Watch Out California, Washington Is the Value King

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The winning wines of Columbia Crest have little competition from the Golden State

Posted: Dec 14, 2011 11:05am ET

Overdeliver isn't officially a word, but I can't think of a better way to describe a wine that's truly a great value. It overdelivers on quality relative to price, whether the bottle is $10 or 100 bucks.

Those are the sort of wines I try to write about in this blog as often as I can, and whenever I do, readers in their comments regularly champion one label: Columbia Crest. The Washington state winery has a devoted fan base for a reason. It's that rare winery that overdelivers across the board.

My colleague Harvey Steiman covers Washington and reviews Columbia Crest, but like many of you, I've been enjoying the wines for years. The wines are consistently drinkable, with whites that are crisp and lively and reds that are soft, supple and have considerable complexity.

Except for a few reserve wines, most bottles sell for $15 or less, and there are three tiers: Horse Heaven Hills, Grand Estates and Two Vines. Consider the Columbia Crest Cabernet Sauvignon Horse Heaven Hills H3 2009 (90 points, $15), which is focused and refined. The Merlot Columbia Valley Grand Estates 2008 (89 points, $12) is graceful and on the lighter side, while the Two Vines Vineyard 10 White Washington 2009 (88) is a fresh and vibrant blend that's a bargain for $8.

For those of us who live in Napa and Sonoma, where it's increasingly hard to find wines of that quality at those price points, we have to scratch our heads wondering how Columbia Crest does it.

It helps that its parent company, Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, owns more than 3,500 acres of vineyards in eastern Washington, and has contracts on another 17,500, which accounts for about half the grapevine acreage in the state.

Columbia Valley is a big region with many different microclimates, but unlike rainy Seattle and the coast, eastern Washington is more of a desert climate. That means the growing season is long, with warm daytime temperatures and cool nights and only about 6 to 8 inches of rain a year. The mighty Columbia River provides all the water the vineyards need.

Winemaker Juan Muñoz Oca, promoted to head winemaker at Columbia Crest earlier this year, grew up in Argentina and says Columbia Valley reminds him of Mendoza. In the winery, Oca and his crew generally crush the grapes with 20 percent whole berries to boost the fruit and even the $8 Two Vines wines are aged in French and American oak barrels.

Columbia Crest makes a lot of wine—there are more than 200,000 cases of the Grand Estates 2008 Merlot alone—so it's widely available around the country. With so much mass-produced dreck out there it's good to know that someone is taking value wines seriously.

Have Columbia Crest wines proven to be a good value for you? Do you have any favorites or disappointments? What other value brands do you enjoy?

Member comments 28 comment(s)

Whit Thompson — Rochester, NY — December 14, 2011 12:20pm ET

Generally speaking, Columbia Crest wines are such a safe bet and, as you pointed out, consistently over-deliver on the quality-to-price ratio. My first eye-opening CC moment was the 2001 Grand Estates Merlot; my first eye-popping moment was the 2002 Walter Clore blend. The WOTY nod for the '05 Reserve Cab was well-deserved - even if it did make it just a little harder to find some of their reserve releases these days!

Steve Order — Massachusetts — December 14, 2011 4:33pm ET

Totally agree Tim. Whenever folks ask me for wine suggestions and don't want to spend a lot (over $20) I point them to Columbia Crest wines.

David Peters — Mission Viejo, CA — December 14, 2011 5:24pm ET

I have been drinking Columbia Crest wines for the past 15 yrs. Their H3 tier wines drink like wines costing 50% to 100% more. And their Reserve wine program is incredible. We drive 1200 miles each year to visit the winery in Paterson, WA so we can stock up on their reserve wines, of which very few are ever found outside the tasting room. Most of their reserve wines are made in lots of 200 to 500 cases. We attended the annual Summit Reserve Club party at the winery in June of this year and left with 5 cases of the 'Reserves' in our little Subaru Forester. Napa cabs & red blends of comparible quality to the C.C. 'Reserve' wines usually cost $50 to $75 or more versus $30 to $45 for the C.C. reserve Cabs & Blends. Regardless of my income I ALWAYS look for value (QPR). For me, one of the great joys in buying & drinking wine is finding wines that taste like they cost 2 or 3 times more than I paid. Cheers.

