Infamous Red Mountain Winemaker Passes Away

Truly, one of my favorite winemakers in this region passed away this week at the age of 55. Michael Moore, owner of Blackwood Canyon winery on Red Mountain passed away sometime Monday evening from natural causes according to the Benton County Coroner.

Moore, who graduated from University of California at Davis in the 1970s with a degree in fermentation science, moved to Washington soon after graduation to start working for Claar Cellars, Kiona Winery, and a few others.

Mike built the first production winery on Red Mountain back in 1982. It burned down in 1985 forcing Moore to start over again from scratch. In the past few years, Moore’s pristine property on Red Mountain became more valuable than winemaking itself. As of last year he had sold off a few hundred acres of his vineyards.

Last year I was hired by my friend Duane Smith, a commercial realtor in the Tri Cities to photograph Moore’s vineyards so they could be marketed. I spent several hours up on the vineyard site looking out toward Rattlesnake and the upper Yakima Valley. Truly, Michael owned a small piece of heaven out there. Unfortunately, the sale of property didn’t pay down enough debt, and Moore was forced into Chapter 11 protection in May of this year.

Over the years I had several opportunities to get to know Michael. Certainly, among those in the winemaking profession there were a lot of critics as well as those who had a deep respect for Moore. Just last weekend, while I was enjoying the “Crush” up in the Yakima Valley, there were several conversations about Moore’s winemaking and marketing practices. Even more, upon the report of his death there were several conversations and articles that I found interesting.

One thing that I can tell you about my own relationship with Mike was that he didn’t ever really know me. We had a relationship where, honestly, I didn’t want him knowing that I was in the industry. He didn’t have a love for those who worked in the business, and wasn’t afraid to let anyone know that. My anonymousness gave me the ability to just sit and listen and watch.

I truly loved visiting Mike with friends whenever I gave a tour of Red Mountain. It was always my last stop of a touring day. I did this for several reasons. Primarily, I loved the experience of taking people there to see their reactions, and visiting there took a very long time.

Some people would refuse to get out of the car. Others would walk away from the tasting thinking that they had just encountered Bacchus himself. I had people screaming mad for taking them there, and people thanking me profusely for allowing them to see how wine really should be made.

Usually you would find Mike in his winery barefoot or in sandals year round. He was almost always smoking something in the barbecue outside. You didn’t taste wines at his winery without tasting it with some sort of cheese, sausage samples, or other food. Last, but not least, if you were willing to listen, he would spend hours regaling you with stories of wine, winemaking, and his old-world techniques.

Mike, honestly I will dearly miss you. I hope that you are making great wines in heaven and walking barefoot amongst the vineyards!

“Natural Wine” Usually A Marketing Twist For Yuck

If you read my articles, and you think that I talk a little too simple then I have the perfect blog for you. It is called PalatePress.com. A little above my caliber, this blog focuses on writers who have a much more intellectual slant on wines, winemaking and the wine business.

The reason I bring this blog up is because I read it. That’s where I got the idea for this week’s column. Don’t worry, I didn’t plagiarize. I just read something that makes me crazy and now I must vent.

A recent and highly intellectual book called “Authentic Wine, Toward Natural and Sustainable Winemaking” was recently published by the authors Jamie Goode and Sam Harrop. It discusses in detail the processes, opinions, and attitudes surrounding what we call “Natural, Authentic, and Naked” wines.

Tom Mansell, the reviewer for PalatePress.com gives a pretty darn good set of cliff notes to the book. So good, thank God, that I don’t have to read the book myself in order to possess my own opinion on the whole Natural wines concept.

First, I need to stop and explain the “Natural” concept. This idea started a number of years ago. Pretty much, to help those who suffered from sulfite allergies. As time has gone, there have been a number of people I’ll call “hippies” who explain the oxidation and bacteria in their wines as being a “Natural” product.

There is a winery on Red Mountain, who must not be named, that has pronounced their wine as being the only real “Authentic” wine in the region. I’m probably being more honest here than I should in this article, but if that is what “Authentic” tastes like than give me fake. I’d rather eat a Twinkie than a four month old moldy piece of bread any day.

I look at Natural wines kind of the same way that I do medicine. There are times when going to a Naturopathic Physician makes perfect sense. One of my good friends, Dr. Stephen Smith in Richland, is a fantastic physician who turned his attention to natural remedies to augment his medical practice many years ago.

When I asked Stephen recently about a few different diagnoses, wondering if there was a natural method for curing them, his answer was very honest and varied. In some cases he did have some great natural remedies. In others he said it was important that the person follow modern medical practices.

