Washington Wines Perform With Balance

Steve Warner, Ex. Director of the Washington Wine Commission
Speaks to the Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce

Living here in Eastern Washington and Oregon has its perks. We’re small enough that we don’t have a lot of the big city issues, but large enough that if we want to make a trip to Jack in the Box at 2 a.m. we can get a Sourdough Jack. We are even lucky enough to be right near vineyards, and even have the chance to know and hang with world class winemakers every day. Because of that, we tend to drink a lot of our local wines. Which is a good thing.

This week I had the chance to meet with and hear a presentation by Steve Warner, the Executive Director of the Washington Wine Commission. He brought up some interesting points that I thought were worth telling you about.

The Washington Wine Commission is built out of all of the Washington State Wineries, both large and small. It is funded through an excise on each gallon of wine produced in the state, or juice produced by vineyards here. The fee is extremely small, but the benefits are great. The commission works very hard to promote Washington Wines as a whole, and create good will between different winemakers in today’s highly competitive market.

A few take-aways that I had from Mr. Warner’s presentation left me pondering the growing future of wine in this region. I wanted to share with you my thoughts and opinions on these take outs.

Part of the commission’s work is looking at the buying atmosphere for the wine industry in this region. As part of focus research they developed a word cloud of various inputs from people concerning Washington Wine. The two most used words were Balance and Value.

I understood the term value, although they apparently haven’t had a bottle of Col Solare lately. The term that puzzled me though was Balance. Is it the balance between fruit, acid, and tannin that I talk about frequently in this article? Is it the balance between cost and value? Is it the way that the cellar rats have to balance the barrels when racking? What does that term mean?

I caught Mr. Warner after the presentation and asked him about this term. He said that the term was pretty unqualified in the studies, and it could mean all these things and more. This made me think this is a question that I need to ask you. I would appreciate it if people would respond on my email or blog as to what you think this term means.

Another huge takeaway from the presentation was something that I’ve heard before. That is that the U.S. is now by far the largest consumer of wine in the world. The downside is that the residents of this region only drink about 3 liters of wine each year per capita, versus the 10 liters of wine per year consumed by the residents of Europe.

My thought is that I’m doing my part to bring the per capita up. I think most of my faithful readers are doing the same. So, the question is, who are the deadbeats out there not doing their part? Come on residents of Eastern Washington and Eastern Oregon! Drink more wine. And, while you’re drinking more wine make sure it’s local to this region. I’m expecting you all to go out to your nearest winery today, buy a case of wine and drink it as soon as possible!

Cheers!

Landmark Provides A Grand Detour

If you’ve ever been along lucky enough to visit Sonoma you will find the most beautiful vineyards in the world. Many of them nestled among the majestic California Redwoods, the vineyards seem to grow right out of the trees.

The thing I find most fascinating with the area is how the mists from the Pacific Ocean waft through the trees and vines in the early mornings. By midday the sun has come into full exposure and the days are dry and warm.

This combination of warm, dry days and cool, moist nights is the perfect home for what many consider the greatest Pinot Noir grapes in the world. If you ever get a chance to visit the area I highly recommend spending a few days just taking this region’s beauty in.

Kenwood, California is a small unincorporated hamlet nestled in the far north of the Sonoma region. It is here that Damaris Deere Ford, the great great granddaughter of John Deere, founded Landmark winery in 1974. The winery has focused on medium sized production, unlike many of the mega producers in the area. The center of their attention is on the vineyards themselves, and the great wines that can come from great land.

Winemaker, Greg Statch, and his team produce several different levels of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. I was lucky enough to try his signature label Pinot called “Grand Detour”.

This wine features a blend of fantastic grapes from throughout the region including Flocchini, Kanzier, Spring Hill Ranch, Armagh, and Juul Vineyards. The grapes are hand harvested and cold soaked before fermentation. Stach then ferments and ages the various barrels, blending the various juices to come up with just the right flavors for the final blend.

The 2010 “Grand Detour” features a spectacular nose of wild strawberries. There is a faint background of grilled mushrooms. The color of the wine is a beautiful ruby to purple in the bowl of the glass.

In the mouth this wine has flavors of strawberry, ginseng and corriander, mixed with plum and blood orange. It has beautiful, soft and silky tannins, and a soft acidity.

Initially I popped the cork on this bottle just to write this column. However, after my first sniff and taste I felt like I had just opened the door to royalty in my house and I was underdressed for the occasion. When I handed my wife my glass her eyes glazed over and I could tell this wine was something special.

