Many Bottle Prices a Steal During Wine Month
By Bob Woehler
One of the requests I receive most frequently is to recommend a
good, inexpensive wine.
Well, it's that time of year when I can recommend plenty of
inexpensive wines, many of them really good. August is Washington
Wine Month at all state liquor stores, which means substantial
discounts on Washington wines of nearly every kind.
The whites I'm recommending are all under $6 a
bottle, and the reds under $7. There's even a few in the $3 range.
How's that for cheap!
All of the prices listed also can have usual 10 percent knocked
off the top if you buy a case of mixed or matched bottles. A
1.5-liter double-size bottle counts as two bottles toward a case.
It's one of the reasons I love August. And because it's my
birthday month, my wife, instead of saying, "Why on earth do you
need to buy more wine?" gives in and lets me buy a case at the
liquor store.
Not all the state stores will have all the sale-priced wines
during Washington Wine Month, but most will try to get a particular
wine if you ask.
If good and cheap doesn't sound attractive, there also are
several fine wines that are a bit more expensive that are on sale,
such as Barnard Griffin and Hogue Genesis syrah for $19.53 a bottle;
a Bookwalter cabernet sauvignon for $17.99; Kiona Red Mountain
reserve cabernet for $21.77 a bottle; and a Chateau Ste. Michelle
Canoe Ridge Vineyard merlot for $18.99.
If you like bubbles, then stock up on Domaine Ste. Michelle
sparkling wine for $7.90 a bottle before the 10 percent discount.
Missing from the mix this year are any Walla Walla wines,
probably due to the small amount available and the fact most Walla
Walla wines are priced in the $20 and above category.
There has been a great deal of change over the past 19 years,
said Steve Burnell, wine program manager for the state stores.
This year the Washington State Liquor Control Board made special
buys of 48 different Washington state wines, a total of more than
11,000 cases, he said.
"We see a loyalty to Washington wines and a moderate increase in
Washington wine sales, approximately 3 percent in the last year," he
added. This is the 19th year the WSLCB will run an internal display
contest in which the winners will be recognized at an awards
celebration in Washington wine country.
Several major grocers are also participating in the display
competition. The winner will travel with the Washington State Wine
Commission to either the New York or San Francisco Taste Washington
events in 2004. Contestants include Safeway, Albertsons, Quality
Food Centers, Haggen/Top Foods and Brown & Cole. Also look for
Washington wine displays at Associated Grocers, Cost Plus, Fred
Meyer, Larry's Markets, Metropolitan Market, PCC Natural Market,
Rosauers and Yokes.
Listed below by category are some of the best of the most
inexpensive wines featured during the sale.
-- White wines - Covey Run morio muscat, $4.99; Farron Ridge
white table, 1.5 liters, $4.99; Hogue Harvest white table, blanc de
blanc and dry white table, all in 1.5 liters for $6.29. That's about
$3.15 a bottle.
-- Chardonnay - Columbia, $5.99; Hogue, $5.99; Hyatt, $5.90;
Salmon Harbor, $4.99; and Washington Hills, $5.99.
-- Semillon-Chardonnay - Columbia Crest, $4.85; Covey Run, $4.99;
Hogue, $3.99; Snoqualmie, $5.60; and Washington Hills, $4.59.
-- Chenin blanc - Hogue, $3.99; and Washington Hills, $4.59.
-- Pinot gris - Hogue, $5.99.
-- Gewürztraminer - Chateau Ste. Michelle, $4.99; Columbia Crest,
$4.85; Covey Run, $4.99; Hogue, $4.99; and Washington Hills, $4.59.
-- Semillon - Chateau Ste. Michelle, $4.99; Columbia Crest,
$4.85; Columbia $4.99; Hogue, $2.99; and Snoqualmie semillon blanc,
$5.60.
-- Riesling - Chateau Ste. Michelle dry and regular $4.99;
Columbia Crest, $4.85; Columbia Crest white riesling, $3.67; Covey
Run, dry and regular, $4.99; Hogue Johannisberg, $4.99; Hogue late
harvest, $5.99; Hyatt, $5.44; Silver Lake Roza, $5.49; Snoqualmie,
$4.45; Washington Hills late harvest, $5.99; and Washington Hills
white riesling, $4.59.
-- Sauvignon blanc - Barnard Griffin fume, $5.90; Columbia Crest,
$4.85; Covey Run fume, $5.99; Hogue fume, $4.99; Hyatt fume, $3.99;
and Tagaris, $5.99.
-- Rose and blush - Latah Creek Spokane Blush, $5.44; Preston
gamay noir, $5.67; and Stimson Estate white merlot 1.5 liter $7.97.
-- Red table wines - Farron Ridge 1.5 liters, $4.99; and Hogue
Harvest 1.5 liters, $6.44.
-- Cabernet-merlot - Columbia Crest, $6.98; Covey Run, $6.99;
Hogue, $5.99; Hyatt, $5.90; Snoqualmie, $6.98.
-- Cabernet sauvignon - Columbia Crest Columbia Valley, $6.98;
Hyatt, $6.93; and Stimson Estate 1.5 liters, $9.99.
-- Syrah - Hogue, $5.99; and Snoqualmie, $6.98.
-- Merlot - Columbia Crest Two Vines, $6.98; Hogue, $5.99; Hyatt,
$6.93; Paul Thomas, $4.99; Salmon Harbor, $4.99; Snoqualmie, $6.98;
Stimson Estate 1.5 liters, $9.99; and Washington Hills, $5.99.
-- Lemberger - Covey Run, $4.99.
Visit the Washington State Liquor Control Board site for a
complete list of discounted wines. 
Bob Woehler
has been writing about grapes and wines of the Pacific Northwest
since 1978. His columns appear twice monthly in the Tri-City
Herald in Tri-Cities, Wash. and in Wine
Press Northwest.
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e-mail to Bob Woehler
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