The same holds true for wine. Wine is a living thing. If you drink a sick wine, you will definitely taste it, and might even get sick yourself if you aren’t careful. If you drink a wine that is full of bad bacteria you will not like the taste and hopefully stop. If you drink a wine that is fully loaded with sulfites to overcome a sickness in the wine you will likely taste and feel the effects of that as well.

My opinion is that you should stay on the center line when it comes to this whole debate. Don’t drink wines that are too repaired by chemicals. And, don’t drink wines that are “Natural” if they taste bad. Simply, if it tastes good, drink it. If it doesn’t, spit it out and eat a cracker.

Enjoy!

Goodbye To Roger Kelley, Ed Scapplehorn, and Bob Woehler

They say that the greats all go in threes. I am coming to believe that for sure after this week. Three great men who helped me, and shaped me in the wine business are gone this week. I want to spend just a few moments talking about each of them and the way that they touched my life and the lives of those in our region.

First, I want to mention Roger Kelley, the draft manager for Graybeal Distributing. I met Roger right away on my first day of work at Graybeal in Pendleton. Rough talking and full of vigor, Roger could flat out get the work done.

Roger worked more with beer than he did with wine, but we did spend a considerable amount of quality time in the wine isles of the stores a few times each year during reset season.

All of the big chain stores are organized by actual schematics as to what goes on each shelf. There was one thing that both Roger and I detested doing, and that was resets. We would spend hours pulling bottles of wine off of the shelves, cleaning the shelves, and then putting them back on in order. Truly a horrible job.

Roger had a method that worked. He would stand there and read the schematics and yell out to me what needed to go on the shelf next, one bottle at a time. During those times, as well as all the work we did together at the fair and Roundup each year preparing the beer gardens the things I appreciated Roger most for was his honest, straight forward talk, and his ability to get the work done.

Roger, I hope you’re enjoying an ice cold Coors Banquet up there in heaven!

At the same time I heard about Roger’s death, I also heard about another wine industry great in our area who passed away last week. Ed Scapplehorn, who represented Terra Blanca Winery for many years passed away in Richland, Washington.

If you saw a bottle of Terra Blanca wine on the shelf in your favorite wine shop or restaurant anywhere in America it was because Ed had worked to get it in there. Like Roger, Ed was a straight talking and hard working man. Having years of grocery and distribution experience, he could work and drink with the best of them. I just know that Ed is kicking back a glass of Cabernet or a Miller Lite right now. Save one for me Ed!

As I was writing this article tonight I found out that I had to add one more name to this article. Bob Woehler, one of the region’s most prolific and celebrated wine writers passed away this week as well.

Writing a weekly column for the Tri City Herald, as well as regular columns and articles in Wine Press Northwest made Bob a well known name in this region for wine. It’s pretty much known that having Bob taste wines with you, it was going to be entertaining and educational.

The thing I most appreciate about Bob, and I’ve chosen to follow his path in writing this column each week, is that “if you can’t say something nice, don’t say it”. Bob was very loyal to the industry by never talking bad about a wine, winemaker, or the industry. His articles were always fun and informative. Many times I would wish I had written so well about the same wines. I wish you only the best wines in heaven Bob.

Until next week, enjoy!

Some Of The Best Wines Start In A Garage

About a year ago I was talking with an employee at one of the area grocery stores about wine. She asked for my card and whether her friend could call me about his wines. She said it was a hobby of his and he was looking for an opinion about his wines. Out of curiosity I agreed to have him contact me.

My thoughts were that I’d meet this hippie who was fermenting a few gallons of juice each year and creating nastiness to give friends at the holidays.

When Sam Regev called me I became even more curious. First, his very thick Israeli accent hit me like a brick. Next, through the accent I realized that this highly trained chemist has been growing a few acres of grapes outside Richland for a few years. Not your normal Merlot and Cabernet varietals either. We’re talking Primitivo, Dolcetto, Amarone, and several other strains you don’t normally hear of from this region.

Meeting Sam at his house I realized that this truly was going to be an experience. His house is filled with beautiful racks of wine bottles lying on their sides, aging wines to perfection.

Regev’s story goes like this. He moved to this country to attend school at UC Davis for Chemistry back in the 1970s. He has worked at inventing additives for the petroleum industry and as a nuclear chemist his whole professional career. But, having studied at Davis brought him in contact with the wine bug that was emanating from that school back in those days.

Regev caught the bug and made it his hobby for many years. His wife calls herself a “wine widow” for all the time he spends out in the vineyards, and buried in his wine barrels.

As I mentioned, a year ago was when I met Sam. His problem, quite frankly, wasn’t his wine. His problem was that he couldn’t get rid of it. He was a hobbyist. Not able to sell all the wines he has been making.

