Mount Vernon, Wash. -- A coastal climate isn't dampening the enthusiasm for winemaking in northwestern Washington. Strong interest in gett ing into the business has sold out a workshop to be hosted by Washington State University (WSU) extension staff in Mount Vernon on June 30. Designed to introduce local growers and winemakers to the intricacies of enology west of the Cascade Mountains, registration was capped at 60 people, but a number of growers are on a waiting list in case of cancellations.

"(There's) definitely big interest, still, (among) Washingtonians to learn how to make wine and start a winery," according to Dr. Kerry Ringer, extension enologist and assistant professor of food science at WSU-Prosser, who is organizing the workshop.

REGION: NORTHWEST

Wineries that use grapes sourced from Puget Sound AVA

Ringer told Wines & Vines that one of the aims of the workshop is to give winemakers options for making the most of grapes that may not fully ripen every year. Some varieties close the season with high acid levels, for example, so Ringer has scheduled sparkling winemaker Rick Casqueiro of Domaine Ste. Michelle to discuss the potential for sparkling wine production from Puget Sound grapes.

"We're also looking at alternatives for years when the grapes just don't get ripe because of weather," Ringer said. "Really, it's just trying to give them some alternatives in their winemaking, and some ideas as to what to do with their fruit."

Contracting a back-up supply of grapes from Eastern Washington is helpful, Ringer added. With no more than 150 acres of grapes grown in the Puget Sound AVA, most of the area's 100-plus wineries typically source all or part of their grapes from east of the Cascades as a matter of course. The Puget Sound Wine Growers Association lists just 11 wineries that make wines from locally grown grapes.

Still, growth in the number of Puget Sound wineries and vineyards has been significant.

Originally recommended by eight wineries and vineyards in 1995, Puget Sound is Washington's sole AVA west of the Cascade range. Though many of the wineries are small-scale operations situated in industrial parks or studios surrounded by a few representative vines, the activity is a genuine reflection of local viticultural possibilities as much as growing demand for Washington state wines.

White grapes such as Madeleine Angevine, Müller-Thurgau and Siegerrebe are common in local vineyards, but mainstream varietals such as Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir also are grown in the AVA. Since many of the area's wineries operate on islands in Puget Sound, producing wines made from locally grown grapes is considered an accomplishment worth paying good money to enjoy. Vashon Island-based Vashon Winery is charging $40 a bottle for the first vintage of the island-grown Pinot Noir it released last month, for example.

While the Puget Sound Wine Growers Association draws together local grapegrowers, a growing number of local wineries is focusing attention on the advantages of banding together to raise the profile of locally made--and grown--wines.

Wineries in Whatcom County, backed up against the U.S.-Canadian border along the northern edge of the AVA, hope to launch an association this summer. Approximately nine wineries will be in operation there by the end of the summer.

Ken Peck, owner of Dakota Creek Winery in the border town of Blaine, Wash., said preliminary plans include producing a map outlining a local wine route (similar to what wineries just north of the border in British Columbia's Fraser Valley have done) and coordinating special events such as spring releases.

Winemaking Using Maritime Grapes takes place June 30 from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. at the WSU Northwestern Washington Research and Extension Center in Mount Vernon. For more information, see tinyurl.com/3uzwkp.