Our Organic Northwest

The Crush Part 3: Using Celebrity to Sell Northwest Wines

(photo: Kyle MacLachlan and Eric Dunham sip some Baby Bear wine straight from the barrel. The L.A.-based actor and Walla Walla winemaker have teamed up to make high-end wines.)

If you want to see stars outside of Hollywood, head to a Northwest winery. Across the region winemakers are increasingly courting rockers, artists and movie stars to help market premium wines. In the down economy, they hope a little rub of star dust will add some cache to the fermented juice.

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Agriculture Secretary Visits Idaho, Talks Forests

COEUR D'ALENE, ID - US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack was in the Northwest today to try to build support for the Obama administration’s fire prevention strategies. Vilsack toured a wood pellet plant in southern Idaho. He used it as an example of what can be done with the byproducts of a forest that is thinned to reduce the chances of huge wildfires.

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The Crush Part Two: New Business Plan for Walla Walla Wineries

(photo: Gilles Nicault, a winemaker for Long Shadows out of Walla Walla, WA, inspects his grapes on Red Mountain. He makes high end wines which face a tough economy.)

WALLA WALLA, WA - The bad economy has hit the Northwest wine industry hard. That’s especially true in the market for high-end wines. In the last 20 years, Washington alone has added 600 new wineries. Now, signs of stress are leaking out in one of the region’s wine hubs, the Walla Walla Valley.

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The Crush Part One: Eastern WA Vintners Set Up Shop West of Cascades

(photo: Walla Walla is known as Washington's wine capital. But as the economy has faltered, Eastern Washington winemakers are heading West and opening tasting rooms far from the vineyard.)

WALLA, WALLA, WA - Walla Walla is known as Washington's wine capital. But as the economy has faltered, a trend is emerging. Eastern Washington winemakers are heading West over the Cascades. They're opening tasting rooms in Woodinville wine country, near Seattle, to be closer to their customers. This week, as winemakers process their latest grape harvest, we're looking at how the wine industry is adjusting to the new economy.

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Why Are Wasps So Grumpy?

RICHLAND, WA - In the Northwest, nights are getting cooler and days are getting shorter as we head into fall. It also means that wasps are swirling around the dead bugs on your car bumper and your family picnic this Labor Day. Correspondent Anna King found out there’s a reason behind their cranky behavior.

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Idaho Wolf Season is Open But for How Long?

COEUR D'ALENE, ID - Idaho’s first wolf hunting season opens today in some parts of the state. How long it will stay open is up to a federal judge in Montana. Yesterday Judge Donald Molloy heard arguments from attorneys for conservation groups who want to stop the fall hunts in Idaho and Montana. He says he’ll decide as quickly as he can. Meanwhile, hunters are ready to shoot wolves. Correspondent Doug Nadvornick reports.

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