Washington's Walla Walla Valley is one of the top wine growing regions in the United States. A couple reasons why: it's got hot, dry summers, and a latitude that puts it level with famous French wine producing regions such as Burgundy and the Loire Valley.
Oh, and then there’s the winemakers at Spring Valley Winery. It was fascinating to witness the maceration carbonique method, a traditional technique that involves fermenting grapes in their skins before pressing.
"Don't get too excited," a winemaker told me as I scrambled to catch a shot of the glistening grapes in the sun. “This isn't for us. We're just pressing the leftover skins and stems before shipping the juice to another winery."
That winery was 14 Hands, who are perhaps best known for producing wines at a slightly more budget end of the scale. It was interesting to learn that the juice came from the same grapes that are responsible for producing some of the finest wines I've ever tasted.
