McCrea Cellars

Unedited

When you think of Rhône style wines in Washington few can claim that space as much as McCrea Cellars. With at least 25 crushes under his belt, Doug McCrea makes other wineries in Washington with a reputation for Rhône wines (e.g., Syncline Wine Cellars and Rôtie Cellars) relative newcomers. Raised in New Orleans where food is king, Doug learned first-hand that Grenache and syrah based wines are incredibly food friendly. The big cabernet dominant Bordeaux wines are fine for all things roasted or come with rich sauces, but he feels white and red blends of the Rhône meet a full spectrum of food and wine pairing needs.

Beginning with his first crush in 1998, Doug relied on Grenache from the Columbia River Gorge and soon thereafter began a long-term vineyard relationship with Dick Boushey of Boushey Vineyard in the Yakima Valley and Jim Holmes of Ciel du Cheval in Red Mountain. At the time, Washington had a paltry 5 acres of syrah under production. However, with the popularity of syrah the number of acres devoted to syrah has mushroomed to over 4,000 acres. Despite the number of growers producing syrah, Doug stays with the “old vines” of Boushey and Ciel du Cheval preferring their flavor profiles to the newer growers. (Syrah can be rather “chameleon” taking on the characteristics of the site where it grows which is cause for concern among Washington wine leaders.)

Believing that wine is made in the vineyard, Doug spends many days in eastern Washington visiting with grape growers away from his Rainier, Washington home. It’s an opportunity to anticipate what this year’s weather will mean to the wine’s taste years from now.

Because Rhône varieties such as Grenache and mourvèdre have their roots in Spain, it is not surprising that Doug’s winemaking prowess has expanded to include tempranillo, garnacha (Grenache), and monastrell (mourvèdre) under a new label called Salida. Spicy, with good mid-palate muscle, his Tres Viños is an outstanding example of a Washington version of these Iberian treasures.

Note: for those unable to get to McCrea Cellar’s Olympia tasting room another option is their wine bar at Seattle’s URBAN enoteca. Often winery partner Bob Neel does the pouring honors there and can answer all your McCrea related questions.