Delightful Or Discounted, Fortified Wines Take Wide Berth

Just when I think I know it all, I’m reminded of how much more I need to learn.

The other day I tasted a 2004 Red Mountain Fortified by Hedges Cellars. It was delightful to say the least. In a few moments I’ll share my tasting notes with you. But, First I need to tell you about my faux paux.

I told Patrick Jaynes, my contact at the winery, how much I enjoyed the “Port”. Immediately I knew from the silence that I had just royally screwed up. Patrick, being the ever patient and kind host, explained to me that at Hedges they don’t call it “Port” because they adhere to the “Wine Place and Origin” philosophy.

The “Wine Place & Origin” philosophy is something that was started in 2005 by the regions Champagne, Jerez, Napa Valley, Oregon, Washington State, Porto, and Walla Walla. Since then there have been several other regions that have also added their names to the agreement. Now there is even a website that you can go to learn more about this agreement, and even add your own name to the petition. The website is www.protectplace.com .

While I agree with this whole philosophy of correctly naming a product by its place of origin to ensure quality, I’m also now a little stymied. How do I tell you that I enjoyed a style of wine and have it not confused with many other styles of the same name.

“Fortified” is a term used for wine product where alcohol has been added in order to enhance flavor, kill off bad bugs, or give the wine a little kick. There are basically six types of fortified wines: Port, Madeira, Sherry, Marsala, Vermouth, and Low-End Fortified wines.

Most of us are quite familiar with Low-End Fortified brands Thunderbird, Night Train, and Mogen David 20/20. Developed during the Great Depression, vintners were able to produce these very affordable, sweet wines that still remain highly popular for their low cost and high test.

On the other hand Port, Madeira, Sherry, and Marsala are centuries old winemaking methods that are steeped in culture and history. I’ve been privileged to taste Ports and Sherries that were in the $300 per bottle range. Vermouth also comes from a long history, and is a required ingredient in some of the most affluent mixed drinks.

I hope that this explains my situation.

So, when I explain to you that I enjoyed a bottle of this Hedges 2004 Red Mountain Fortified, please understand that I am not talking here of a three dollar bottle of Banana Red. I’m talking here of a bottle that will run you the cost of a really good steak dinner.

This wine is 56% Souzau, 25% Touriga, and 19% Tinta Cao. All three varietals are very rare for this region, however are common in Portugal, where Port is made. The wine is so dark and rich it is nearly a blue-black color. The nose is full of dark fruits, orange zest, tobacco, herbs, and violets. The flavors of the sweet brandy hit your tongue first, followed by orange, chocolate, and cherries. At 21.6% alcohol, and 5.6% residual sugar, this is pretty smooth stuff.

Anyone wishing to try this fantastic “fortified” wine should reach out to the winery by going to their website at www.hedgesfamilyestate.com .

Enjoy!

Local Vintners Getting Serious About Making Fun Wines

This has been an interesting week, spent catching up with old friends, and trying to figure out what is going on in the wine industry right now. With the national economy so unstable, and yet a fairly stable local economy, the local wine industry is doing some pretty crazy flip-flops trying to find their way through this summer.

It is pretty clear that people aren’t visiting Walla Walla like they were a year ago at this time. My predictions a few months ago seem to be coming true. Vintners from Walla Walla are working extra hard to reach out and find more sellable pricing and products. A little over a year ago I was hard pressed to find a true Walla Walla wine for under $15. Now, I am finding several, and even a few at under $10.

This week I ran into an old friend, Lynn Chamberlain, the winemaker and owner of James Leigh Cellars in Walla Walla. She is best known for two things…her “Pallate” which is an award winning Bordeaux blend, and her famous Cabernet Cows. (The cows are fattened on the skins from the wines after fermentation.)

