I stopped by for a bottle of Puget Sound Pinot Noir Rose’ but I received a lesson on a different grape hybrid, Regent, from Steve Snyder of Hollywood Hill Vineyards. They will be having an official release for both of these wines on Saturday, Mary 30th.
Regent was bred in Germany in 1967 to address the needs of the organic wine industry. They were shooting for a deeply colored red grape that would ripen in Germany and have minimal spraying to keep mildew away. The grape was brought into this state by the WSU Mt. Vernon Research Station around 1998 and vines were distributed by Gary Moulton, director of small fruit research, to prospective growers. I got some vines and planted it on Maury Island in 1999 and made experimental wine from it for a couple of years. Sometime around 2000 a grower named Ron Nelson approached me to get a low maintenance grape he could grow on his property in Grapeview, WA. 2007 was our first vintage and we hope to be making upwards of 200 cases of wine from his vineyard. The wines taste like a Beaujolais styled wine, low alcohol, low tannin, soft but refreshing. It takes to oak well and is a joy to ferment and work with in the cellar. We think that it is a perfect summer wine since it comes in at 12.5% alcohol. As far as I know I’m the first one to sell a commercial Regent wine in the USA, but I won’t be the last based on the demand I’ve seen for the vines over the past couple of years. You can read more info on the Hollywood Hill Vineyards blog.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Les Brosius 02.18.13 at 8:47 pm
Could you help me find Ron Nelson so I might be able to get some cuttings to grapt Regent grapes onto my Concords. I only have 8 plants and my wife cannot drink grape juice anymore so thought I would try converting them into wine grapes. Maybe you know someone else that could help too.
Thanks In Advance
Shona Milne 03.05.13 at 11:43 am
Contact Steve at Hollywood Hill Vineyards. He might be able to point you in the right direction.