WALLA WALLA — At least 23 Walla Walla Valley wineries will pour at least 40 wines during the U.S. Open Golf Championship at Chambers Bay, according to online coverage by Great Northwest Wine.
What’s been described as the most important sporting event to be staged in Washington will tee up what has been judged as the state’s best wines.
The golf tournament, located west of Tacoma, will feature the wines near the 18th hole in a tent the Washington State Wine Commission is paying $120,000 for as its share of the sponsorship, according to the coverage by Eric Degerman.
To get their wines poured, Walla Walla vintners submitted their wines in a blind tasting that started with 420 different wines.
Some of the state’s top sommeliers went through the tasting process to whittle the field to 120. About 20 will be poured each day of the event. That includes several days of practice rounds, the coverage explains.
Lowden winery L’Ecole No 41 leads the Washington wineries with the greatest number of wines to be poured, five. To participate, wineries with a single wine pay $200, and provide six bottles to be poured. After the first wine, the fee per wine drops to $100 for each subsequent selection, according to the reports.
The cost is on par with fees paid to participate in large wine competitions. But the prize is an impression on an influential audience of wine drinkers who can help build business through exposure.
In addition to L’Ecole, other local wineries that made the cut and their number of wines to be poured: Balboa (1); Brown Family Vineyards (3); Canoe Ridge Vineyard (3); Corliss Estates (1); DaMa Wines (1); Dunham Cellars (2); Dusted Valley Vintners (2); Forgeron Cellars (2); Gifford Hirlinger (1); Henry Earl Estates (2); Long Shadows Vintners (2); Northstar Winery (1); Palencia Wine Co. (1); Proper Wines (1); Revelry Vintners (1); Rotie Cellars (2); Sinclair Estate Vineyards (2); Syzygy (1); Tamarack Cellars (1); Three Rivers Winery (2); Waitsburg Cellars (1); and Waterbrook Winery (2).
