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Cork Dork: Winding Road Leads English to Winemaking

Darby English has made all the right moves in a thriving winemaking career.

Darby English’s trail to winemaking is as twisted as the vines he harvests every fall. English’s initial foray into wine was almost exactly 10 years ago after he moved back to Seattle in 2001.

It wasn’t without complications. However, English says it is those growing pains that have made him a better winemaker.

“I found the winemaking scene blowing up when I came back to Seattle,” Darby recalls. “I started making wine in the basement and fell in love with it.”

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He made his first vintage out of his basement with crummy grapes from a source he refused to disclose.

“It was bad quality fruit. That was probably a good thing that happened to me,” English said.

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The following vintage he scored Cabernet Sauvignon from the coveted and storied Pepper Bridge vineyard in Walla Walla.

“That instilled in me that I needed to get the best fruit possible,” English said. “It was an important lesson very early in my career. It gave me a grasp of different vineyards and how important that is.”

Today he scours the state for grapes from some of the best sites, including Stone Tree and Conner Lee in the Wahluke Slope, Stillwater Creek in the Royal Slope, Discovery Vineyard in the Horse Heaven Hills, Dwelley Vineyard in Walla Walla and, Dineen and Boushey in the Yakima Valley.

“I love the differences each vineyard has,” English said.

In 2005, the first year he was bonded, he produced about 500 cases, mostly with fruit from Destiny Ridge in Horse Heaven Hills. In 2010 he made close to 4,000 cases of wine, including 650 cases under his second label, Livewire. Mark McNiely of Mark Ryan Winery, Tim Stevens of Stevens Winery, Chris Gorman of Gorman Winery and Bob Betz of Betz Family Winery mentored English along the way.

 grew so quickly he retired from a successful 10-year career in pharmaceutical sales three years ago.

“When I was first hired I told them it was a hobby, which it was,” Darby said. “I was doing really well in pharmaceutical sales. Then the winery became a big deal. It was a lot of stress doing two jobs and doing them well.

“I was a little nervous when I made that call to my boss that I was going to focus on my winery but I felt great about it the next day.”

It was yet another turn in English’s career that led to his thriving winery.

Darby Winery Tasting Room

14450 Woodinville Redmond Rd NE, Suite #110 
Woodinville, WA 98072

(206) 954-4700
Hours:   Thurs-Fri 1-5, Sat-Sun 12-6

Wine Pick of the Week: 2010 Stevens Winery Divio Viognier, Yakima Valley

Divio is the code winemaker Tim Stevens stamps on the barrels of this wine. It is short for Dineen Vineyard Viognier. It translates to a food friendly balanced wine.

So much Washington Viognier is overripe and flabby. Stevens coaxes the usual Viognier qualities of perfumed white flowers, tropical fruit such as guava and stone fruits like apricots and peaches. A whiff of orange zest is reminiscent of Viognier from Condrieu in the Rhone where the grape is best grown. The kicker in the Stevens Winery Viognier is its racy and lip-smacking acidity of lemon and limes. The unusually cool 2010 vintage captured acidity with lower sugars and ripeness.

It is that acidity that makes this wine a perfect pairing for shellfish or creamy dishes. Chef Bobby Moore at The Barking Frog delivers all those flavor and textural experiences in a sea scallop and sous vide pork belly entrée served with grilled corn risotto. Crabcake appetizers or a crab salad are other recommended food pairings if you prefer to serve this wine as a starter.

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