Myrid factors such as clones, climate, soil properties, latitude, irrigation, trellising, vine age, the grower’s acumen, etc. all play a very complex and critical role. The truth is that “the devil lies in the details” not necessarily in regionality.

A comparison of Washington vs. California would inevatibly contrast Washington’s highland desert climate and volcanic soils as opposed to most of California with a more moderate, Mediterranean climate and typically, loamier soils. Latitude and climate would be the primary factors which differentiate the two states, yet often the wines are quite similar and can easily be mistaken for one another.

There actually are soils that both have in common depending on vineyard location. John Alban, Alban Vineyards, characterizes the soils of the Edna Valley as ” … influenced by an eroding chain of ancient volcanoes located in the area.” Does this sound familiar? The “ancient” Grande Ronde of Washington State?

I would not say the syrahs of the Yakima Valley are world-class with the exception of a few, as there are far too many examples of mediocre wines from the appellation. However, it’s clear that the vineyards of Dick Boushey, Scott Greer’s ‘Sheridan’, Joe Hattrup’s ‘Elephant Mountain’, Mike Sauer’s ‘Red Willow’, and Jim Holmes’ ‘Ciel du Cheval’ (appellation sub-set, Red Mountain AVA) are highly exceptional and could be considered “world-class.”

A discussion comparing the Yakima Valley, Red Mountain and Walla Walla would primarily emphasize weather variation. Obviously, there are subtle soil differences, but actually, our State has relatively uniform soils with wind-blown loess (silt or sediment) on top and an underpinning of basalt, the former caused by the great Missoula floods and the latter by techtonic volcanic activity.

I had believed that berry size constitutes a major contributor to a wine’s quality, particularly palate density. However, the average berry size of our Boushey ‘Grande Cote’ syrah is quite small compared to Ciel, yet Ciel also produces very concentrated wines. Elephant Mountain is pretty similar to Ciel, but seems to have the greatest pigmentation advantage, producing very dark wines. So berry size may be a factor, but clearly, there are many other contributing physiological elements.

Due to the elevated heat influence on Red Mountain, skins tend to be somewhat thicker than most, potentially contributing a higher tannin component. Extended hang time is adventageous for increased complexity, and we certainly benefit from that at the ‘Grande Cote’, generally harvesting about one month later than an Ciel, while Elephant Mountain harvests between the two. All three vineyard are roughly within 50 miles of one another and all in the same appellation, yet they have distinctly different grapes.

As I’m sure you know, Walla Walla is a cooler region in comparison, but that doesn’t mean they can’t produce very good syrah. Actually, the grape is a real chameleon, adapting to a wide array of climate conditions. For example, it’s grown in Sonoma County virtually on the ocean, while just a few miles from the ocean in the Edna Valley. On the other hand, our Washington vineyards are in an inland desert.

I believe all of this points to the fact that the subject of regionality has been over-emphasized. Great syrahs are being made in many places, and can easily be confused if regionality is a determinate of differentiation.