Philip A Chauche — Germantown, MD — December 14, 2011 5:28pm ET

I've been enjoying and spreading the word on Washington State wines for over a decade now, and I agree that you can't touch the Columbia Crest wines at their various price points.

I'd like to expand that to the Chateau Ste Michelle label as well. Whether it's the interesting Dry Riesling or the Indian Welles Cabs and Merlots, very hard to beat.

Kenton Erwin Consuling Llc — Portland OR, USA — December 14, 2011 7:15pm ET

Great post, but that is a pretty silly headline. I've never known a time when CA was considered a "value" state for wine. WA's wine quality seems better than CA's, up and down the spectrum, and prices are almost always less, too. For me, WA remains the greatest wine area in the world that is still (a) largely undiscovered, and (b) mostly well-priced.

Homer Cox — Warrenton, VA — December 14, 2011 7:31pm ET

Tim, sticking your neck out a little bit?

You are correct though. We think CC is the best value winery by far, especially the Grand Estates Merlot and Cab line. Where else can you get wine this consistently good for $8? The 2007 H3 Merlot and Cab is a steal at $12 and even the 2007 Cab Reserve at $28 is a value considering it's quality now and more so in a year or two. I almost forgot to mention the very good new 2008 Amitage at $10. My concern is that CC is going to really raise their prices someday.

Chateau Ste. Michelle and Waterbrook are two other good value wineries.

Douglas Johnson — Appleton, WI — December 14, 2011 8:16pm ET

I have long sung the praises of Columbia Crest wines and feel they should be the benchmark against which all wines should be measured for quality and value. It has always amazed me why anyone would pay hundreds of dollars for some of the "name" wines from Cailfornia when even the best Columbia Crest wines, the reserves, sell for less than $30 and are as good as many of them and better than some. The Two Vines bottlings are great for everyday drinking and ocassionally approach being outstanding. A few years ago, I served the 2001 Two Vines Shiraz to a gathering of local wine aficionados who all raved about the wine. I had to show them the receipt before they would believe they were drinking a $6 wine!

Don Rauba — Schaumburg, IL — December 14, 2011 11:23pm ET

I've only been disappointed with how the CC Reserve bottlings age. I actually believe the Grand Estates bottlings age more gracefully, retaining a fleshiness, whereas the reserves seem to dry out and become too woodsy. I also wish they would embrace alternate bottle closures to natural cork.

David Tan — Bellevue, Washingon — December 15, 2011 1:35am ET

I second Homer's comment that Chateau Ste. Michelle and Waterbrook are terrific value wineries. Add to that pair others in Washington who "overdeliver" (relative to price) such as Mark McNeilly at Mark Ryan Winery, the folks at Buty and one might even add Chris Carmada's Andrew Will. It's pretty easy being comfortable with just the local wines up here. And becoming easier.

David Peters — Mission Viejo, CA — December 15, 2011 2:49am ET

Tim, the irony is that I was fascinated with reading about Robert Mondavi's estate home in Napa selling for approx. 14 million and also chatting with you about $6 to $12 wines. Is this a great country or what !!!!!

Ken Heinemann — Chicago, IL — December 15, 2011 7:57am ET

Columbia Crest does produce consistently good quality wines, at excellent price points. The most amazing thing about them, unlike most of the wineries further south, a good review or two doesn't mean a price increase of 10 or 20 or 50%. Consistently delivering quality and value in quantity is a virtue that should be rewarded in any business, so hopefully more wine drinkers will recognize that virtue, and have their eyes opened to what can be done. Their feedback might introduce some sanity in pricing elsewhere.

Patrick Cook — San Mateo, CA — December 15, 2011 12:15pm ET

The problem, as usual when discussing California wines and value, is that you seem to think Napa and Sonoma are the whole of California wine. They may have the big names, but there are many more exciting wine regions in CA with better value wines: Santa Cruz Mountains, Paso Robles, Santa Barbara to name but a few.

David Peters — Mission Viejo, CA — December 15, 2011 1:24pm ET

Tim: I hope this is a wake-up call for all the elitists up in Napa valley with their overpriced and over-valued reds. In 2011 we have drunk so many California reds in the $50 to $70 range that tasted like wines from Washington in the $20 to $35 range. Cudos to our friends in Columbia & Walla Walla Valleys. I think Columbia Crest should make a special blend honoring Ray Einberger, who guided their Reserve wine program to such heights. One more note: It's insulting that when a California winemaker gets high points for ONE of their wines they automatically up their prices across the board on all of their wines by 50 to 100%; and then under-perform for the next 5 yrs or so.

