X Novo wines are some of the highest quality offerings of their respective varieties – Chardonnay and Pinot Noir – that I’ve had from the Pacific Northwest or frankly from anywhere. They bring a rare combination of complexity, intensity, textural richness, balance, length, and acidic verve. They are completely breathtaking. The wines are offered via the winery’s mailing list. Look for an upcoming article on X Novo.

The next is Square the Circle Wine. This includes the 2024 Door to the Sky Albariño and 2024 The Universe Smiles Upon You Rosé. Both are delicious and highly recommended. The label designs are also beautiful.

Finally, there is ESTIVAL. This is a new project from Ste. Michelle Wine Estates with a focus on aromatic whites. The Sauvignon Blanc, reviewed below, is the first wine. The branding is gorgeous, and the wine is even better. An ESTIVAL Chenin Blanc from the 2025 vintage will follow.

Reviews at Northwest Wine Report.

50+ wines reviewed below and in the database, including the latest from Avennia, Balsall Creek, Capital Call, Dunham, Echolands, Estival, La Rata, Left Coast, Luke, Mercer, Square the Circle, Top Source, and X Novo. The

10/08/2025

Saturday night folks! What’s everyone opening up this evening?

09/08/2025

Friday night folks! What’s everyone opening up this evening?

07/08/2025

The first Northwest Wine Academy at South Seattle College Alumni Celebration & Wine Tasting Event coming up this Saturday! The college has had a huge impact on the Washington wine community. Link to tickets in the comments.

06/08/2025

Just over two and a half weeks after the Burdoin fire burned through the Lyle/Bingen area of the Columbia River Gorge, local wineries are still assessing the extent of damage and, in some cases, starting to reopen. Syncline Winery reopened its tasting room August 1st. Cor Cellars and Domaine Pouillon are hoping to reopen before long.

Both James Mantone at Syncline and Luke Bradford at Cor say that the biggest thing consumers can do to support wineries right now is to purchase wine. This can be done either through online wine sales or online gift cards or by purchasing the wine at area retailers.

As wineries and other businesses reopen, people are also encouraged to visit, though doing so with sensitivity. The Lyle area wineries and businesses have gone through a significant trauma.

Thankfully, other regions of the Columbia River Gorge - such as Mosier, White Salmon, Hood River, and Underwood - were not impacted by this fire. The latest at Northwest Wine Report.

Harvest at Syncline Winery in 2018 by Richard Duval. Just over two and a half weeks after the Burdoin fire burned through the Lyle/Bingen area of the Columbia River Gorge, local wineries are still assessing the extent of damage and, in some cases, starting to reopen. Syncline