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!

Spooky Wine News To Scare You!

I was in a meeting today, and in the theme of Halloween the meeting was “scary things happening in business”. The subject of wine didn’t come up in the meeting, although I often daydream of wine. Thus, my mind wandered into some of the strange and spooky things that I’ve heard have happened in the wine industry lately.

First, the story that has me really freaked out this Halloween. On, or around September 15th of this year someone drove out to a Red Mountain vineyard and stole 1.25 tons of Morvedre grapes. Disappeared! Vanished!! Right into thin air.

I want to drive up there and check to see if there are crop circles up on the Grand Reve vineyard. Who in the heck could literally steal $4000 worth of grapes right off of one of the most visible hills in Eastern Washington and have nobody see it?

This is not a small amount of grapes. At least one very large, full pickup truck would have had to have driven up, taken a few hours, and driven back down and away with this pile of grapes dripping on the pavement behind. I’m thinking this is not really possible. There are way too many nosy neighbors up on that hill. Not to mention that this would have taken a fairly substantial team of educated enologist thieves to pull it off.

My hypothesis is that the aliens took them. You see, Morvedre is among one of the rarer grapes grown in this region. Not just anybody has a block of Morvedre sitting around in their back yard.

The aliens must have turned off their lights and hovered quietly into the fields. Their little alien tentacles picked the grapes really fast, and when one of the neighbors went to check out the situation the aliens smacked them against the head with a “forget this” stick.

After the grapes were loaded into the spaceship the little buggers took them back to their galaxy. Who knows? They probably even have Bigfoot stomping them right now as we speak!

All kidding aside, this is a really spooky situation when you think that there is some idiot out there thinking that they are going to get away with making several barrels of stolen Mourvedre. You better hope for their sake that the aliens really did steal it.

Another fantastic and spooky real story that is going on in vineyards here in the region this fall is botrytis cinerea. A fungus that has attached to a number of grapes in the region and is trying to destroy the crop before it can be picked.

Botrytis is a gray mold that attacks the grapes and greatly affects the flavors. It pretty much makes them look like zombie grapes, with a whiteish powdery mildew texture that grows around them, coating them and making them look…moldy.

Growers have been picking as fast as possible to beat the “rot”, although many vineyards were hit very hard. According to one grower in the upper Yakima Valley that I spoke with, most of the Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay in the region has been hard hit. Good luck getting a good cheap white blend next year folks!

The good news about Botrytis oozing off the grapes around here is that the late harvest wine drinkers will be happy to know that they will have plenty to sip on soon. That mold gives Late Harvest and Ice Wines their glorious flavors.

Local Boy Makes Good

It happens every day that someone from small town America pulls it off and really does make it into the spotlight. What really makes it special is when that person is someone that you know personally, and maybe even hung out with in high school.

Neil Cooper is just one of those people. Coming from the grass seed fields around Stanfield, Oregon, Cooper is just one of those fun-loving guys that you’d expect to see fueling up at the Pilot Station any summer afternoon.

Now switch scenes with me, and imagine a simple but upscale wine tasting room and barrel storage facility on the gateway of Sunset Road on Red Mountain. Just outside of Benton City, Washington. The virtual cornerstone of the Washington wine industry, with grapes from the vineyards around the winery drawing some of the most prestigious recognition possible.

As of last Saturday, the 11th of September, Neil Cooper now has firm hold of that cornerstone property, and has launched his brand of Cooper Wine Company wines. Located in a completely renovated facility that was once Seth Ryan Winery, Cooper has definitely done it right.

With help from Charlie Hoppes and staff from Fidelitas, Neil was able to build the winery basically from scratch. He has spent the last few years buying barrels, tanks, and equipment, not to mention juice, to get his winery off the ground with resounding success.

So, enough about the facilities and the land. How about the wines? Well, I can tell you that I tasted through all of them, and will share with you a few of my favorites.

Cooper offers two whites. A Pinot Gris, and a Chardonnay. The 2008 Pinot Gris has a nose that offers up light floral accents of orange flowers and mineral. The flavors are a nice blend of floral and citrus, with a clean finish. Perfect for evenings on the porch.

The 2008 Chardonnay is beautifully advanced. Butter and citrus on the nose leads to wonderful caramel cream flavors from the perfect malolactic fermentation.

Neil’s focus is on Bordeaux wines so it only makes sense that his first wine L’inizio (the beginning) is a wonderful Bordeaux blend. The wine wakes up your nose with hints of black pepper and spice box, leading to flavors of oak, vanilla, dark stone fruit. The finish is silky smooth.

Cooper’s lineup of Cabernet Sauvignons is amazing. To taste through them is not only fun, but educational as well. He has 2007 vintages from Walla Walla, Red Mountain, and Columbia Valley. Each one having its own flavor characteristics and strengths.

Because my palate tends to lean towards jammy flavors with vanilla accents, I found myself at the Grand Opening really leaning toward the 2007 Walla Walla Cabernet Sauvignon. The nose starts off with dark berries and jam, with slight undertones of spice and mocha. The flavors are rich with berries and vanilla, with a long silky finish.