Clinton W Mitchell — Naperville, IL — December 15, 2011 1:40pm ET

Tim, I've noticed with your blogs that your "values" and "finds" are generally mass-produced wines available on grocery store shelves -- from the makers of Gallo, Bogle and Chateau Ste. Michelle.
There are so many great-tasting, interesting, small-production value wines flying under the radar that could use some publicity, but can't afford full-page ads in WS. This would be a great space for them.

Homer Cox — Warrenton, VA — December 15, 2011 3:54pm ET

Clinton, I understand your point concerning the plight of small production wineries. But, to me, the article points out how good, inexpensive wines from wineries like CC are widely available. I personally could care less about a value wine that I cannot find.

Tim Fish — Santa Rosa, CA — December 15, 2011 4:51pm ET

Thanks for the comments and contributing to the discussion.

David, good point about the dichotomy of the wine world. There's room to be interested in both extremes.

Patrick, you make a fair point, but I'm working on one of our semi-annual value reports and it's harder than you might imagine to find - for example - a red wine with a non-Napa/Sonoma AVA (not just California on the label) for under $25.

Clinton, I understand and appreciate your point, but ultimately agree with Homer. I write my blog for the consumer and availability is a chief concern.

Andrew J Walter — Sacramento, CA — December 15, 2011 10:33pm ET

If the central valley of California could produce wines that the columbia valley produces, then california would be known for its value wines. But, since in the areas in california where good wine can be produced, tend to have, how do I say it, slightly expensive real estate, washington will always be able to over deliver on a QPR basis

Scott Creasman — Atlanta, GA — December 16, 2011 11:31am ET

Run an advanced WS search with the following parameters: US, cab sav/blends and merlot, 2007 -09, $20 max price, and 90+ score. You get 23 results and 22 are Washington, with a Berringer merlot as the lone California representative.

Erin Shane — Seattle, WA — December 16, 2011 5:40pm ET

Scott, that is the most brilliant comment I have I seen on a message board in a long time. You just ended the debate. There is no arguing that stat. Bravo!

Stan Hagan — auburn alabama — December 16, 2011 7:16pm ET

THE TWO VINES LINE SIMPLY AMAZES ME.

Tim Fish — Santa Rosa, CA — December 16, 2011 7:29pm ET

Wow Scott, that really proves the point.

David Peters — Mission Viejo, CA — December 17, 2011 1:52am ET

Scott C.------Brilliant !! As a retired accountant I can really dig people who deal in FACTS. Bravo !!

Homer Cox — Warrenton, VA — December 17, 2011 8:27am ET

Scott- I changed the criteria to $40 and 2007-2011 and got many more hits with an overwhelming Washington majority. Must be a WS conspiracy.
Great thread Tim.

Scott Creasman — Atlanta, GA — December 17, 2011 10:46am ET

Well scores aren't everything (wink Tim), but I think that is a pretty good indication of Washington's QPR. Plus Washington cabs are a lot of fun to drink.
Happy holidays everyone.

Kent Williams — Ann Arbor, Mi — December 18, 2011 11:05pm ET

Colombia Crest Resreve Cab is Great! But come on,
Grand Estates Merlot Rated around 90 is to me a
basic 8 to 10 dollar bottle. California
Chateau St.Jean Merlot
is better.

Jim Eby — olympia, wa — December 19, 2011 1:12am ET

Great article Tim. I see only a few other comments from people who actually live in Washington or Oregon. They know as I do that there are literally dozens of other high value wines in Washington, many of them that never even get reviewed. We won't reveal what they are, you have to come and explore Washington yourselves.

Joe Dekeyser — Waukesha, WI — December 19, 2011 5:24pm ET

Hear, hear!!! Columbia Crest is all that and more. Other U. S. bargains, in my book, come from Bogle - the petite sirah is particularly nice and then there is 14 Hands - Hot to Trot red blend that is very accessible - at least this year's release.

Bill Tieleman — Vancouver Canada — December 19, 2011 5:46pm ET

Great column Tim & great posts! We've been enjoying Columbia Crest for 20 years up in Canada - where sadly it's a fair bit more expensive but still great value. Always reliable & often a revelation!

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