Having a special bottle in my possession, I changed dinner plans to something that would compliment such a great wine. Some soft cheeses and aged meats went very well with this fantastic juice.
I realize that this bottle isn’t in the under $10 range, or even the under $15 range that I normally report on. This baby has a MSRP of $40. Just know that every drop is worth it.

As for where you can find this wine, I suggest asking for it at your favorite local wine shop. If they are a shop that supports California wines they should have access to this great juice.

Cheers!

Two New Wine Shops To Make Me Smile!

Wine and More in Kennewick

I’m so excited when a new wine shop opens. It’s like Christmas, my birthday, and the 4th of July all mixed into one. This month, with two new wine shops opening nearby, I’m like a kid on Halloween candy as well.

I want to start off by telling you about my long-time friend Patty Wolk, and her new wine shop in the Southridge district of Kennewick. Patty and her friend Anita Kenfield have opened a great little shop on 3600 Zintel Way called Wine And More.

Having been around the wine business for a long time, Patty new the magic combination required in order to make a shop like this successful. The shop includes the wine and gift items that you find in many wine shops, but also includes a little bistro where you can get some great food and just sit and enjoy a glass of wine with friends.

As a matter of fact, that is just what I did yesterday. As I sat in the shop enjoying a San Pelligrino I started visiting with newlyweds Mark and Marsha Reis who were enjoying a lunch of Chardonnay and a couple of small plates of food. We got to talking and sharing food, and became the best of friends in just a few minutes.

We enjoyed the Northwest Steak Planks, which are crostini planks with hand-carved beef and gorgonzola. We also had the Red Mountain Flat Bread with artichokes, feta, grilled chicken, and herbs. Absolutely fabulous!!

Wolk and Kenfield were very thoughtful in opening their shop together. Anita, who has a long career in retail focused on gift items that are unique and fun. Jewelry and art adorns the store that isn’t available just anywhere. It is hand made and selected.

Patty, who really understands the wine business wanted to focus on wines that are unique. Her thought was that anyone can get a bottle of wine from the Northwest. She focused on varietals and getting the best wines from regions where those varietals shine. Her selections of world wines are as fabulous as her local wines.

I see Mary Ann and I hanging out with Mark and Marsha and numerous other people at Wine and More for years to come.

If you’re looking to come to Kennewick this weekend, their Grand Opening Celebration continues Saturday with a visit from the amazing Charlie Hoppes from Fidelitas. Champagne tastings are on Sundays, and every day there are wine flights available.

Second, I know that I’ve been ranting and raving about how the sky is falling here in the Tri-Cities when it comes to alcohol sales. On the other hand, the new laws here In Washington have allowed for us to have a wine megastore here in the area. Mid-Columbia Wine and Spirits has opened in Richland this month, and a Kennewick store opening in July.

The store’s owners, Micheal Shemall and Rajiv Malhan, who own hookedonwine.net, were able to use the new laws to leverage their business into the retail environment. The selection is the largest I’ve seen, with bottles ranging from 375ml to 6 liters in size, and from just a few dollars to thousands.

You can find just about anything your heart desires when it comes to selection. If you’ve been looking for a rare Brunelo di Montelcino that you enjoyed on your honeymoon in Italy I’m pretty sure you’ll find it there.

My good friend Sabrina Griever is one of the wine stewards and managers at the store. Tell her I sent you.

Cheers!

The Interesting Facets of Tempranillo

I’m a big fan of wines that aren’t Bordeaux. Don’t get me wrong. Oh, do I love the rich flavors of a good Cabernet or Merlot. Although, there is just something so mysterious about wines that aren’t like anything else. So many times I just want to step out of the box and try something a little different and mysterious for a change.

One of my favorite regions for wines with an interesting set of flavors is Spain. And, one of my favorite wines from that region is Tempranillo. Named from the diminutive Spanish word “Temperanillo” which means early, the grapes are some of the first harvested in the warm Spanish growing season. Often times Tempranillo is harvested weeks before any of the other varieties.

This grape, used to make Rioja, is considered to be the noble grape of Spain. It was used up until just a few decades ago to produce mostly jug wines. Over the past few years it has become more and more popular as a blend or single variety high end specialty wine. Tempranillo has gained quite a following in the last few years, and now it is becoming a popular grape even here in the Western U.S..

What I like about Tempranillo is it’s rich and spicy flavors of berries, plum, leather, and fresh tobacco as a general set of characteristics. It is low in acidity and sugar making it great for those who don’t like acidic wines. Other flavors such as vanilla can be easily infused through the oak of good barrel aging.

In my very difficult research for this article I decided to talk about two different methods for Tempranillo out of the same winemaker. I received two bottles from Matchbook wines out of Dunnigan Hills. I chose a bottle of mostly Tempranillo blend, and another bottle that was a Tempranillo Rose’.