Lynn has taken an increasingly popular approach to handling the slowing economy. She has put her wines on deep post-offs (discounts) to her distributors, making them very affordable to retail and restaurants alike. This translates immediately to affordability to you, the consumer. When you can purchase a high-quality wine at a discount price, you’d have to be crazy to turn it down.

Another method for stimulating the local wine economy has been diversification in winery portfolio. Producers are making more wines with fun labels, at price points that attract the customer. These are great wines produced by great winemakers, but not with the stodgy old label and pricing.

I ran into Marie Eve Gilla from Forgeron at a wedding last week for her Assistant Cameron Kontos. Forgeron introduced their Waldeaux Smithie about two years ago. Now it has grown to be an incredibly popular red blend with availability throughout the United States. The winery is producing several thousand cases of the product. It is inexpensive, with a fun label and story, and the wine is very tasty indeed.

Christa Whitelatch, the owner of Claar Cellars in Zillah visited with me this week and introduced their new label, called “Kelso”. Kelso is once again, a fantastically beautiful and fun brand that comes in both a red or white Bordeaux blend. The wine is priced to retail at $12 and is worth far more than that.

To round out the week, I visited with Peter Jaynes at Hedges Estate on Red Mountain. Their new product, also a combination of red and white Bordeaux blends is called “La Beourgeoisie”. It takes a fun stab at the wine establishment by clearly stating on the label that the wine is not intended to be rated by critics or taken seriously. At $10 price per bottle at retail it really should be taken seriously by anyone wanting a great every day wine at a great price.

Have a great week, and please remember to be safe and responsible this independence holiday!

Use Wine To Get Your Message Out

Yesterday I attended a regional networking event hosted for the Reach Interpretive Center to be located in Richland, Washington.

What actually impressed me most about the presentation was the new, private label wine crafted by Pete Hedges of Hedges Cellars. At $15 for a bottle of merlot, I’m sure that when I open it the angels are not going to sing. I know that the wine isn’t going to be fantastic. But, it will be good. And, I am supporting the purpose and message of the interpretive center by giving this special label out as gifts.

At a time when people are concerned about the economy, and worried that their businesses and foundations are not thriving as well as they should, people still will continue to drink wine. Wine offers an excuse to step away from the troubles of the day, relax, and have fun with friends and family. That is why wine is a great medium for getting your message out.

There are several ways to promote your message with wine. The first is, of course, private labels. Did you know that you can get a private label wine for your organization or event without very much expense or trouble?

The biggest issues lie in labeling. There are very strict laws governing the labeling of wine, and breaking those laws can get you into a lot of trouble. Anyone can soak the label off of a bottle of Crane Lake, re-label it, and serve it at a private dinner in their home. But, don’t even try to do this in bulk, without facing fines or imprisonment.

Several local wineries are now making wines with something called “back-labeling”. This is a wine that has all of the legal information on the back label of the wine, but an empty space on the front of the bottle where you can install your own fantastic design.

Two wineries that have been doing this very successfully in the region are Eola Hills, and Claar Cellars. Claar Cellars even makes it possible to pick up just a few bottles at a time from the winery.

Another method for using wine to get your message out has been invented by my good friend Dan McCool. Dan has started a video blog called idrinkyourwine.com . If you go to www.idrinkyourwine.com you will find what I am talking about. For a very reasonable price, plus a bottle of wine, Dan will create a video blog spreading your message, and post it to his site.

This is “viral” marketing at its best. The blog gets posted through YouTube, Facebook, and several other social networking sites as well, which means that a lot of people are seeing your message. Dan shared with me that his site, which has been on line for only a few days is trending for over 10,000 hits a day within the next few weeks.

I recently did this myself just for the experience. I was featured on April 6th, talking about my own blog at www.onerichwineguy.blogspot.com , and this weekly article at East Oregonian. I encourage you to go to www.idrinkyourwine.com and watch it.

If you are trying to get your message out, I suggest you try using wine. People just seem to listen better when you are buying and they are drinking.

Enjoy!