Zefina Wines A Great Example of Horse Heaven Fruit

Located out in the far reaches of the Horse Heaven Hills is a vineyard named Alder Ridge. It is a beautiful place, although remote, where wine grapes are able to become all that they need to be in order to make great wines. Next door to the most highly acclaimed Champoux vineyards, where some of the Northwest’s most prestigious grapes are grown, Alder Ridge may not have the same geneology, but it isn’t bad either.

Enter a young, highly trained winemaker, whom I’ve written about before concerning his own private label “Thirsty Pagans”. Rob Chowaneitz lives and breathes everything that is Alder Ridge. Under the financial and management support of a great company called Corus, Rob makes wine for the Zefina winery.

As part of the Corus family of wines, Zefina is not open to the public. The only way you can find the wines is by buying them through distributors or grocery retailers. I hadn’t seen the wines before, but found them on a local at my neighborhood Grocery Outlet shelf and decided to give them a try.

I took the time to taste some of the Zefina wines this week, and found them to be very satisfying, and also very affordable. Here are four of the wines I tasted:

The Serience White is chowaneitz’s white blend of 50% Rousanne and Viognier. I will admit that I was a little afraid of this one, because the vintage was a few years old. However, I found the wine to be quite free of oxidation. Bright and straw-like in the glass, the wine offers nice notes of orange blossoms, mineral, and lemon rind. On the palate, I tasted fresh gooseberry and lemon. The acids cleansed the palate nicely.

The 2007 Viognier also offers bright straw colors in the glass. Bright fresh tropical fruit on the nose, with hints of baking spices. The flavors are more of the same. The tropical notes take off and add in a nice cinnamon on the center of the tongue, with added bonus of a little bananas foster on the finish. I would serve this with a nice creamy fish dish. If I had some camerones la crema while tasting this wine I would have loved the pairing!

Next, I tried the Serience Red Blend. Once again this was a 2007 vintage. I think that this was possibly my favorite wine of the night. This blend of 44% Syrah, 40% Grenache, 11% Cinsault, 3% Mourvedre, and 2% Counoise is very rich and smooth indeed. Dark red, leading to purple in the glass it definitely looks like a wine with full-bodied potential. The nose is rich with blackberry, dark cherry, and even a little blueberry with vanilla mixed in for measure. The flavors are rich and very smooth. I loved the careful balance of fruit, alcohol, and tannin. This is definitely a wine to be enjoyed by itself as well as food.

Last, I tasted the 2007 Zinfandel. One of the things I love about Horse Heaven region Zinfandel is that it tends to be rich in flavor, without being too cloying on the finish. This one definitely shows some natural sweetness at the end, but really that is just an afterthought. The wine is deep red in the glass, with the spicy richness of bing cherries and light oak. I enjoyed this wine very much with a Putenesca sauce and pasta.

At $5.99 per bottle each, all of these wines were well worth their price and a whole lot more.

Enjoy!

Lemberger Wine Gets Showcased in the Horseheavens

The other day I was talking with someone, when they mentioned that they had found Lemberger wine for the first time. They were surprised that it was so good, and nothing like the name sounded. I guess they had expected something to come out of the bottle and rot on the end of their noses or something. Lemberger wine is NOT stinky cheese wine. Quite to the contrary, Lemberger is a fabulously mellow and yet complex red that is easy to drink.

Blaufränkisch, which means “blue Fränkish” in German, is a dark blue grape that is rich in tannins. Grown throughout the Slavic regions of Europe, the grape is known in Germany and Austria as Lemberger. The grape is known throughout Europe as the Pinot Noir of the east because of its rich velvety tannins mixed with deep dark fruit flavors, and a touch of earthiness.

One thing that is oddly known about this grape is that outside of Eastern Europe there are few regions that this variety is grown. One of the only serious yields of this variety outside of Europe is in the Yakima region of Washington State. There are also a few vineyards in the Olympic Peninsula who are growing this grape because it handles lower temperatures so well.

Of the Lembergers that I’ve had in this region, none is more memorable to me than the one produced by Kiona winery in Benton City. The Williams family has been producing this varietal since 1980, when they were the first and only vineyard in the United States to grow it.

