Rare Grapes in a Unique Place: Whidbey Island Winery

Posted on: February 20th, 2013 by

whidbey island winery washington wine

The Wine Without Worry podcast rolls on, and this episode has a local flair. Not far from my HQ in Seattle, I take a trip to Whidbey Island Winery, talking with Assistant Winemaker Leah Waaramaki. Ok, Leah actually just showed up at my place and we taped the episode. Though I have visited the winery numerous times, and the pictures in the post are from a few of those trips.

It’s an action-packed podcast. Leah and I tempt fate by putting wine in the freezer, consume wines both red and white, reveal our dream of a Kickstarter campaign to fund a Puget Sound sparkling wine project. And I mangle her last name not once, but twice. Even though I asked her how to pronounce it correctly and wrote it our phonetically.

whidbey island winery washington wine

You’ll also get to know these rare grapes: Sigerrebe, Madeleine Sylvaner, and Madeleine Angevine. We also dive in to Washington wine as a whole, and how someone with a zoology degree becomes not a zookeeper but a winemaker.

Below is a picture of Leah, along with Winemaker Greg Osenbach. (Greg actually taught me Grape Vine Pruning 101.) Listen to our whole conversation:

Wine Without Worry Episode 4 on iTunes: Rare Grapes in a Unique Place: Washington State’s Whidbey Island Winery.

whidbey island winery washington wine

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3 Responses

  1. John Reeder says:

    I am looking for cuttings or plants for madeleine angevine and siegerrebe for my personal use. I am a fairly new grower on 4 acres in Wauna, Wa. Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you, John Reeder.

  2. Hi John!
    We would be happy to get some cuttings for you. We begin pruning around December, or after the vines go dormant for the Winter. Give us a call around that time at (360)221-2040, and we can arrange for a time for you to visit the winery and go home with a car full of canes!
    Cheers

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