(Wines&Vines) - Winemaker Josh Maloney worked at several wineries in California, but that experience didn’t fully prepare him for working with grapes from Washington.

“The phrase ‘tannin management,’ I didn’t learn until I moved to Washington,” he quipped, likely as an exaggeration to illustrate just how different the tannin levels can be between Californian and Washington grapes. Maloney was a veteran winemaker when Chateau Ste. Michelle hired him in 2005 to be its red winemaker at Canoe Ridge, and still had to learn how to best deal with the high tannin content of the state’s Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. Maloney is now the director of winemaking for Milbrandt Vineyards in Mattawa and recently launched his own brand, Maloney Wine.

Maloney’s comments came during a seminar of the recent Taste Washington event that occurred March 31 to April 3 in Seattle. The event is partly sponsored by the Washington State Wine commission and featured several winemaker seminars as well as a grand tasting showcasing the wines of more than 230 Washington wineries.

Discussing ‘King Cab’

How best to manage Cabernet Sauvignon tannins in the vineyard and cellar was a recurring theme of the session entitled “King Cab” that was an exploration of one of the best selling varietals in Washington—and in the world.  

According to the Wines Vines Analytics’ winery database, Washington is home to 756 wineries, and 454 of them produce a Cabernet Sauvignon wine. In 2015, the state’s growers produced 47,400 tons of Cabernet, which was the leading variety and accounted for 21% of the state’s total tonnage.

Maloney said the high amounts of tannin in Washington-grown Cab demand great care and precision in the cellar, or resulting wines will be too tannic. He said fermentation is the “make it or break it” point of pulling out just the right amount for making wines of structure, balance and the potential to age.