The Matchbook 2009 Tempranillo is 90% Tempranillo, 5% Graciano, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine offers rich flavors of black berries, cinnamon, clove, cocoa, and vanilla. It is dark in color and has just enough umph to hold up to a pesto or tapas.

The 2011 Rose’ of Tempranillo. Unlike the blend I just talked about, this wine was bled from the skins right at crush before the colors would darken. It was then cold fermented in stainless steel for 3 months rather than barrel aged for up to 18 months in oak barrels. The result is a much more delicate wine with a nose of cream soda, with flavors of watermelon and peaches. With a residual sugar of under .5% this fairly dry wine has most of its flavor from the fruit and malolactic fermentation.

These versions of Tempranillo are very soft and delicate. I’ve also had many from the northwest that were much more full bodied. The results are always an overall spiciness with great food pairing abillites.

The next time you’re a little weary of the same old merlot I hope you’ll give Tempranillo a try. There are several offerings on most grocery shelves, and many of our local wine shops have even more choices.

Enjoy!

Gallo Wines Buys Into Northwest Wines

Gosh!! I Love it when I’m right! I’ve been saying for years that E & J Gallo Company from Modesto, California was going to join the Northwest winemaking scene soon. It was only a matter of time until the Gallo family owned a piece of the Washington and Oregon wine biz.

Guess what got announced this week? You got it. The Gallo family purchased both Columbia Winery, and Covey Run from Ascentia Corporation. Ascentia, who also sold off their interest a couple of weeks ago of a couple of other northwest wineries to Precept Brands, must be doing some pretty stealthy capitalization because they are cutting loose some nice properties.

I’ve been a big fan of Gallo wines ever since I sold for them through Graybeal Distributing. Gallo is really a company that’s really got it together when it comes to making, marketing, and branding their wines.

The one thing that has always held the company back from true success in the northwest was that we are pretty proud of our own wines. In most cases it is nearly impossible to convince a person from this part of the world that a Californian wine would be superior to any rot gut from around here. Truly, wine in California or Europe is overall significantly better, and sometimes cheaper. But, we here in this region are proud of our own brands.

A couple of years ago Gallo started to really get it right. They looked at the success of brands like Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, and Precept Brands and realized that they needed to produce wines through other local labels like those companies do. Box and jug wines are way out of vogue and the Gallo numbers were dropping quickly.

Gallo started by picking up some big European brands like Gascon Malbec. Everything at Gascon stayed the same, but the ownership and money flow was different. Great wine at a great price.

Recently, before the big 1183 fiasco hit us here in Washington I picked up some booze to stock up. I picked up a bunch of New Amsterdam Gin. One of my favorites. The Lady at the store told me that they sold tons of the stuff. When I told her it was a Gallo product she just about passed out.

Now, with Gallo picking up stock in the northwest we are sure to see the lines get a lot more blurry. One thing I can tell you is that the Gallo distributors are going to see a huge increase in their numbers out of this.

Covey Run was founded in 1982 in Prosser, and was one of the benchmark wineries that kick started the Washington wine industry. Helen Willard, one of my good friends from the Prosser area started Covey Run as Quail Ridge with her late husband Leon. Helen still walks the vineyards of the winery every day with her dogs.
Columbia Winery started in the garage of Dr. Lloyd Woodburne in Laurelhurst, Washington in 1962. In 1979 they were joined by pioneer winemaker David Lake and the rest is history. Known as Washington’s first premium wine brand, the winery has grown exponentially through the years.

Congrats to all in this purchase. I know that both the winemaking staff, the founders, and the Gallo brand will be strengthened by this.

Cheers!!

Winery Of My Youth Comes Back to Northwest Ownership

I was born and raised in the potato and corn fields of Caldwell, Idaho. As a kid I fondly remember going out to Symms fruit ranches along Sunnyslope to pick up boxes of apples and cherries during harvests.

One summer when we were going out to pick up some cherries there was a new structure on the slopes. Where there had once been a forest of fruit trees there was now a really odd shaped Chateau. Around it, and stretching for long distances in either direction was gray-white soil and little twigs suspended by long strands of wires.

As a teenage boy that was my first experience of a winery and a vineyard. The winery was Ste. Chapelle. Under the ownership of the Symms family, and the winemaking expertise of Bill Broiche, the winery became one of the most successful wineries in the Western United States.

I fondly remember that the winery made several different varietals. The one that made them famous though, was their Johannisburg Riesling. Back in the late 70s and early 80s there were relatively few laws concerning ownership of regional names. You didn’t have to be from Johannisburg to make a wine by that name. You could make it above the backwaters of the Snake River and all was cool.

