Annual Northwest Best of 2011 Wine Review

Ok. So, this is the one article that tends to bring me more hate mail than any other diddy of the year. I know it’s crazy, but I look forward to this annual event. One of my friends on Facebook has nicknamed me “firestarter” because something in me craves abuse. If anything starts that fire, it would be what I’m about to write.

This is my one article of the year, where I review my wine notes for the previous 12 months and give you my opinion on what my favorites were. These opinions are not the opinions of the Eastern Oregonian or any of it’s staff. It isn’t the opinion of my family. It isn’t the opinion of blogger.com that hosts my blog. The following opinions are mine alone.

Best Chardonnay: I’ve had some doozies this year. Some made me think I was in heaven. Some made me want to puke. The best one I had was one I found on a trip to Portland with my wife. We stopped in a few different little wineries in Hood River on the way home and found Phelps Creek Winery. Their Reserve Chardonnay (I believe it was the 2009 but I can’t find that in my notes). The crispness on the front of the palate, nice acidity, and wonderful butterscotch overtones was fantastic!
Best Red Blend: Once again, this was all over the board. I would have to say that my favorite red blend this year goes to Davenlore for their Recovery Red. You would think that a bottle with a Grolsch style refillable bottle, and low priced to boot, would be bad. But, I had this wine many times this year and was never disapointed.

Most Unique Red Varietal: I’ve gotten some pretty wild stuff sent to me this year, but I had some local Primitivo that was outstanding this summer. My favorite was Coyote Canyon’s Primitivo. Deep, ruby color and rich with plum, cherry, and spices.

Best Malbec: So, I can’t help it. Malbec is my favorite grape of all. The best Malbec that I had this year came from Hamilton Cellars. Charlie Hoppes, who is the winemaker for Hamilton was forced by Stacy the owner of the winery to make this stuff. Thanks Stacy for beating it out of him. I love it!!

Best Riesling: Rich Funk from Saviah created his Jack Riesling this year for the first time an it hit the market by storm. I finally got my hands on a bottle this fall and fell in love. OMG!

Best Cabernet Sauvignon: This is usually where I tick off the purists. Once again, I’ve had a lot of Cab this year, and this is was a very tough choice. I have to say that my bottle of ‘07 Cooper Walla Walla Cab was the best of the year. If you didn’t get any, I’m sorry, but you won’t be able to prove me wrong.

Best Pinot Noir: At the end of the year I received as a gift a bottle of Swiftwater Cellars 2009 Willamette Pinot Noir. The Watts family has spared no expense in making this hard-to-get wine. Beautiful fruit backed up by layer after layer of spices makes this bottle truly one of the best. My hat is off to winemaker Tony Rynders.

Once again, these are the best that I tasted. I’m sure you have your own opinion. Please let me know at www.onerichwineguy.com.

Cheers!

Tenacity Pays Off For Region’s Newest Winery

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try, and try again! That is the lesson taught by the region’s newest winery, Hamilton Cellars. Their Grand Opening, held this week at their new tasting room in Richland, Washington is proof that pushing through obstacles will bring you to a win.

Last fall I met owner Stacy Hamilton while I was teaching a wine tasting class at the Savor the Flavor event in the Tri Cities. When I asked if anyone in the room was in the industry she quietly held up her hand. Later, after class we introduced ourselves and I found out that she and her husband Russ were planning on opening their tasting room soon.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago when my wife and I attended a birthday party for one of my wine industry friends. We all brought a bottle or two of our favorite vintages while we feasted on the most amazing Tennessee ribs I’ve ever eaten. One of the other guests that evening works in the tasting room of Hamilton Cellars and brought a few bottles of their wine.

I’ll just say that I was impressed. I knew that the wine was too good to be made by an inexperienced winemaker. That’s when I found out that the guy producing the juice is none other than winemaking superman Charlie Hoppes.

Now that I’ve teased you, I need to tell you the rest of the story. Russ and Stacy began work on their dream of owning a successful winery in 2006. They knew that they liked good wine and that is what they wanted to produce. The Hamiltons knew also that they wanted Hoppes to be the winemaker, and that they wanted their wines to be from good vineyards and made from sound processes.

Now for the tough part. There have been planning and zoning issues with owning a winery in this region. They are being cleared up quickly, but back when the Hamiltons were starting out it wasn’t so easy.

The Hamiltons purchased a piece of land in West Richland with the intent of building a winery. Little did they know that there was a huge dispute over the land with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. The title company, the attorneys, and the City of West Richland all failed to realize that the land wasn’t legal to sell because the U.S. Government owned it. The Hamiltons were sent an eviction notice.

Luckily planning and zoning issues have lifted a little, and the Hamiltons were able to convert a cute little office cottage In the Queensgate Village around the corner from Barnard Griffin and Bookwalter in Richland.

As for those promised notes on wines, I thought you might like to hear about a few I tasted. I am certainly looking forward to tasting through the rest of the portfolio soon.

2007 Bona Vita Red Blend - Dark purple in the glass, this wine has a blend of 51% Malbec, 24% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot, and 12% Cab Franc. The nose and flavors are rich with layers upon layers. Blueberries, blackberries, smoke, peppercorn, and soft tannins on the finish.

2007 Malbec –This Malbec is beautiful, bold, dark, and scrumptious. Blueberries, black cherry, dark chocolate, black pepper, and a velvety finish. This wine, and the Bona Vita both paired wonderfully with my friend Patrick’s ribs and his homemade sauce. Yummmm!

Enjoy!