Rose’s Are In Full Bloom This Year

 As I look at the weather bug on my phone this week I keep getting freeze warnings for the next few days. At the same time, over the past few days and weeks it has been a burgeoning summer already, with a few days last week over 90 degrees. Welcome to spring in the Northwest!

Maison Bleue and Longshadows Rose's

The crazy thing about these springtime days and evenings around here, is that you don’t know what you’re going to get. You don’t know if you’re going to be in your bikini, or in a sweater from moment to moment.

My recommendation during these few crazy weather weeks of the year is to dress in layers, and drink Rose’.
Why Rose’? The reason is simple, yet the wine is complex. Rose’s are truly a wine made from red grapes, with all the complexity of red wine. Yet, at the same time, the wine is not as heavy and tannic as you would normally find those grapes producing. It is a highly complicated wine to produce. Yet, at the same time, the wines are usually less expensive than their dark-red partners.
One thing that is kind of wild about Rose’s is that the wine is very hand-crafted, and can change dramatically from vintage to vintage. It is usually bottled in early spring, and sells out of the wineries and shops by early summer.
Definitely something you need to know if you buy a bottle now, and decide to go back for more later. You don’t want to wait too long. The good stuff flies off the shelves early and doesn’t come back till next year.
I did a little survey among a few wine shop staff, and my wino peeps out there these past few weeks. I also did a little taste testing of my own. These are the must drinks that I’ve been hearing about in the market this year:

The Rose’ that went over huge at Taste Washington this year was Maison Bleue’s Rose of Mourvedre. It was explained to me by a couple of my serious wino friends as being “OMG Good!”. I went and bought some at my neighborhood wine shop and was a little freaked at the $20 price tag, but when I tasted it I have to say I agreed with the reviews. Jon, the winemaker makes his Rose’ in a Bandol style which is bone dry.

Another one that is getting raves this season is Juliette’s Dazzle. This one, made by Dolan & Weiss (Long Shadows) from Walla Walla, is selling off the shelves well. I bought some but haven’t tasted it yet. The bottle is cool though!

A couple that have been produced beautifully season after season for years are Barnard Griffin and Maryhill’s Rose’s of Sangiovese. Both are off the shelf for around $10 and are never fail favorites every year. I’ve had a bottle of each this year and love the balance of fruit and acidity in these wines.

Several of my Facebook friends voted Martinez and Martinez as their Rose’ of the season. I personally loved it last year, and look forward to trying their Rose’ again this year.

Along with that, a few of my friends voted Kestrel has having an amazing Rose’ this season. My friend Scott Abernathy hosted a brown bag event recently and said that Kestrel, Martinez & Martinez, and Jones of Washington won the votes amongst some pretty experienced palates.

Another friend, Kace Allen, from Southern Oregon said that his wife loves Sweet Cheeks Winery’s Rose this year. Next time I’m in the Willamette Valley I’m going to check that one out!

Enjoy!

SunRiver Vintners Features Fantastic Angelica and More

My friends Sean McGrath and Frazier Brown contacted me a few weeks ago to tell me about a new wine centered development that they were working on here in the Tri Cities area. The development, which will be near Badger Canyon will house boutique wineries, fine eateries, and bed and breakfasts. It will be both a destination, and a jumping off place for winofiles of all types. Set in a Tuscan Village theme, it will be an oasis out here in the desert of Eastern Washington.

One of the first wineries to jump on board with this concept locally is SunRiver Vintners. SunRiver is the first official winery located in Kennewick. Several Wineries have set up tasting rooms in Kennewick over the years, but SunRiver is the town’s first bonded winery located in the city limits.

I was invited to visit and taste through SunRiver’s wines this week. How can a guy turn down a personal invitation to taste good wine and meet new people? We were excited to go and give the a try.

Currently located at the corner of 10th and Clodfelter road, the winery shares a parking lot, and is located directly between Sun River Electric and Quality Signs. As I arrived, they had one of the winery’s big bay doors open. Just past the tasting table there was an extremely unusual sight. Some super HUGE oak barrels!

These huge barrels are called Port Pipes. Unlike the usual 60 gallon barrel that we see in most wineries in this region, the Port Pipe is much larger, containing as much as 171 gallons of juice depending on the maker and exact style.

Port Pipes are generally used for making, you guessed it, Port. Daniel Washam, one of the owners, explained how he and Glenn Washam, the other owner, and Greg Vogtritter, the winemaker were able to pick up an exclusive use of these Port Pipes here in the U.S.. Their concept was to make wines using these pipes.

