Glacial Lake Missoula Wine Co.

Tucked away in the northwest corner of Washington is a winery that’s just minding its own business. Glacial Lake Missoula Wine Co. isn’t trying to pick a fight with other wineries, but it might succeed nevertheless. At the very least, Blaine-based Glacial Lake Missoula would be shunned in Walla Walla, where an organic viticultural practice called biodynamics is all the rage.

Briefly, the owners and winemaker Tom Davis at Glacial Lake Missoula “subscribe to the thesis of Australian wine scientist Chris Somers that red wine quality can be objectively measured and can be achieved by maximally extracting grape phenols in an ideal wine matrix.” Thus, good winemaking practice relies on sound scientific knowledge rather than the current trends.

Ironically, despite the employment of a huge dose of science in the creation of these wines, Glacial Lake’s black-and-white labels, depicting a rushing wall of water, are exceptionally pleasing for their aesthetic quality. Moreover, the poetically name “Deluge” was the perfect choice for a wine that celebrates the Ice Age floods of eastern Washington. These floods, combined with thousands of years of strong winds, resulted in rich soils perfect for growing premium wine grapes.

I’m not sure what an ideal wine matrix is, but the folks at Glacial Lake Missoula Wine Co. are quite willing to explain their winemaking practice in detail. In fact, bring your notebook and no. 2 pencil, and be prepared to take copious notes. The “Science of Winemaking” class is now in session.

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  Glacial Lake Missoula Wine Co. was featured in WineTrails of Washington as part of the Whatcom County WineTrail on page 30!