Cinco de Vino: Ola Yakima!

No, no, no... This is not a tasting of Mexican wines. Nobody wants that. Not that Mexico couldn't make great wine, it just doesn't, for the most part.

This Monday evening make a play for Wine Yakima Valley's annual tasting, this year at SAM's Sculpture Park. 20 some wineries, appetizers from TASTE events, a killer view, and some of the nicest people you'll ever meet, along with great wines. Tickets are $35, and the event runs from 6pm to 8pm (uh, hello sunset).

Tip numero uno: Get there on time if you want you nibbles' worth. People can be kinda shameless at events like these, like they're going to the chair. Seriously, I used to work tons of these events, but it does make for good people watching.

Tip numero dos: Make sure you check out newbies Milbrandt Vineyards (new to wine making, but not growing, they've been providing amazing grapes to some of our states most noteworthy wineries for years).

And after that much rich, spicy Washington red, you'll be wanting a tart margarita...so after you go local, go more holiday appropriate and walk yourself right up to 2522 Western Avenue to Casuelita's. This Caribbean joint is my de facto choice in the area for Cinco de Mayo. The food is so good, it's close enough for me.

Wine Yakima Valley's Cinco de Vino
@ SAM's Olympic Sculpture Park
Monday May 5th, 6 - 8pm
Click here for tickets or more info

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The Only Wine Competition You Ever Need Pay Attention To

Anthony’s HomePort in Seattle was one of three final judging stations for this year’s Oyster Wine Competition, and our very own, the lovely Miss Adriana Grant was one of 40 judges who went through the daunting task of narrowing the field. From the release:

"Preliminary Judging at Anthony’s HomePort at Shilsole Bay in Seattle, five veteran Preliminary Judges consumed 1200 Kumamoto oysters in narrowing the contenders to 44 semi-finalists and then to 20 finalists. The finalists were judged, again with oysters, by 12-14 judge panels in the three cities."

This is one of the best white wine competitions because judges actually eat along with the tasting, a true test of the pairing.Taylor Shellfish Farms of Shelton, WA. sponsored the competition which is organized by man of the sea and all around nice guy Jon Rowley... and now your 2008 Oyster Award wines... (cue the Alan Parsons Project)...!!....

Amity Vineyards 06 Pinot Blanc (OR)
Chateau Ste. Michelle 06 Columbia Valley Sauvignon Blanc (WA)
Clayhouse Vineyard 06 Sauvignon Blanc (CA)
Clos du Bois Winery 06 Sauvignon Blanc (CA)
Covey Run Winery 06 Fume Blanc (WA)
Dry Creek Vineyard 06 Sonoma County Fume Blanc (CA)
Girard Winery 06 Sauvignon Blanc (CA)
Kathryn Kennedy Winery 07 Sauvignon Blanc (CA)
Robledo Family Winery 06 Sauvignon Blanc (CA)
Simi 06 Sauvignon Blanc (CA)
Van Duzer Vineyards 07 Pinot Gris (OR)
Willamette Valley Vineyards 07 Pinot Gris (OR)

I second that Amity Pinot Blanc. Get past the awful county fair label and you’ll find some unbelievable wine (at an equally say wha? price). Covey Run Fume Blanc is consistently one of the best buys you’ll ever find on your grocery store’s shelves, and when the hell is the Northwest going to start respecting the white grapes and realize that the future is see through? Huh? We should own this!

The coolest thing about this competition is that practically all of the winners are under $20, and most are closer to $15. (Except the Kathryn Kennedy, but good bloody luck finding that one). The wines are for the most part readily available allowing immediate, local validation of the results.

So tell us, Adriana... how many kumomotos did it take for you to make up your mind? (And what was your personal favorite??)

Topics: wine

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Weird White Chestnut

I received an email from Ron Irvine, owner of Vashon Winery, in regards to my article two weeks ago about unique Puget Sound whites. He had this little nugget about Chasselas, the international grape of fondue:

I had a woman call the winery wanting to purchase the Chasselas Dore for a fondue dinner. She was quite excited to know that she didn't have to go to Switzerland to get the wine. Did you know that Chasselas may be one of the oldest grapes known to mankind? It is usually differentiated as Vitis vinifera orientalis (or occidental), I forget. But it is thought to have emanated from the Lebanon Valley or Eygpt. It is also one of the most planted grapes in France, and is similar to our Thompson Seedless as it is used as a table grape there.

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Love & Bubbly, at Any Cost

You don't have to spend a fortune...yadda yadda yadda... Maybe you had a good year, and maybe things are tight right now. That doesn't mean you have to skimp. Here are some of the best values in bubbly I've had all year:

$10 - Segura Viudas "Aria" Brut Rose - This is not only one of the tastiest $10 bottles of bubbly, but also the hottest—a dark black bottle with metallic magenta edging. There's more fruit than your average glass of sparkling wine, and it tastes like unripe strawberries. I buy it by the case for an extra discount, and it's very easy to find around town. The dark side of cheap bubbles is that metallic or tin can flavor that the mass produced stuff gives off. Not this little magenta beauty, no sir.