I distinctly remember that a visit to Ste. Chapelle on or after your 19th birthday was a right of passage for many of us. I also remember taking my wife and her roommates there long before we were married to get the girls looped on free samples in the tasting room.

Now, fast forward all these years. The winery, after a rather ugly split between Symms and Broiche nearly died. The 80s and 90s took their toll on the wine industry as well. People got tired of the same old sweet wines.

Ste. Chapelle was sold off to Constellation wines back in the early 2000s. Constellation’s huge portfolio and marketing expertise helped breathe some new life back into the winery. Once again I remember looking on the shelves of grocery wine isles and seeing growing space and sales being given to Ste. Chapelle. WalMart in Hermiston had a huge section of their shelves dedicated to the winery, and we always needed backstock of their wines for weekends.

Ascentia purchased the winery from Constellation in 2008. This giant conglomerate company, that also owns Covey Run and Woodinville Winery in Washington owns hundreds of labels worldwide. They continued to grow the brand successfully since then.

This month the winery was purchased by Precept Brands out of Washington State. A resounding victory for Northwest vintners. Precept, owned and operated by Andrew Browne and the Baty family, has been successful in growing many super successful labels here in the northwest. Apex, Pine and Post, Sagelands, Canoe Ridge, and Alder Brook and many other regional labels are Precept wines.

The reason for my excitement is that once again one of my foundations in the wine industry is under what I consider “local” ownership. It is a sort of homecoming for all of us Idaho wine slobs.
Ste. Chappelle has grown exponentially since my younger years. They now create over 130,000 cases of wine annually. Their specialty still is riesling, however they, like me, have grown up a little. They now offer some pretty decent off dry and dry reds as well.
The next time you’re driving through southern Idaho I hope you’ll take a quick detour and stop at the tasting room between Caldwell and Marsing, Idaho.

Enjoy!

Greener On The Other Side of The Fence

I’m a lucky guy. I live right on an imaginary fence-line that puts me right on the edge of not only two, but three states. Those states are Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. Oregon is only 15 minutes from my house. Idaho is about an hour and a half.


Really, my life is good. So, when I complain about something you should know that I’m one of the lucky ones who can jump over the “fence”.

The barred and empty shelves in my neighborh store
all prepared to receive booze in the next few days.

What I’m preparing for is the Y2K of Washington State liquor sales. Washington State voters passed Initiative 1183 last fall resoundingly! WoooHooo!! Now they have to live with it. On June 1st the state run liquor stores that have been in business in this state for longer than I’ve been alive will be closed immediately. Taking their place will be.... Well, we’re not sure yet who that will be.

We do know for sure that Costco, who put millions into the campaign, and several other large grocery and drug stores will be able to sell because they are over the square footage limit. Other stores that will also qualify to sell are small outlets in underpopulated areas, and state liquor stores that have been auctioned off to private individuals.

Doesn’t seem to be a problem. You’d think? Well, the problem is that the state will control liquor sales until the 1st of June. Then close their doors. On that date, the new establishments will be put in lock stock charge of sales. This shouldn’t be a problem except that there is no real solid plan for transition, transportation, or distribution to the new stores.

Many of the large stores are just now drawing up plan-o-grams and buying shelving. The state run stores are running out of stock. And, the state employees that we dropped on their heads are either dreaming of retirement or looking to get a job at one of the new stores.

I went shopping this morning for a big event we’re having next weekend. One of the things on the menu was Margaritas. Yum! Well, it almost wasn’t. The selection of alcohol is nearly nonexistent in the state run stores, with no plan to update stock. They’re selling out.

Nobody is talking about this, but Washington State has pretty much created it’s own short-term prohibition. Good luck buying alcohol for the next few weeks while the companies, state, and distributors figure all this out. You simply won’t be able to buy booze in this state very soon. We voted for cheap booze, and are going to get no booze!

I know that booze is on its way to stores soon. All the greedy masses are lining up to sell it to you at higher...yes, I said higher prices than you’ve seen before. Distributors that I’ve talked to have said that they are dealing with corporate greed like never before. Asking for deeper discounts and taking larger profit cuts than the state ever did. Why? Because we also voted major changes in price posting which controlled corporate greed.

My recommendation is go go out and buy everything you plan on drinking this summer right now. Don’t hold back! Personally, I’m planning on surrounding myself in my compound with booze, limes, and tomato juice and not coming out until this apocalypse is over! Or, I’ll just drive to Hermiston and buy a bottle.

Cheers!