Two New Wines At Grocery Outlet

So, today I get an excited call from Dane, the owner of the Grocery Outlet store in Kennewick. He's got some new wines he wants me to try. Being the curious wine monkey that I am, I run over to the store this afternoon and try them out.

Frankly, I know not to expect much. The wines that Dane carries are definitely what I would consider to be "bottom shelf" wines. These are not your $50 bottles. They certainly aren't Caymus or Pepperbridge.

What Grocery Outlet offers are good everyday drinking wines. Something kind of nice, without breaking the bank. Certainly, you can offer just about anything off their shelf, and if your guests aren't real snobs, they're going to enjoy it.

With all that said, I want to talk to you about two of these wines:

Blue Pirate Pinot Noir 2007 - Blue Pirate is made by 12th Street and Maple Winery in Dundee, Oregon. Winemaker Aron Hess, who also makes wines for Battle Creek Winery and Daedalus Cellars, is a brilliant winemaker who specializes in Pinot.
The wine pours from the bottle with a bright ruby red color. It offers up a nose of cherries and the slight mustiness that good pinot offers. The flavors of Portabella Mushrooms and cherries linger on the tongue. This wine would be great with a nice cheese soup.

Six Prong Red Wine 2006 - Manufactured in the Horse Heaven Hills outside of Prosser, Six Prong is the creation of a "Thirsty Pagan" named Rob Chowanietz. The reason I call him that is because his premium hand-made wine goes by that name. Six Prong has several acclaims from Wine Enthusiast for their 2005 and 2007 Red Blends, however this year got overlooked.
The 2006 opens on the nose with dark stone fruit and soft vanilla overtones. The flavors are balanced and smooth with lots of fresh berry flavors, mixed with pepper and vanilla. A nice finish for a bottle that costs $2.99.

Dane has just a few cases of the Blue Pirate, but a whole pallet of the Six Prong. I'd still get down there soon and buy some before they're out.

Some Of My Best Friends Are Thirsty Pagans

There are some times in life where you just have to put your religion aside and enjoy life for what it is. One of those times is when it comes to drinking wine.

Being the good Catholic boy that I am, I’m always careful to keep myself away from associating with or getting messed up with the occasion of sin. I say my prayers before meals and at bed time every evening like I was taught. And, I enjoy a good glass of libation, as long as it’s in moderation.

So, what’s a good boy like me to do when I’m met by a stunningly beautiful woman offering me a glass of ruby red wine. I drink it. I smile. I ask for the whole bottle!

Such was the case last week when I ran into my friend Jeannie Inglis-Chowaneitz. She and her winemaker husband Rob Chowaneitz have released their first bottling from their new winery called…(parents cover your children’s eyes)…”Thirsty Pagans”.

The Chowaneitzs, with good friend Crandall Kyle, started Thirsty Pagans in the harvest of the 2005 vintage. Using their combined skills and love of wines, they have created a fantastic micro-winery that they intend will create no more than 250 cases of wine each year. Their location at Alder Ridge, the heart of the Horse Heaven Hills puts them in a prime location to source the regions best grapes year after year.

Rob Chawaneitz is one of the rising stars in the winemaking business. Working as a cellar rat under John Abbott during the Canoe Ridge days, followed by a stint as the cellar master at Woodward Canyon, Rob now is the head winemaker for Corus Estates where he has worked since 2004. His specialties are bone-dry whites and deeply complex reds.

Jeannie Inglis-Chowaneitz is an equally talented wine marketer. She began her career working as Waterbrook’s club manager, and went on to be the PR and Marketing Director for Cayuse. In 2004 Jeannie started her own wine marketing firm, of which she has several very noteworthy Northwest wineries under her watch.

The first vintage created by Thirsty Pagans is their 2005 “Communion” red wine. A blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 5% Malbec, and 5% Petit Verdot is thick and rich with the flavors indicative of the Alder Ridge Vineyard that the grapes are sourced from. In 100% French oak for 22 months, and an additional 12 months of bottle aging tells you that they are in it for quality and not quantity. As extra insurance from cork taint, the Thirsty Pagans chose screw-caps to preserve their wine.

Communion features a nose of cassis, sage, blueberries, and plum. It is dark and rich in the glass. Layered flavors of dark cherry, blueberry, pepper, and baking spices fill your mouth. The tannins are long and silky, leaving you wanting more. At $26 at the winery this is a very good price for an excellent wine.

If you want to try Communion I suggest going to http://www.thirstypagans.com/, or by friends requesting them on Facebook. There are several outlets for the wine in the greater region. If you don’t see it, ask for it.

Enjoy!