When you think of American wines, the temptation is to think 'California'. It's true that California's wine production outstrips all the other states, and in Ireland Californian wines certainly dominate the American sector of the market. This gives a rather skewed picture of American wine production, making us believe that if it's American it must be Californian, yet the number of states in the Union that make wine is now more than forty. Needless to say Alaska isn't one of them, but next in volume after California comes Washington Sate, which geographically sits in the same latitude that the Loire Valley and Bordeaux do in France.

In the Yakima Valley and along the Columbia River Valley system of the south-eastern part of the state there are large, fertile, irrigated vineyards. This area is sheltered from the cool, wet climate of the western Pacific coast by the coastal mountain ranges, resulting in years when over 300 days of sunshine are measured. This means that the weather, from the vine's point of view, is at least as good as much of California's best regions.

The eastern valleys are cool with very little frost, so the long, cool growing season tend to produce grapes that have a pleasing balance of sweetness and acidity. The European vines thrive in exactly this sort of climate, and back in the seventies the State ran test plots of vines where the classic European varieties were tested, including the Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Gewurztraminer, Riesling, Semillon and Chardonnay - all of which performed well in the Washingtonian climate.

The success of these trial plantings resulted in private growers starting to plant these European varieties, but in those early decades much of the harvest was not turned into wine, but was exported to Canada and to California for vinification there. Now, though, Washington State turns its grapes into wine and with an increasingly large market. As the dollar has weakened in last eighteen months the cost of importing wines from America has become concomitantly less, in some case by as much as 40%, a boon to both American exporters and to Irish consumers.

Working on the well-established principle that you tend to find wine bargains only from lesser known areas, you can get wines from Washington state of comparable quality to those from California at a lower cost. Stick to classic European vine varieties and you're unlikely to go wrong.

Wine of the Week

Stimson Estate Chardonnay 2002

This wine from Paterson, Washington, is in the eastern wine growing area, where long cool summers and sunny days are the norm. The wine is more perfumed than the classic French Chardonnay, the first notes on uncorking the bottle are of tropical fruits. There's a sweetness behind the acidity, which is complimented by some light oaking, but the most prominent feature of the wine is a creamy mouthfeel which lingers long after the wine has been swallowed.

Available from Superquinn, normal price €10.49, on special offer at €7.99