Wine blogger recognizes Kyra Wines

MOSES LAKE - Wine enthusiast and blogger Stan Reitan, known online as stanthewineman, recently named Kyra Wines his 2015 Winery of the Year.

The Moses Lake winery is owned by Bruce and Kyra Baerlocher. Grapes are grown on vineyards in the Wahluke Slope AVA (American Viticultural Area).

On his blog, Reitan said Kyra Wines was a serious contender for the title during last year's selection process. He said he chooses his winery of the year based on if their wines are fairly priced and if they show personality - meaning they reflect the winemaker and their passion for wine.

"Kyra Wines is a simple choice for me to make this year," he wrote. "From the first day I was introduced to the wines of Kyra I was impressed. They are solid well made wines showing a true sense of place or terroir."

Kyra Baerlocher said it felt great to have their wines recognized at that level, especially since she wasn't sure they would be selected. She said Reitan interviewed her, but mentioned he was interviewing other contenders as well.

"We knew we were in the running, but it's one of those things where you think, 'Oh, that's nice, but it probably won't happen," said Baerlocher. "It felt great to know that we stood out."

By day, Reitan works as a wine steward at Kings Market in Friday Harbor. He also runs a personal blog, stanthewineman.com, as well as a blog for Seattlepi.com and a YouTube channel.

Reitan said he has probably tasted nearly a thousand wines from close to 650 wineries this year alone.

"He's exposed to a large volume of wine, so when you get a big stamp of approval from him you know it's something," said Baerlocher.

She said it was nice that Reitan named them Winery of the Year, simply because a lot of their philosophies on wine are so similar.

"He calls himself the Blue Collar Wine Guy, talking about people who can enjoy wine everyday but don't want to be snobby about it," said Baerlocher. "They just want wine to be part of their meal and part of their lives."

Retain reviewed a few of their varieties on his blog, including the 2013 Chenin Blanc (which also made the Seattle Times' Top 50 list of the year), the 2011 Dolcetto, the 2010 Sangiovese and the 2012 Syrah- all which come with a price tag of under $20.

Baerlocher said they plan on celebrating their title during an event at their Moses Lake tasting room on Feb. 14. She said it's important to them to celebrate with people from their hometown.

"The people here have been so supportive of us, to have your hometown behind you, you feel like you can go anywhere," she said. "Our restaurants and grocery stores and consumers have been so supportive during this whole time and we wouldn't be anything without that."

Baerlocher said more information on the event will be posted on their website, www.kyrawines.com.