With that, I directed the Regevs to get a bonded winery license, and to start working their way to a marketing plan. I put Sam in touch with a few people along the way and was pleasantly surprised when he contacted me a few weeks ago telling me that he was now licensed and ready to sell his label “Chateau Le Garage”.

I met Sam again this past week, and tasted through some of his newest vintages. Currently his wines are only available at Albertsons in South Richland, however he is in discussion with several wine shops in the region. My hopes are that he will be selling at Bellingers and Great Pacific soon.

Here are a few notes I gathered from last weekend’s tasting. If these wines interest you I suggest contacting Sam at samregev@yahoo.com.

Chateau Le Garage 2008 Primitivo - Fresh squeezed prune juice right out of the field, mixed with tobacco, cardamom, and a nice tannin to acid balance makes a wonderful finish. This is what Primitivo is supposed to taste like.

Chateau Le Garage 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon - Rich, dark plum and berries, with a soft tanned leather in the background. This wine is perfect for a T-bone steak on the grill, or just sitting on the deck.

Chateau Le Garage 2008 Shir Raz - Dark berries and fruit on the nose and palate, with dark cocoa overtones.

Enjoy!

Italian Wines Are Great For Summer Grilling

This is the time of year that I personally really love to grill. It keeps the house cool, and the food just tastes so good. When it’s really hot you really can’t beat an ice cold beer with your meat, but when it starts to cool off a little there is nothing better than a bottle of dark red wine to go with a rib steak.

Normally, most people in this region go for a big Cab or a nice Merlot. If you’ve got some knowledge of your wines you might even reach for a bottle of Zinfandel to go with your saucy ribs. Those are great choices, but I’m all about stretching out and trying different things.

Looking to the other side of the world, I know that there are other parts of the world that deal with hot summers just like they do. Italy is one country that offers some amazing food friendly wines worth having with your grilled beef.

This week I tried a few different red wines from around the country. Here are some of my favorite samplings from this week.

From the Abruzzo region I found a bottle of Caldora Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2009. Abruzzo is located along the Adriatic coast where mostly Trebbiano and Montepulciano grapes are grown. I love Multepulciano personally because of it’s dark jammy qualities.

The Caldora is a dark ruby to purple in the bottle with a strong scent of prune orchard and vanilla. The finish is nicely balanced between tannin and acid. I love to grill spicy Italian sausages with onions and peppers. I load them on a big hoagie roll with Provelone cheese. The Caldora was a fantastic pairing! I would also try it with pulled pork or ribs.

Earlier I mentioned one of my favorite wines, Zinfandel. In the Italian countryside you can often find its Great Grandfather, Primitivo. The Primitivo grape is indigenous to many areas in the country, however one of the regions that has a strong holding on the vines is in Puglia. In the “heel of the boot”, is the Puglia region. Known for intense heat, it is a great region for this grape to produce it’s best juice.

Feudi Di San Marzano 2010 Primitivo is a wine that you can find fairly readily at wine shops. It has a relatively low cost at around $12 per bottle.

The story behind Feudi is that it was a government owned winery for many decades. In 2003 the winery was purchased by the Sciotti company. They have turned a wreck of a facility into one of the highest producing wineries in the country.

The Feudi Primitivo is deep, dark reddish purple. Both bright red fruits, some dark fruit, and baking spices make this wine one of my grilling favorites. Enjoy with saucy ribs or a spicy steak off the grill.

Last, you can enjoy a nice Chianti Classico. The one I opened this week was from San Leonino, a winery located deep in the heart of Tuscany. The San Leonino 2007 is made from 90% Sangiovese, 5% Syrah, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Like most Chiantis it is bright ruby in the glass, with a bright red cherry and raspberry flavor and nose. Nice and spicy on the mouth with a brightly tannic finish. Great with red sauces for sure. It went well with my burgers this week.

I hope you enjoy these wines with your end of summer meals this year!

Enjoy!

Thomas O’Neil Cellars Open In Northern Richland

I’m strange. I admit it. It comes from my childhood when my very “artistic” mother used to say “If all your friends were jumping off a cliff, it doesn’t mean you should do it”.

So, a few months ago when all my friends were going to the newest winery in the Tri-Cities I was a bit standoffish. I wanted the hubbub and craziness to wane a little before I went rushing in. After all, by the end of the first day of business most every wine writer in town already had at least a tweet up about the new place in town.

This week I finally decided it was time to make my way to the Thomas O’Neil Cellars in Richland, near the Horn Rapids golf course. The tasting room is visible on the north side of Highway 240. You really can’t miss it.

