Washington wine making inroads

Bottles of beer and soju, a potent domestic liquor, are common at dinner time and during the night while singing favorite Korean pop tunes in private karaoke rooms with friends and family.

But Koreans also seek a lavish and high-class lifestyle.

That's where Washington wine comes in.

Lee Min-woo, team manager of the brand coordination team for Narafood, one of South Korea's major wine importers, believes that as more Koreans increase their wine consumption, high-quality Washington wines will help build a niche for his company.

And no wonder. During the first four months of this year, the dollar value for imports of Washington wines has nearly equaled last year's total of $456,000.

Al Portney, vice president of international sales for Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, credits the growth to 20- and 30-somethings who are choosing wine as their social drink of choice.

The growth is notable, considering that little marketing of Washington wines has been done here.

That's about to change. The Washington Wine Commission is examining the market and applying for a grant to increase marketing.

"We think Korean consumers are wine savvy," said executive director Robin Pollard. "Their orientation is much more to French wines than to America. We see an opportunity that we want to explore."

In the meantime, importers and wineries are filling in the gaps.

Within the last three years, nearly a half-dozen companies have begun importing Washington wine, Portney said.

Narafood was the first to import Washington wine 11 years ago and currently imports about 70 percent of Washington wine into Korea. In addition to being an importer, the company also has a small chain of retail wine shops called winetime.

"They really believe in Washington state as a unique and high-quality viticulture region," said Martin Clubb, co-owner of L'Ecole No. 41 near Walla Walla.

Clubb has been to Seoul several times to increase consumer awareness of Washington wines. He's even appeared on what he dubs the Korean "Oprah Winfrey Show" to do a tasting seminar.

Lee, who said he's never tasted a bad wine from Washington state, said he believes that now is the right time to brand the area as an affordable, but luxurious wine region.

"I want Korean consumers to regard Washington wine as a high-value wine," he said.