Priced at around $10 per bottle, Kiona has produced some amazing award winning Lembergers over the years out of their estate vineyards. The current vintage is extremely smooth and drinkable, with flavors of fleshy, dark, fresh fruit and a spiciness that lingers. I especially like the velvety tannins in the finish.

If you are interested in exploring more about the world of Lemberger, I highly suggest that you attend Chateau Champoux’s 8th annual Lemberger Lamburger barbeque. This event is a fantastic time, with a showcasing of the variety along with food, music, and artists.

This year’s barbecue will be held June 19th, and the Chateau located in the horse heaven hills on the other side of the river from Boardman. The featured wineries will be Camas Prairie Winery, Olympic Cellars, Yellow Hawk, and Fairwinds Winery. Entertainment by my friends at the Tri-Cities Big Band, and lamb burgers (and chicken) will be served by Tip Pit barbecue.

If you’re interested in exploring the world of Lemberger, I would highly suggest you attend this fun event. The cost is $55 per person, or $90 for a couple. Get your tickets right away by calling (509) 894-5005. There is more information also available on the Chateau Champoux website at www.chateauchampoux.com . You can even make an entire weekend out of it by getting a camping site at Crow Butte State Park near Patterson, which is just a few miles away from the event. The website to reserve a space there is www.crowbutte.com.

Enjoy!

San Juan Vineyards Offers Beautiful Grounds and Refreshing Wines

Sometimes I just have to pinch myself. “Ouch!” Ok, I’m not dreaming. I really do live in the greatest country, in the greatest region, and get to do for a living what I love every day. This week is one of those weeks where I really am pinching myself over an over again.

I just returned from a one week school for professional photographers on San Juan Island. My favorite part of the whole week, was on Tuesday evening when we took some time to visit San Juan Vineyards to photograph the vineyards and the staff, eat dinner, and drink wine.

San Juan Vineyards is located on the North Eastern side of the island near Roche Harbor. It is just a few miles from the ferry dock, and easily accessible by bicycle or moped if you decide to leave your car on the mainland. 60 acres of beautiful landscaping and vineyards, with a little church, covered events area, and plenty of room to roam make the vineyard a great event center to host parties or a beautiful wedding.

Owner, Yvonne Swanberg, warmly met us at the tasting room. The vineyard, started by her late husband, and friend Tim Judkins, has been producing wines since 1999. Cutting-edge winemaker Chris Primus joined the winery in 2006. His background as assistant for vintners in Willamete Valley prepared him to create food friendly wines in even cool climates. His whites are bone dry, and his reds are dark and structured.

I had the opportunity to sample through several of Chris’ wines, and thoroughly enjoyed every one. The first that I found to be exceptional was the ‘07 Siegerrebe. Siegerrebe is a cool weather grape varietal that has a lot of characteristics of a Pinot Grigio. It is cool and crisp, with flavors of pear and citrus. With a residual sugar of .06% it is a great wine to pair with fish, or sip on the deck on a summer evening.

The second wine that I found exceptional was the ’07 Madeline Angevine. This is also a fairly rare varietal that is suited to grow well in cool, wet climates. Chris has done an exceptional job in creating a dry wine with flavors of melon and citrus. It tasted to me like I was eating cold honeydew right off the vine. Crisp, yet flavorful, this wine would pair very well with Alfredo or other cream sauces.

The ’07 “Afterglow” is a fantastic Rose’. The wine is a blend of several red grapes from the Horse Heaven Hills AVA, mixed with San Juan Vineyard’s own Madeline grapes. Nicely balanced with good acidity, fruit, and depth.

How does a winemaker in a cold climate create an award winning Merlot? He sources his grapes. Chris created his 2005 Merlot from Alder Ridge and Kestrel Vineyard fruit. This wine has great color, depth, and textures. I especially loved the flavors of cocoa and chipotle mixed into the deep rich stone-fruit of cherries and plum. This wine has won several awards, including a recent double gold.

Next time you are planning a trip to San Juan Island, take the time to visit the vineyards. Tell my friends there that I sent you!