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!

Wine To Your Mother

My adorable mother, who has endured everything, including
being the subject of my blog!

As much as I hate to admit it, I’m pretty much your typical guy.

I like to think of myself as some special hybrid product of the 1970s and 80s, with a lifetime of daytime talk show hosts and self help books to make men more fragile, sympathetic, and empathetic with the plight of the common female. Somehow, I’m more sensitive than the other men around me.

Truth is, when it comes to special events like anniversaries, birthdays, and especially Mother’s Day I become pretty much the typical blithering male who doesn’t go and buy a card or gift until midnight the night before the big event.

Honestly, it wasn’t until I read an article from a female wine blogger this week that I realized that it is mother’s day next weekend. At least I’m a week ahead of the other dweebs with XY chromosomes out there!

So, I know most of us will be out there looking to buy mom a gift this week. I know that I need to myself. But, as you know, I won’t be purchasing anything until next Saturday night. If you’re challenged in that way, just cut out this article and tape it to your dashboard until next week.

There are two types of mothers out there. Those who drink, and those who don’t . You can usually tell the ones who do. They have an extra lilt in their step even when everything else seems to go wrong. It’s as if they are oblivious from all the yelling in the backseat, puke on their shoulder, and their bra being used as a slingshot for Barbie and Ken. They’ve achieved a special zen from living better through chemistry.

If your mom is a wine drinker you’ll usually already know what kind of wine she likes to drink. I’m always amazed at how opinionated people can be about drinking only “red” or “white” wines. However, if you don’t pay that close of attention to your mom I have some suggestions as well.

First, if your mom is a hard core wine drinker you won’t want to go to Rite Aid and just pick up any old bottle from the bottom shelf. Put down the Barefoot Moscato there Bubba and step away slowly.

Your mom is probably a little more defined in her tastes than that if she’s drinking wine on a regular basis. I highly recommend that you go to a wine shop or a local winery tasting room and purchase her something a little more special. The nice thing is that Spring Release just happened these past few weeks and most of the wineries in the region have just popped out several brand new labels that will likely make a discerning mom squeal with joy.

If your mom is like mine. An old, cigarette smoking, bar hugging, tavern frau (just kidding mom...love you!) you might want to consider buying her wine in a box. Otherwise, I wouldn’t recommend any form of bulk wine purchase for the woman who changed your pee pants.

If mom is a red wine drinker, I suggest getting her a nice bottle of red wine such as a Merlot or Red Blend wine. I've picked up a huge number of under $15 bottles from the Northwest red blends recently, and with a few exceptions I've been pretty darned impressed. 

If your mom only likes sweet wine I suggest picking her up a nice Moscato or Late Harvest Riesling. There are several great wines from this region that are sweet. They range from $7 to over $400.  The amount you spend depends on your level of guilt left over from your evil teen years.

I wouldn’t personally use Mother’s day as a time to “enhance” momma’s drinking experience by purchasing her a 50 year old bottle of Chateau Expensive. Just get her a nice bottle of wine that says I love you in liquid form.

Happy Mother's Day!

Honesty, Ethics, and Wine Writing

Bad Blogger!!  No Wine For You!!

I don’t normally spend my words, or your precious time writing about other wine writers. But, what the heck, I’m feeling a little spunky today!

If you are looking to be REALLY informed on the wine industry from all angles you should be reading a blog called Palate Press. This blog is respectfully one of the best information sources for the entire industry. Someday, maybe when I grow up, I’ll be good enough to have my articles post there. Then I’ll know I’ve arrived.

Anyway, this week there was a fantastic op. ed. piece by Evan Dawson, an ABC news anchor from Rochester New York, and wine writer. I’ll let you read Evan’s column yourself, however, in a nutshell he talks about a storm brewing around the famed Robert Parker and James Suckling. Both are world renowned wine writers that everyone bows to.

