CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Most experts agree that the Napa Valley is the greatest winemaking region in this country and one of the best viticulture locations on the planet. While it is hard to dispute that point of view, one other area -- year in and year out -- is challenging Napa, particularly when it comes to producing wines from cabernet sauvignon and merlot.

I present for your consideration Washington state, which has become over the past couple of decades one of the world's premier wine-producing regions. If you are wondering how I came to this startling conclusion, suffice it to say, years of personal research (drinking the stuff) made a believer of me.

In an area of the country perhaps better known for producing cherries, asparagus, apples, apricots and rain, thousands of acres of grapes have been planted. Some of the resulting wines are nothing short of stunning.

Of course, when an Easterner thinks of Washington, Seattle immediately comes to mind. However, that beautiful city, in the rain shadow of the Cascade Mountains to its east and the Olympic range to its west, is not where the majority of grapes are grown.

While there are some wineries in the Seattle/Puget Sound area actually growing vines, the overwhelming tonnage of vinifera is being produced across the Cascade Mountains in eastern Washington.

Talk about a change! When you travel through the Snoqualmie Pass, just 45 miles from Seattle, you go from a rainforest to a high mountain desert where the majority of vineyards are planted and extend eastward to the border with Idaho.

And in the past 30 years, the wine business in Washington has grown exponentially.

Consider this: In 1981, there were only 19 wineries in the state. Today there are more than 700 scattered over 11 American Viticultural Areas (AVAs), and the industry continues to grow vigorously.

So what makes this northwest corner of the U.S. so special? Excellent terroir.

That somewhat confusing French word (pronounced tare-wah) means Washington has the requisite soil, climate and geographic location most ideally suited to growing some of the world's greatest wine grapes, including cabernet sauvignon, merlot, syrah, chardonnay, Semillon and Riesling.

I spent a week touring the area more than a decade ago and came to a rapid conclusion, after tasting the best the state had to offer, that the wines are exceptional. Since then, things have only gotten better and the cabernets and merlots are among the best being produced anywhere.

In addition to intensity, richness, elegance and power, Washington state wines have the potential to achieve a qualitative attribute uncommon in California -- or anywhere else for that matter.

That characteristic is balance. Balanced wines possess a harmony of fruit, alcohol and acid. There are also many subcomponents that contribute to balance such as tannins and phenolic compounds and other technical stuff that only a chemist would find interesting.

I am particularly fond of the cabernet, merlot, Riesling and Semillon made in Washington state.

Here are a few of my favorite labels from Washington state that you should find appealing: L'Ecole No. 41, Columbia Crest, Canoe Ridge, Hedges, Leonetti, Waterbrook, Quilceda Creek, Woodward Canyon, Covey Run, Hogue Cellars, Kiona, Milbrandt, Walla Walla, Chateau Ste. Michelle, Columbia Winery, DeLille Cellars, and Barnard Griffin Winery.

For more on the art and craft of wine, visit John Brown's Wine Boy blog at thegazz.com.