It may be hard to believe, but Washington State's premium wine industry is only a little over two decades old. While grapes have always been grown in Washington, most of the acreage was devoted to Concords and the like through the sixties. Some wine was made from these varieties, and there was also some fruit/berry winemaking.

    Premium wine production, from the European grape varieties that produce most of the world's great wines didn't begin until the mid-sixties when the late wine historian Leon Adams happened to taste a homemade Grenache.

    Adams convinced the large commercial winery of the day to retain the services of the great California winemaker Andre Tchelistcheff to evaluate Washington's potential as a fine wine region.

    In 1968 there were three wineries in Washington; by 1984 there were 47, mostly devoted to premium wine production.

    One of those early premium wineries was Quail Run Vintners in the Yakima Valley, which I had the opportunity to visit early in its existence. The wines were showing great promise even then.

    A lot has happened since the winery was founded in 1982. For one thing it was sued by a California vintner with "Quail" in the name and has since become Covey Run. And there are new owners and a new winemaker.

    Truthfully, it had been a number of years since I had tasted through the Covey Run wines, a recent tasting of which demonstrated what I've been missing.

    Covey Run 1997 Fume Blanc ($7) Lemon grass and grapefruit. Crisp but not austere. Dry enough for oysters. Enough substance for halibut or other fleshy, white-meated fish. Finish is very clean and refreshing. Rating: 87/94

    Covey Run 1997 Chardonnay ($10) Good, solid value white wine. Little if any oak. Mostly citrus flavors. A Chardonnay that can work with oysters (and most don't) or fish in lemony sauces. Rating: 86/87

    Covey Run 1996 "Yakima Valley Reserve" Chardonnay ($13) My kind of Chardonnay. Lots of everything: fruit, wood and refreshingly crisp acidity. Ripe apple and melon fruit with a smoky note and a little oak vanillin. Rating: 88/90

    Covey Run 1996 "Celilo Vineyard" Chardonnay ($25) Lush melon and tropical fruit; nicely oaked. A little fleshier and richer than the "Reserve," but not worth the extra ten bucks if they're mine. Rating: 89/84

    Covey Run 1997 Cabernet-Merlot ($8) This is a lighter style red ideal for beginning red wine drinkers, or for us old hands to match to the kinds of foods that might usually work with Pinot Noir or very light Merlots. Match it with veal, pork, tuna or salmon. Also a good burger-picnic wine. It's a blend of 50 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 34 percent Merlot and 16 percent Cabernet Franc. Flavors are mostly delicate berry and cranberry. Rating: 85/90

BEST BUY
WHITE WINE OF THE WEEK

    Covey Run 1998 Riesling ($6) This is the best value white wine I've encountered in a very long time. I highly recommend case purchases to see you through the summer. Really pretty, extremely delicate, slightly floral, subtle green apple and nectarine fruit flavors. It is low in alcohol at 10.5 percent which makes it very easy to drink. There is about 2.6 percent residual sugar, but it doesn't seem sweet because of very crisp acidity. We're talking the perfect summer sipper, brunch wine or companion to a fresh Dungeness crab. Delicious. Rating: 92/100

BEST BUY
COLLECTABLE WINE OF THE WEEK

    Covey Run 1995 "Whiskey Canyon" Cabernet Sauvignon ($25) I don't often call wines this expensive "Best Buy," but this wine is an exception for a couple of reasons: one is that it will compete with wines selling for up to $50 and the other is that you may find it on sale for $20 or less if you get lucky. "Whiskey Canyon" takes its name from Prohibition days, when the area around the winery was a favorite hide-out for local "bootleggers." The wine itself is a powerhouse! A truly marvelous red wine experience. Cassis, berry, a little chocolate and something slightly smoky. Voluptuous, almost unctuous, in mouthfeel. Beautiful, spicy wood and barrel char complexities. Perfectly balanced with round-edged tannins that allow you to enjoy it for its suppleness immediately, yet with backbone and fruit that will see it improve well into the 21st century. If you can afford it, buy two cases...one to drink now and one for the cellar. Rating: 97/90

    Covey Run wines have good national availability, but usually at wine specialty shops and restaurants. For further information contact the winery's marketing division, Corus Brands, toll free at (877) 592-6787 or e-mail to: landerson@corusbrands.com.

   

NEW FROM CHILE

  Pionero is a new to the U.S. line of wines, a joint venture between its Chilean owners and the owners of Buena Vista Carneros of Sonoma County, California.

    The labels feature very dramatic flashes of color, which once seen will not soon be forgotten. They also feature a unique die-cut in the middle of the label representing the coastline of Chile.

    Pionero 1998 Sauvignon Blanc ($9) More about grapefruit than grass; dry but not tart; medium bodied and fleshy. Just an hint of sweetness in the finish. Rating: 86/88

    Pionero 1998 Chardonnay ($10) Round, ripe and melony and tropical. Little if any oak; user friendly. Rating: 85/86

    Pionero 1997 Merlot ($10) Cherry and plum fruit, youthful and a little grapey, but a good food companion. Typical Merlot easy drinking. Rating: 86/88

BEST BUY
RED WINE OF THE WEEK

    Pionero 1998 Cabernet Sauvignon ($10) This is serious red wine, no matter the modest price. Berry and black cherry fruit with some pleasant coffee bean bitterness to cut through spicy foods and sauces.. Rating: 88/90

    Wines are scored using a unique 100 point system. First number rates quality; second number rates value.

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Wines are scored using a unique 100 point system. First number rates quality; second number rates value.