Bring me the head of Inigo Montoya

Cool climate North American wines made by a Master Sommelier

Washington State may be on the west coast of America, but the wines of Gramercy Cellars are nothing if not mid-Atlantic. At Gramercy, the philosophy is quite simple: focus on the best Washington vineyards, harvest ripe - and not overripe - grapes, intervene minimally and use as little new oak as possible. Cool, fresh and earthy, well-made and complex, with distinct varietal character, these wines seem to owe as much to a traditional old world elegance as to new world exuberance.

Gramercy is the personal project of Greg and Pam Harrington. One of the world's few Master Sommeliers, Greg had spent his career before Gramercy in the upper echelons of the American restaurant scene, overseeing some of the most prestigious wine programmes in the country. But he also dreamed of making the kind of wine he most enjoyed serving.

His Washington epiphany came at a backyard picnic hosted by the Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance; the wines seemed so different to what he and Pam had come to expect from American wines. A marathon tasting tour round Washington state cemented their new-found conviction and within a year Gramercy Cellars was born. The first harvest was in 2005. Using fruit from 10 different vineyards in both the Walla Walla Valley and the Columbia Valley, Greg and team focus on what they find works best in their vineyards: cedary, blue fruit Cabernet, herby, meaty Rhone varietals, and a smoky Tempranillo, the Inigo Montoya. Bring me his head, as a gangland boss once said of Alfredo Garcia. /NT

Offered subject to remaining unsold available imminently