Unflatness – Windy Point 2007 Gewurztraminer Fragrant Termeno – Yakima Valley

One of the first things you notice when you move to Washington state from the Midwest is that it’s not flat.  The Midwest, particularly the section of downstate Illinois where we previously lived, is a landscape dominated by flatness.  When I moved there from the East Coast in 2001, I spent many weekend hours driving on all points of the compass just seeing what there was to see in the area.  After six or seven of these flat trips (I’m kinda slow about some things) I began to understand that until you get to the town or city on the other end, every flat road and every flat landscape looks the same, flatness covered with corn and soybeans covered by more flatness.   It took a while, but I came to appreciate flat; there’s a certain calmness and serenity to a flat horizon, particularly at sunrise or sunset, and being able to spot the funnel cloud in the distant flatness has its advantages.

 But like I said, Washington is not flat.  The whole state is divided into the West side and the East side of not flat, with a great unflatness in the middle just left of center. Listen to the radio travel report for 10 seconds in the wintertime and you will hear the term “pass” every other word and they’re not talking about a football play or the left lane on the expressway.   There are knobs, bluffs, peaks, points, ridges, cliffs, plateaus, heights, hills, mountains, and Mounts; all denoting varying degrees of unflatness. Gaps, ravines, gulches, passes, valleys, canyons, and gorges (a bigger canyon I guess) all denote the holes in the nonflatness.   There’s also something called a coulee;  I’m not sure what that is yet, but it’s a good bet it’s not flat either.

With all of this unflatness come views and drives that are downright spectacular in nature, awe inspiring, first-time-at-the-Grand-Canyon spectacular.  As former flatlanders, we call it the “wow factor”.  If you’re reading this in Washington state, look out your window and if you’re not looking at your neighbor’s vinyl siding there’s a good chance the view you’ll see confirms what I’m saying.  

One of the other things Washington has is a distinct change of seasons.  Many areas have this but the signs of season change here are somehow more obvious too.  Spring, particularly in the grand unflat valleys of Eastern Washington, means buds and blossoms.  Even though it’s not yet the ides of March, the hills and valleys around here are greening up and the first blush of cherry and apricot blossoms are beginning to paint the hillsides and activate the pollinators.   Washington, DC is famous for its Japanese Cherry blossoms and I’ve been in DC for the spring cherry blossom and they are lovely stuck between the national monuments and reflecting pools. Washington (the state) is famous for its apples, but it could be, and maybe should be, just as famous for its quilted carpet of fruit blossoms this time of spring. 

One place that combines the wow factor of the unflatness with the wow of the orchard blossoms is Windy Point Winery in Wapato.  Windy Point Fruit Ranch was here from the early 1970’s and within the past 10 years or so the Stepneiwski family has been growing wine grapes and making wines. Their tasting room sits atop a small unflat knob near the western end of the Yakima Valley and its south wall contains large floor to 12-foot ceiling windows.  Those windows provide unobstructed views of the Yakima River and its basin heading west toward the Cascade foothills still dotted with snow.  On the western horizon is the dominant Mount of the Yak, glacier- capped Mount Adams.  Between now and about the end of April, the foreground will be the fragrant blooming fruit orchards.    With all that wow going on, it’s hard to concentrate on the wine, but we’ve somehow managed each time we’ve visited Windy Point and the wines are pretty wow, too.

Recently, we opened Windy Point’s 2007 Gewurtraminer Fragrant Termeno to accompany an Indian Curried Chicken.  This wine has a soft nose with honeysuckle florals, the mid-palate is lychee fruit with overripe honeydew and citrus.  The ending has a nice crisp acidity.   It’s less full on the palate than the previous G-wine I spoke about, but slight sweetness provides a great balance to the spicy curry.

When Barb and I were first touring the Yak with a real estate agent, Mandi, we asked if you ever get over to the wow factor of the scenery of the hills, mountains, and fruit trees of the Yak. As a lifetime resident of the area she responded, “hunh?”  We explained what we meant, but her first quizzical response told us her answer.

We’re not there yet and I hope we never get over the wow factor of the unflatness that is Washington State.