$20 - Scharffenberger Brut - Mendocino's finest is the liquid expression of one of my favorite tea time snacks: biscuits with cream and lemon curd. It's a fresh style of bubbly, with a creamy, not so aggressive finish. This bottle tastes a bit finer than your average Prosecco and can be found around town in restaurants like Eva as a glass pour.

$30 - Schramsberg Blanc de Blancs 2004 - This example of white on white bubbles (all Chardonnay) makes an extra racy, super zippy treat and it's vintage dated no less. Schramsberg is America's bubbly ambassador, and makes the case for serious non-Champagne sparklers. The aroma and flavor of citrus zest in this wine, along with hints of Granny Smith apples and a little honey, make it a great way to start out the night, invigorating and frisky.

$40 - Argyle Extended Tirage Brut 1997 - $40 won't even get you in the ground floor for most Champagnes, but don't sweat it. Oregon's Argyle Winery makes sparkling wines that achieve fantastic depth for their respective categories, especially this extra special bottle. "Extended Tirage" means that this sparkler sat with the dead yeast cells and funk from its first fermentation in the bottle for almost ten years. While this would be gross for anything in your fridge, it's awesome for a sparkling wine and is the reason for this bubbly's amazing character. Butter cookies, tangy dried fig and apricot fruit, maybe a little plum, this wine is exotic and has flavor and character to spare. You'll have to spend almost twice as much for a Champagne that can rival the aromas and flavors of this bottle, and that's what makes it a steal.

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Wine & the Case of the Emperor's New Clothes

I've been looking for this article since Brian Williams mentioned it on NBC Nightly News Monday (what? Yes, I love me some Brian Williams).

Wine Test: $5 Bottle Gets Tastier When It's $45 from the AP via the Seattle Times

Researchers at the California Institute of Technology found in recent experiments that price effected a person's perception of a wine quality. My first thought is that people already feel pressure to perform in a controlled situation such as this, but you'd be amazed, professional or no, just how many times I've seen people bullshit themselves about wine.

People are almost as insecure about wine as they are about being naked in front of strangers. But it's a matter of personal taste. Make a late resolution not to be goaded into taste this year. Trend does not equal like (neither does price), and life's far too short to pretend.

Case in point? I really don't like white burgundy. There, I said it. Yes, one of the tres cher darlings of wine snobs everywhere. Does absolutely nothing for me, even though I can evaluate it critically. In my mind, if I want corn on the cob, I'll eat it not drink it. See? It's easy to be honest.

(Incidentally this is a great teaser for my column next week.)

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The Wine Hopper's Companion

I am an appreciator of all fine examples of nerdery. Take for example Wine Trails of Washington, "a guide for uncorking your memorable wine tour," by Steve Roberts. Consider it the 100 Hikes version of wine touring, times four. Each winery entry has detailed contact information, wine tasting hours, and a little dose of history. The book is organized by route, like Wenatchee to Wilbur or Whidbey Island to Port Townsend. Which wineries are best? Steve leaves that up to you. It's all so low tech and short tail, I admire him profusely.

The 572 page book is compiled with such OCD and fairness that it took a man outside the industry to write it, and publish it all by himself. To Steve, every stop is a potential good time, and rightfully so. I'll keep a copy in the trunk because you never know when a weekend of hiking might get rained out, or a Sunday drive turns into something 45 miles longer than anticipated. I don't know how many times I've been on the road and neglected to make a few stops because getting there required an effort or knowledge that was too late to acquire barreling south on 97.

You can purchase Wine Trails of Washington for $19.95 by calling 1-800-533-6165 (an 800# with an answering machine when operators (read:writer) are not on duty—how @#$!ing adorable is that?)

Or you can buy it at Elliot Bay Book Co., Barnes & Noble downtown, Island Books (as in Mercer), Fremont Place Books, "select QFC stores," Capers in West Seattle and Fremont, Verve Wine Bar in Columbia City, and Chateau St. Michelle. Phew! Not bad for an indie writer.

You can also order from Amazon...BUT! You support your local farmers? Support your local authors, too. I really, really hate to tell you to buy this book on Amazon. Writers get less cash per book from online stores such as the mega-A. I highly encourage you to buy with as few degrees of separation from the author as possible (just like your veggies), so that he gets the biggest piece of pie from his hard work.

** Steve Roberts will also be signing copies of the book tonight at Vino Bella at 99 Front St. in Issaquah.

Topics: wine

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To BYOW or Not to BYOW

I really like the idea of taking a more active role in my booze consumption. Er, I mean, the making, bottling, etc. I'm not yet down with the idea of turning my bathtub into a moonshine distillery, but baby steps, baby steps.

So when I saw the Silver Lake Winery in Woodinville is having its Bottle Your Own Wine event this weekend, I thought it was a gentler way to start than jumping into the grape smashing barrels feet first (though, I am pretty keen on the idea of smashing grapes with my feet).