The larger the barrel, the less that the ether phenols from the oak will infuse into the wine. The concept is that the wine will have the benefits of oak without the headaches associated with oaked wine. Whether that hypothesis holds true or not, it is pretty cool to see wine being stored in these gargantuan barrels.

We tasted through a few of the winery’s wines. I found them all to be quite enjoyable, but here are a few of my favorite outtakes from our adventure:

The winery’s Gewurztraminer is available either in the bottle or on tap. The establishment purchases two cases of the wine and the winery places it in a stainless steel keg. It can be served right on the tap line this way, making it affordable to sell by the glass. The Gewurztraminer has 2.8 residual sugar so it is both spicy, as well as a little sweet. A great wine to serve with hot and spicy foods or on a hot day.

Next we enjoyed the 2008 Long Shadows Vineyard Merlot. This wine has a huge nose of cherries an cassis. On the palate the tannins are long and velvety.

The 2007 Phinny Hill Petit Verdot is a 100% Petit Verdot that offers a nose and flavors of blackberry, smoke, leather, and cassis. This wine would be great with a grilled ribeye or by itself. Fantastic!

After enjoying those wines we went around with Greg, the winemaker, as he theifed various Angelicas (Ports) from the big barrels. The Malbec, Sauzo, and Cabernet Franc Angelicas were all fabulous, with each featuring their own awesome flavor profiles. They will be going to bottle from the barrel in the next few weeks.

I suggest visiting the winery and giving their wines a try. Their website is www.sunrivervintners.com and they have a great Facebook page as well.

Enjoy!

Earth, Wind, Air, Fire, and Wine

Ok, for those of you who always tell me you would love to join me at a wine event, I am excited to announce that there’s a big one coming up that you’re going to love!

My Friend Brian VonEggers from the Wildhorse Plateau contacted me several months ago and asked me what I thought about doing a big gala event at the Plateau. My response was nothing but pure excitement.

For those of you who are familiar with the Plateau, you know that Brian and his staff have created a fantastic menu, brilliant wine list, and nothing short of incredible service that makes you want to keep coming back. For those of you who don’t know about Wildhorse Resort’s fine dining, all I can say is you are missing out.

A few weeks ago my cell phone rang as I was walking around Prosser’s Wine Village with friends. Brian wanted to know my opinion on a 9 course meal with famed winemakers Gilles Nicault of Long Shadows, and Marie-Eve Gilla from Forgeron Cellars. All I could think was “This is going to be incredible”.

I’ve written quite extensively about Forgeron wines in the past, however I honestly haven’t spent much time focused on the wines of Long Shadows. Why? Because they frankly aren’t easy to acquire. Long Shadows is a consortium of world class micro wineries developed by wine industry leader Allen Shoup. Each wine produced by Long Shadows is independently grown, pressed, and blended by a single winemaker of world renown.

Gilles Nicault is one of those renowned winemakers at Long Shadows. His wine, the Chester-Kidder Cabernet Sauvignon Blend, is consistently rated over 90 points by all of the industry wine magazines year after year.

Gilles and Marie-Eve are both passionate about wines, each, other, and about this region. The couple were classically trained at the University of Avignon, and worked in Cotes-du-Rhone and Champagne before moving to Washington to produce some of the world’s best wines.

The menu, based on the elements Earth, Wind, Air, and Fire will showcase artisan cheeses, fruits, vegetables, and meats grown locally. Here are just a few samplings from the menu that I received:

From the Earth Element comes a salad of Pea Shoots, Joe Daugherty Porcini Mushrooms, Locati Farms Asparagus, and raspberries, served with Long Shadows Poet’s Leap Riesling.

The Earth and Water Element is combined to create a soup make from Finely Farms Roasted Carrot Ginger, Caramelized Pearl Onion, Monteillett Fromagerie Cheve, served with Long Shadows Sequel Syrah.

The Water Element offers a seafood course of fruits of the sea carpaccio, deconstructed puttenesca, served with Forgeron Zinfandel.

The Air Element will be a poultry course of honey glazed squab, roasted corn risotto, tarragon peas, served with Forgeron Roussane.

The entrée course will combine the Earth and Fire elements with an apple wood grilled buffalo ribeye, rosemary root vegetables from Finely Farms, Double Demi, Shaved Pecorrino served with Long Shadows Chester Kidder Cabernet Sauvignon Blend.

As I mentioned, the meal is a total of nine courses, complete with perfected wine pairings. If you are interested in attending the event, I strongly suggest calling the Plateau right away for available seating at 541-966-1610 . The dinner will be held on Sunday June 6th, starting at 4 p.m..

I look forward to seeing you there!