(Wines&Vines) - A recurring topic of conversation across the Pacific Northwest remains the need and opportunities to boost the region’s wine profile—collectively, as well as each state’s individual wine industry—with wine consumers.

While the distribution agreement Trinchero Family Estate recently struck with Charles Smith and Charles Bieler for Washington state’s Charles & Charles brand, as well as investments by major wineries in the region’s vineyards and wineries, have been touted as boosting sales opportunities and the profile of the region’s wines, this week’s social media outcry regarding Bloomberg writer John Mariani’s unflattering assessment of Washington state wines highlights the region’s sensitivities.

 While acknowledging that Washington winemakers have engaged in a great deal of experimentation in recent years, Mariani observed after a recent visit to the state that the resulting wines are typically, “intense, highly tannic, high-alcohol wines that show well in their youth but often lose brightness and complexity with age.”