At issue is something that goes on all over the wine writing world. That is, you give me a bottle of wine, and chances are higher that I’ll drink it. Take me to a nice dinner with your wines and the chances are even greater. Fly me to your winery, take me to your vineyard, and feed me a specially prepared 5 star meal paired with your wines and it’s pretty much a slam dunk!

Not only will us wine writers write you up, but chances are we’re going to be strongly favorable to your wares. Combine that with mine, and many other’s policies of “do no harm” and the worst thing that could happen is that we just don’t do an article, or skip on the wines we didn’t like.

I think that the worst I ever heard happen was a story told by Marvin Shackman from Wine Spectator when he said that the Gallo Brothers found him on the beach on family vacation and wanted to know why their wine only scored in the 80s. Marvin, who has impeccable integrity, told them that if they wanted 90s they should turn in better wine.

Well, Parker and Suckling, were found to be doing this kind of behavior, and even collecting fees for favorable write ups, which goes beyond accepting a free tasting. Suckling had one incidence of accepting a $24,000 bribe.

The worst comes in the denial. Both Parker and Suckling are suing an threatening suits because other journalists found them out. If you don’t think that will make their write ups and scores worth a dung heap I don’t know what will.

I am not a big writer like those guys. I only really do it as a hobby for the most part. If I were to buy the thousands of dollars in wine that I drink each year for my Eastern Oregonian wages ($0 to date) I would have to be destitute or a millionaire.

This is my promise to you. I will be honest with you at all times. If someone gives me a bottle to write up I’ll always let you know it. If they buy me dinner I’ll be sure and mention it. If they fly me to their private estate and serve me on golden platters I’ll rave about it. That is my promise to you as a wine writer with a few shreds of integrity left.

Until, next week...Enjoy!

The Power Of The Label

Why do you drink the wine you drink? Is it because you met the winemaker at some point and because of your relationship to them you are a devoted fan? Is it because you are a wine snob who knows a good wine regardless of anything else? Or, is it because you saw this cool label on the shelf and thought you’d give it a try? Chances are it is this last reason that you purchased the wine you’re drinking.
I was thinking about this the other day as I walked through the wine isle of my neighborhood grocery. Initially as I looked up and down the shelves I was searching for wines I knew. Wines that were made by friends, or ones that I recognized. However, with a few glances around I have to admit that I was soon looking for a “cool” bottle.

The likelihood that you will purchase a particular wine is greatly influenced by the look of the label. That even goes for seasoned professional winos like me. That likelihood goes up exponentially as the cost of the bottle goes down.

Frankly, I’m often amazed at the really crappy label designs found on relatively expensive bottles of wine. The deal is that you just know that the wine is good by the name on the bottle. This is extremely true in high end boutique wines that are under 100 cases in volume. After all, why waste good wine on a stupid label?

On the other hand, wines in the $5 and under range have to have a cute label. Otherwise nobody would drink that rot-gut.

Where the label war really exists is in bottles that are in the $10 to $20 range. You will find the most amazing and unique labels at this price point. Truly, the ones you’ll want to collect the bottles and make candle holders just because the label is so darned cute.

One example of wines that are just ok, but sell like crazy are the Mad Housewife wines. If that label weren’t so attractive nobody would buy it. Once they try it and realize that it isn’t that bad, they’ll keep buying it to amuse their friends.

One point where the label becomes a competitive sport is in the wines that sit in the $30 to $50 range. This is a very difficult price point to sell. I’m asked frequently if I can taste the difference between a $10 bottle and a $50 bottle. Of course I can. But, many uneducated wine drinkers can’t distinguish the flavors and differences.

This is where the label, the bottle, and even the seal on the top become super critical to the success of the wine in the market. This is where a skilled label designer becomes important. This is where foiling on the label, custom artwork, and even hand dipped wax seals become important in setting the wine apart and making you want to drink THAT bottle.

Next time you’re searching for a wine just stop and take a look at the artwork on the shelves. When you do, I’ll bet you’ll find yourself grabbing the wine with the cute label too.

Enjoy!

Walter Dacon Winery All About Following Your Passion!



