Washington Wine Is Number One On Wine Spectator's Top 100 List RICHLAND, WA (N3) - A Washington State winery has earned an honor that could translate into big sales for the Northwest wine industry. Out of 17-thousand wines, it landed the number-one spot on Wine Spectator magazine's top 100 list. KPLU's Anna King reports.

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Columbia Crest
Ste. Michelle Wine Estates
Wine Spectator

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The Columbia Crest 2005 Reserve Cabernet took Wine Spectator's top prize. The bottle retails for about 27 dollars. It's the first time that a Washington wine has reached the top of the list of wines from around the world. It's a prestigious honor, and one that usually guarantees swift sales. Ted Baseler is the CEO of Ste. [Sant] Michelle Wine Estates. He says Pacific Northwest grape growers and wine makers have been working for recognition of this kind for decades.

Ted Baseler: "There are some spectacular wines from the great regions of the world - Bordeaux, Tuscany, from Napa, and now at the very top of all of them is a Washington State wine."

Columbia Crest is a Ste. [Sant] Michelle Wine Estates brand, the largest wine producer in Washington, and one of the largest in the United States. Total: Nine Washington and two Oregon wines made it onto Spectator's list of 100.

I'm Anna King in Richland. © Copyright 2010, N3