Congratulations to our Westport Winery!

Grays Harbor’s own Westport Winery garnered amazing recognition in the summer issue of Wine Press Northwest, the region’s preeminent publication on the wine industry. The magazine evaluates wines from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Canada and publishes reviews of those they find worthy of an “Outstanding”, “Excellent”, or “Recommended” rating. Seventeen of Westport Winery’s initial offering earned high acclaim.

Wines rated “outstanding” are considered to “have superior characteristics and should be highly sought after.” Those rated “excellent” are known as “top-notch wines with particularly high qualities.” And wines which are “recommended” are “delicious, well-made wines with true varietal characteristics.” The editors of this prestigious journal headquartered in the tri-cities—the heart of Washington’s wine country—state “recent releases are evaluated under strict conditions to ensure objectivity.” The panelists know neither the producer nor the variety. At least three of four of the professional evaluators have to vote the wines into contention for these awards.

Among their red wines, their 2007 Charterboat Chick’s Cabernet Sauvignon and 2007 Boom Runner Reserve Merlot were rated “excellent”. The 2007 Surfer’s Last Syrah garnered an “outstanding” while the Swimmer’s Last Syrah was “recommended”. The winery’s Jetty Cat Red was rated “excellent” with the note that “This is an up-and-coming winery…”

In an article titled “Proud to be Pink” Westport’s non-vintage Bog Berry Blush was “recommended” as “an enjoyable sipper with unmistakable aromas and flavors of cranberries and raspberries.”

In the white wine category the 2007 Shorebird Chardonnay received an “excellent” which may be one reason this vintage sold out before the end of 2007. The Roberts family is particularly proud of their Elk River Riesling and Captain Grays Gewurztraminer and that was proven correct with the wines garnering an “outstanding” and an “excellent” respectively. As the basic components of Bordello Blonde and Lighthouse White it is therefore no surprise that these two wines were rated "outstanding” and “recommended.”

Westport as especially pleased to earn an “outstanding” rating in the sparkling wine category for their carbonated cranberry wine, Rapture of the Deep, made exclusively from Ocean Spray fruit. Also on the fruit wine front both their Little Wild Blackberry Riesling and Message In A Bottle—their all blackberry wine—were “recommended.” And it was no surprise to find their top two most popular wines, Duckleberry Grunt and Red Sky At Night with “excellent” rank, proving that the Grays Harbor community knows how to evaluate wine as well as anyone in the industry.

Shiver Me Timbers, their 2007 vintage Ice Wine earned an “excellent” review. This wine is another that sold out earlier this year. The 2008 Shiver Me Timbers will be released over Pirate Daze weekend and is a Late Harvest Riesling.

The acknowledgements wrapped up with a “recommended” given to their port-style wine called Shelter From The Storm. Of it the editors said, “A blend of Northwest cranberries, blackberries and blueberries is created in a tasty style that’s akin to a SweeTart.”

For this new business, these accolades from industry critics confirm what their guests have been saying for over a year when they wrote, “A tribute to the Grays Harbor estuary on theWashington coast…”