But then I saw this YouTube video and have now thoroughly freaked myself out. Maybe it's the jazzy background music or the fact that movement is simulated in the video by panning in on still images or all those fluorescent lights, but I don't know if I can go through with it.

Topics: wine

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Beaujolais Nou...Doh!

(I'm sorry I just couldn't help myself.) So word on the street is that Joseph Drouhin, one of France's largest negociants of wine, is recalling all of their 2007 Beaujolais Nouveau. Reason: particulate that causes some bottles to spoil. Some, not all. Why? Grape solids not filtered out of this wine could cause a second fermentation and/or spoilage, cork popping out, etc.

On the one hand, it's pretty bold of Drouhin to recall every bottle in the name of quality control. That's a lot of red, not to mention green. I don't know many Seattle wine retailers who sell all their Beaujolais Nouveau before Thanksgiving; so the market could always use less. But Drouhin's Beaujolais Nouveau is usually one of the only ones worth drinking, probably because they have so much fruit from which to choose. Geez, the DuBoeuf people must be psyched right now.

On the other hand, lots of bars and restaurants spend a pretty penny to promote Beaujolais Nouveau release parties. (The wine is legal to sell as of this Thursday.) If an establishment put all their money on Drouhin, they've got nothing.

On the other other hand, this is what's so difficult about dealing with Beaujolais Nouveau as a retail wine buyer. You have to commit to cases of a wine that isn't even wine yet, trusting that it won't be terrible but knowing that it can't really be all that great.

Over the years, Beaujolais Nouveau has turned into a marketing beast. And for the wineries, it's juicy profit—selling mass quantities of bulk wine at a great price less than a month after making it. The price of Beaujolais Nouveau has risen over the last few years in our country, making it less of a cheap thrill due to higher shipping costs. French winemakers make Beaujolais Nouveau as a quickie, a fun wine to celebrate the end of the harvest...in France, not Seattle. And I don't think Al Gore would be pleased if he got a peek at this little wine's carbon footprint.

Huh, maybe next year somebody should make a Nouveau de Yakima, save on the carbon emissions, and the mal de tête.

**If you live in another part of the country, and your Drouhin distributor wasn't quick enough on the withdrawal, contact them for instructions. The wine is fine. It tastes fine., and will be fine for Thanksgiving. But if you keep bottles with unfiltered grape solids for the next few months, that could change. In the Seattle area, no bottles went out.

** Update from Maison Joseph Drouhin received today, Nov. 16th: Dreyfus, Ashby imported 6,500 cases of the Beaujolais Nouveau. The wine is not being shipped until it has been personally checked by Laurent Drouhin, Dreyfus, Ashby senior management, or a highly qualified wine expert at the distributor. The wine in the parts of the northeast, Texas, Chicago, Florida and Colorado has been found to be up to Drouhin standards...and is being distributed to on- and off-premise customers. In other markets it is being held until it has been checked. If found to have sediment, the wine is being destroyed.

Topics: wine

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Same Hot Champagne, New Dress

Firstly, I had fun on the radio with Tom Douglas(*) and Thierry Rautureau this weekend, even if they were a tough crowd for the ciders I brought. They poked fun at me when I mentioned a little trick for chilling hard cider drinks down without watering them down (freeze some cider as ice cubes). They said that it "was so Martha." Ack! Actually it's not. But...

Last week I had lunch with Christian Holthausen, whose job it is to travel around the world talking about Champagne, specifically Piper and Charles Heidsieck Champagnes. That makes him kind of like my version of Saint Nicholas. I learned two things at lunch. One: It was all the rage in St. Tropez this summer to drink Piscines, which are giant glasses of Champagne chilled down with Champagne ice cubes. (All I know is, that beats an XO and coke by a country mi-... kilometer.) So take that Tom and Thierry! It's not so Martha, it's so... Euro-trash. Ha! Uh...

Anyways, I also got a sneak tactile peak at the new couture Piper Heidsieck Rose Sauvage bottle from designers Viktor & Rolf. They turned the packaging upside down. If you're a Champagne freak, like I, and still have two vinyl corseted bottles of the 99 Piper Special Cuvee from Gaultier holding up the Erikson to Herbert section of your bookcase, like I, then this is cool news. In keeping with their upside down themed Milan boutique, the Danish duo also designed an upside down ice bucket and upside down Champagne glass to match. C'est tres chic. And excuse me "girling out" for this post, but my love of hot pink and Champagne are about as girlie as I ever get, so humor me.

The L.E. Viktor & Rolf bottle of Piper Heidsieck should hit the Seattle market in an extremely limited quantity just around New Year's or after. Fashionistas, prepare for the cat fight.
(* disclaimer: my boss)

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Walla Walla: Wine Ghetto or the Next Napa?

Photos courtesy of WallaWalla.org.

Both agree the region's churning out great wine.

Esquire: "Walla Walla Wine Ghetto"

Seattle Times: "Is Walla Walla the Next Napa?"

Topics: wine

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