We were greeted warmly at the door by Tricia O’Neil and a couple of their fantastic staff. Their French intern Clémence, who is with them for just a few more weeks, poured wines and Tricia ran to the tank room to pull Thomas from his task of racking wines. Within moments my quiet and unannounced visit became a grand scale tasting and interview.

Thomas and Tricia have a very interesting story. Living most of their lives in Michigan, Tom worked many years in business administration, with wine being a serious hobby for the couple. It wasn’t until about 10 years ago, when Michigan State University’s Enology center opened that Tricia urged Tom to go back to school and follow his dream.

Tom interned at Ste. Michelle in Patterson, and then went on to take the assistant winemaker position at Milbrandt Vineyards. A few years ago he decided it was time to stop making mass amounts of juice for others and focus on making smaller lots of wine for himself. That was the birth of Thomas O’Neil Cellars.

Tom, having been trained in white wine country, and a lover of red wines, is well versed in all varieties. The wines all show a considerable amount of fresh acidity which compliments Tom’s desire to make wines ready for food and focus away from “cocktail wines”.

Clémence started me off with the 2009 Chardonnay. It is primarily American neutral oaked, Chardonnay grapes sourced from the Walluke slope, with a little Pinot Gris for the balance. The wine is full of fresh apples, pears, and pineapple, with a gentle acidity on the finish. Some oaky vanilla, but overall very crisp.

The 2009 Riesling offers a light residual sugar of 1.6% making it a delicious off-dry wine. I loved the florality of the wine, with a nose of white flowers and orange water. I picked some up to enjoy with ceviche this weekend.

The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon offered up a light fruit forwardness of cherries, raspberry, and cocoa. Very enjoyable.

I loved the 2009 Merlot. A combination of jammy fruit forwardness. Black cherry, vanilla, and cocoa, with a light tanned leather finish.

Tom’s 2009 “Fusion” is his flagship wine. It is a red blend of Syrah, Petite Syrah, and Grenache. Dark blueish purple in the glass with a rich nose of prune orchard. The wine has a hint of toasted oak that mixes with the dark fruits to fill the palate. Nicely balanced on the finish. This wine was a must have for my cellar.

Enjoy!

You Too Can Become A Wine Slob

When people ask me about my wine experience I proudly tell them that I’ve now progressed into a wine slob. Most people just chuckle uncomfortably when I say that. They don’t quite know where I’m headed with my off-handed statement. Some even think I’m just being crude or flip. But, frankly, I do think that I’ve become a wine slob, and I’m damn proud of it.

Let me explain. Being a wine slob is a good thing. It doesn’t mean that I’m sitting on the side of the railroad tracks slurping on a bottle of Night Train. What it does mean is that I’ve consumed enough wine, in enough different environments, and with enough different people, that I’ve grown comfortable with my palate. That, and I don’t make judgments about people who don’t drink what I drink.

My twins turned 21 this week, and with their new age gained the ability to buy and consume alcohol freely. They both came back to the house the other night with a 6 pack of beverage in their hands. Before they even took it out of the bag I knew what they had bought. It was a Smirnoff lemonade.

How did I know that they would buy this? Because, as younger drinkers our palates tend to start with something soft and sweet. This is not a bad thing. It just is what it is. I remember being a young adult drinking my favorite wine, which was Johannesburg Riesling. I hated anything red at the time. You couldn’t force me to drink even a fruity Merlot.

My oldest son has bridged into the next generation with his palate. He likes red wine and hard liquors. His girlfriend’s dad is a scotch drinker, and they spend time together drinking well aged rye on the front porch of their house.

The other day this son ventured out to Fidelitas with some of his work buddies. His favorite wine was the Champoux Merlot and no one could convince him that there was anything else drinkable in the tasting room.

I was like this for many years. Once I had reached the maturity with my palate that reds were ok, I wouldn’t drink anything else. I even came up with excuses as to why whites made me nauseous. I can’t tell you the number of dinner guests that I have at my house any given year that won’t drink a white wine. I figure that’s just more for me.

At some time everyone grows to a level of comfort with their palate that all wine has its positives and negatives. I specifically remember the day that I became a wine slob. It was when Jean Francois Pallet from the Pepperbridge – Amavi fame insisted that I drink his Semillon and his Rose before I would be allowed to taste his Cabernet Sauvignon.

As I sat at this café in Walla Walla eating lunch and listening to his stories I realized that I was drinking some of the finest wines I’d ever had. And…they weren’t red!

Since that day I have learned not to turn down a glass or taste of wine when it is offered to me. As I look at other very talented wine writers, makers, and servers around me I realize that they do the same. We’ve grown up. Our palates have grown up. And, we’ll never be able to go back to insisting that only one variety or flavor is the only one to drink.

Here is to wishing wine snobbishness on you!

Enjoy!