Doug McCrea must have smiled when he learned that Wine Spectator Magazine, the bible of the global wine industry, recently named a southern Rhone wine blend as its Wine of the Year for 2007. After all, McCrea has quietly converted Cabernet and Merlot fans to the blended wines of Syrah, Grenache, Counoise and Viognier for nearly two decades.

Along the way, he convinced grape growers to plant small lots of odd Rhone varieties, such as Cinsault, Roussanne, Mourvèdre, Grenache Blanc and Picpoul. It is a tribute to McCrea that grape growers would even consider the request, given the ever-increasing demand for Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay and Syrah grapes. For a few years in the early 1990s, vineyard owners wondered what a guy with a master's degree in classical music knew about wines and grapes, but after his success with Syrah, they don't ask anymore.

McCrea relied on innate knowledge from growing up in New Orleans, which was, at the time, one of the greatest food and wine cities in the world. His grandfather made brandy, and his mother made certain dinner was the centerpiece of the day. The smells of cooking, the sounds of jazz music wickedly taunting him in the background, and the flavors of the food were all memories that McCrea would later try to capture and bottle.

"I wanted to make very distinctive wines somewhat reminiscent of Côte Rôtie or Gigondas wines that reflected my background," McCrea recalls. "I love the flavors of southern Rhone-style wines and they are fabulous with food."

His wines are a loving tribute to his past, and create something new for Northwest wine drinkers. McCrea works with three vineyards - Boushey, Ciel du Cheval and Elephant Mountain - creating rich, black-purple wines with hints of smoke and toasty oak. In addition to five distinctive Syrah wines, McCrea bottled Mourvèdre, a fruity, spicy red wine that tastes like liquid blackberries, and Counoise, with its flecks of cinnamon notes and tart cherry pie fruit.

His white wines are powerful and rich, with apricot and orange blossoms and blasts of honey, all delivered in a dry style. The Sirocco Blanc is an offering you won't find elsewhere in the Northwest, and it confirms McCrea's status as an innovator of blends using Washington state grapes.

All McCrea wines are dry and relatively fullbodied with smooth tannins. They have either herbal or earthy aromas and flavors, or a core of enormous fruit - plum and berries. A cook himself, McCrea makes these wines with food in mind, and they pair especially well with roasts, stews and hearty vegetable dishes. His Syrah is addictive with lamb dishes.

Once dubbed the Sultan of Syrah, since he was at the forefront of that varietal, McCrea says he and his business partner, Susan Neel (his ex-wife), still believe in hand-selling their wines and self-distributing them throughout the state. Their hands-on involvement creates and strengthens personal relationships, another reason McCrea and his wife, Kim, and Susan and her husband, Bob, still love the work.

"There is something very satisfying about walking through the restaurant kitchens, making deliveries and calling on our customers," says Susan Neel. "We love being out there in the trade. The last thing I want is to sit in front of my computer all day."

In the old days, McCrea was one of the few wineries selling Syrah and blends featuring Syrah. The state is now getting crowded with Syrah offerings, and McCrea says that is one reason why he keeps experimenting with grapes, something he is currently doing with grape growers.

"What I think will be fascinating is how we can support 500 wineries," McCrea says. "We are entrepreneurs who put in long hours. We brought ourselves up by our bootstraps. Although it might seem glamorous, there is a great deal of work if you strive for the best."