Image by Doug Walker
http://www.walkerphoto.com/

 Last week I spent a few fantastic days in Olympia, Washington with about 150 of my closest friends and biggest competitors. As you might know, I’m a wine writer by night, but for my day job I make a living as a professional photographer. Last week was our annual state print competition and educational conference.
For me, my life as a professional photographer is about living my passions. As a recovering social worker I’ve found that my work in photography makes me more than happy. It is something that I absolutely love doing. I wake up excited every day knowing I love what I do for a living, and I go to sleep every night with a smile on my face.
While in Olympia I got to spend time with Doug Walker, another super-talented commercial photographer who is also as passionate about life and work as I am. We shared a few stories and a few bottles. One in particular that he wanted me to try was a 2008 Walter Dacon C’est Syrah Magnifique.
I promise to tell you what I think of the wine, but first I want to tell you what I’ve learned about the winery after having tasted the wine.
Walter Dacon is the creation of Lloyd and Ann Anderson, who got into making homemade wine back in 2000. People would tell them that they loved the wine, and after falling deep and passionately in romance with winemaking decided it was time to make their romance real. They went back to UC Davis and studied everything that you can learn about winemaking.

In 2003 the Andersons were granted a license by the Federal Government and the state to start producing wine professionally under the name Walter Dacon, Lloyd’s grandfather’s name. By 2005 they received their first 90+ point Wine Spectator score and the rest has been history!

The winery’s tasting room is located in Shelton, out on the Olympic Peninsula. I haven’t visited the place, but am told that the tasting room is both fun and gorgeous.

Now for the wine. As I mentioned, Doug presented me with a bottle of Walter Dacon’s 2008 C’est Syrah Magnifique. This wine is 100% Syrah juice sourced from Boushey (31%), Ranch at the end of the road vineyard (31%), Discovery (31%), and Destiny Ridge (7%). A great blend of some of Eastern Washington’s best Syrah.

The wine was a beautiful dark purple in the glass, and had a nose of blueberry and cocoa. The fruit on the front of the palate was rich plum and blueberry, leading to caramel and cocoa on the mid palate. The finish was lingering with a nice balance of tannin and acidity. Definitely a great bottle of wine to be enjoyed both with a nice steak, as well as on its own with friends.  If you question my judgement you should read the recent Wine Spectator write up about it. 

The Andersons produced 317 cases of this wine, so I expect it will be just enough for all of you to get a bottle. However, you might want to hurry now that I've written this article, and WS has written theirs. 

You can reach their winery at www.walterdaconwines.com to find out more about their other Rhone specialties and even make a purchase. As they say it on their web page they want you to “Experience the Rhone”. For those of you who love Rhone wines, you won’t be disappointed.
Enjoy!

A Toast For Jesus!

A few years ago I wrote an article for Easter on what the wines were like in Jesus’ time. It got me a little hate mail, so I thought in the spirit of controversy I would write somewhat of a follow up for Easter this year. Afterall, you already know what kind of wine to pair with your deviled eggs, right?

A couple of years ago while traveling I purchased a book by one of my favorite authors, Ann Rice. Ann is an amazing “period” writer. This means that she does extensive research prior to writing any book, and is very accurate in her detailed descriptions of scenes. She is best known for her books on vampires. I don’t think that she saw Jesus as a vampire, but was trying out a whole new genre. I don’t think it was too successful, because she’s back to writing vampire stuff again.

Anyway, In one scene she details a relative of Jesus paying off Roman soldiers with what they consider to be really good wine that was sweet. This struck me as a little crazy, thinking that better wines would be sweet in flavor. In today’s world everyone would scoff at that.

Knowing the research that Mrs. Rice does in her writings led me to do more research myself on “What Would Jesus drink?”. After all, I know that Jesus was a pretty serious amateur sommelier and enologist. He spoke on the subject many times, and his first public miracle was making a pretty big batch of the “best” stuff.

So, what would Jesus drink? History shows that there were both red and white wild varietals growing in Macedonia and Rome back around 1 A.D.. Vines were trained around trees to keep them off of the ground, and slaves would have to climb up in the trees to prune the vines and harvest.

There are several writings by Cato during this period on winemaking, including how much you could work a slave in the vineyard, and how to best store wine after fermentation. He mistakenly suggested keeping ample headroom in the jars, which would have caused oxidation, turning the wine into vinegar quickly.

Unlike Cato, Jesus suggested that winemakers use new wineskins to make new wine, rather than old ones. The wineskin would have been swollen, with no air touching the wine. This would have produced a much higher quality product.

So, what was considered “Good” wine? Well, I can say that most of my friends would be very disappointed. Wine that people in Jesus’ time considered good was sweet. They didn’t have the ability to age wines well in many cases, so wines were often consumed within the next year after the vintage. There was a very high bounty though in Rome and Greece on older vintages. Surrentines were famous for being stored as much as 25 years.

Along with being sweet, most of the wines produced in that age were combined with spices or herbs. Lavender, resin, and other flavorings were often used producing a mulled or Vermouth flavored wine. Jesus may have enjoyed a wine that was some type of mixture between today’s version of Riesling and a decent Madiera.

Everyone knows that Jesus died on a cross. He was stripped and whipped. A crown of thorns shoved into his skull. He was pierced with a sword. But, the last insult that he had to endure was being given wine that had turned to vinegar.

With all that said, I propose that while you’re eating your lamb chops you propose a toast to Jesus with a glass of sweet wine this Easter.

Happy Easter!

Showing Up With The Good Stuff

As I write this I’m getting ready for a big annual professional conference that I attend every year with my wife and about 150 of my closest buddies, and competitors. One of the big events happens to be dinner nightly where we all bring a bottle to the table to share.
Depending on the caterer, some years we have to sneak in our bottles in our briefcases and pour a glass under the table for each other. Other years (the better years) we can just pay the caterer a corking fee to open the bottles and clear away our glassware. Either way, the wine gets consumed and everyone has a great time.
The reason I bring up this story is not to tell you of the rockstar lifestyle that I lead, but to discuss a common problem that occurs every year. The problem of somebody bringing an everyday wine to a special event. I know it doesn’t just happen to me and my friends. It happens way too often.
Let me explain the issue in more detail so we are all have an understanding. The problem is that most of us are cracking open bottles of 50, 60, or even 100 dollar bottles of wine, and some dude will inevitably show up with a bottle of Columbia Crest Grand Estates Merlot.
Now, please understand that I AM a huge fan of Columbia Crest. And, Yes, Grand Estates Merlot has earned the winery many many awards over the years. What I’m saying is that Grand Estates is ten to fifteen George Washingtons in most grocery stores. Believe me, most of us who are winos know the price pretty well because we drink it as a regular drink every night.
The problem isn’t the wine. The problem is that if you bring this bottle, or many others like it, we know you’re a tightwad who won’t splurge on a nice bottle for your friends. Heck, you aren’t even cunning. You are the guy who buys the bottle from the first display rack you see in the store!
I’m not going to beat up on you any more for the rest of this article. I promise. I’m here to help.
Do you want to be the hero and not the zero the next time you bring a bottle to an event? Do you want to win the praise and admiration from your peers? Do you want to go down in history as the guy who brought the “good stuff”?

You have a few choices. In my opinion the number one thing to do is never buy wine for a good impression at a drugstore or grocery store...EVER. Sometimes, if you buy only the best and they have a really nice selection, you can get a nice bottle from a convenience store. An example of this has been Dave’s Chevron in Pendleton, or a few other gas stations down in Hood River or in Yakima.

The best option is to buy a wine from a wine shop. There are several great ones in the region. They can help you find a nice wine at a price you can afford. Even if you don’t want to spend a lot of money they can suggest something you can fool everyone with.
Last, if you’re traveling, you can find a local wine shop. It’s worth the effort. Trust me, showing up with the “good stuff” makes you a hero.

Enjoy!