If you have the chance to break away to Red Mountain I know that Neil would love to see you. The winery is located at 35306 North Sunset Road in Benton City. Maybe you can catch up on old times and enjoy a bottle. If you can’t make it up to the winery I suggest you get onto his wine club at www.cooperwinecompany.com .

Enjoy!

Barrel Tasting Weekends Are A Great Sign Of Spring

Ahhhhh…we’ve survived the winter. It really wasn’t bad this year, but as I grow older I appreciate winter less and less. There is something to be said about seeing those first daffodils and tulips of the year, followed by the fragrant lilac bushes in my yard exploding with blooms. Other than flowers in bloom, I also get excited this time of year because I know that Spring Release is coming soon.

As a wine-interested person, there are two times each year that the industry goes all abuzz. Spring Release is one of those times. The other comes at harvest during something we call “crush”.

Personally, I think that Spring Release is the best. All of the wines that my friends have been working on for months or years gets bottled and made available for people like you and me to drink. Not only that, but many of those winemaking friends have the time to spend with you explaining what they did to make their drinkable art so good.

I’ve gotten the skinny from a few of my winemaker friends over the past few days, and this year’s releases look to be the most exciting we’ve had in years. This is partially due to the great growing seasons the past few years, mixed with the down economy making vintners really dig deep to make great wines at economical prices. I guarantee that our local winemakers are going to make it very difficult not to buy local this year.

Here are some of the travels I will be making over the next few days to experience Spring Release this year. I hope to see you out there!

This weekend, April 23 through 25, is Spring Barrel Tasting weekend for the Yakima Valley, Prosser, Red Mountain, Rattlesnake Hills, and the Tri-Cities. Starting in Yakima, I suggest going online to www.wineyakimavalley.org to figure out the best route through the valley for you and your friends this weekend. There will be 50 different wineries participating in this year’s release. You can call for more information at (509) 965-5201.

The Rattlesnake Hills winemakers roll out the red carpet every year on this weekend. Many wineries of the Rattlesnake region, just over the river from Boardman, are usually open for appointment only. This is one of the few weekends that the public is invited to come for food, entertainment, art, and wines at many of these vintners facilities. Go to www.rattlesnakehills.com for more information.

The Tri-Cities and Red Mountain wineries also open their doors this weekend for special events. I’ve spoken with several this week who have plans to release very special wines including some very affordable, high quality labels, as well as new varietals never seen before in this region. I’m incredibly excited about what I’m hearing from winemakers in this region. For more information on events going on in the Tri-Cities I suggest going to www.visittricities.com .

Last, but certainly not least, April 30th through May 2nd is Spring Release Weekend in Walla Walla. There will be close to 75 wineries participating in next week’s release festival, with many providing special wines just for this weekend event. If you haven’t been to a Walla Walla Spring Release then you haven’t been to a wine party. Food, drinking, dancing, and all out fun awaits you. Go to www.wallawallawine.com for more information.

Please remember to have a designated driver of some type, eat regularly, drink plenty of water, and enjoy!

Barossa Valley Versus Red Mountain…Which Shiraz Stacks Up?

Frequently I’m asked about the difference between Shiraz and Syrah. When I’m asked, I always ask the questioner which one they prefer. They usually can’t really say, but most have a suspicion that the Shiraz is better. The surprise comes when I tell them that they are the same grape, just under a different name.

Actually, Syrah and Shiraz are a branch of the Rhone Noble Varietal Hermitage, who’s name is protected by the French wine growing region by that name. Syrah and Shiraz, although different in name, are by and large, the same grape variety regardless of the region they are from.

However, after several years of pondering, I decided to compare two relatively famous Syrah/Shiraz regions of the world. One local, the other not so local, to see what differences really exist between them.

Locally, I decided on a 2005 Terra Blanca Red Mountain Syrah. The other wine that I chose was a 2005 Cameron Hughes lot 39, from the famed Barossa Valley of South Australia.

Red Mountain, located just outside of Benton City, Washington sits between 500 and 1500 feet above sea level. The Barossa Valley is almost exactly the same altitude range. According to Google Earth they are 13,015 miles away from each other. Also, According to Google, the best way to make this trip is to Kayak from Seattle to Hawaii, to Japan, and then to Australia. Traveling by these means would require 54 days and apparently some good sunscreen.

Both wines were relatively the same price, falling in the just above $10 range. (I wanted this price range because I wanted everyone to be able to replicate my study without going broke.) You can certainly use wines that are much higher in price and quality than what I chose. Some of the most famous vineyards from the Red Mountain Region are Klipsun, and Ceil du Cheval. Penfolds makes a Barossa Valley vineyard that has scored well into the upper 90’s several times over the past decade.

There were differences in the bottles. Terra Blanca uses a Rhone bottle with a real cork, and the Hughes is a Bordeaux bottle with a screw top. The Hughes is 14.5% alcohol and the Terra Blanca is 13.5%.

Upon opening the Terra Blanca, I noticed the familiar smells of dark berries and vanilla. It poured into the glass a dark inky purple. Flavors of dark berry jam layer on the tongue, and finish long and smooth, with fruit and tannin carefully balanced. There is definitely a nice lingering flavor of anise.

The Cameron Hughes poured out of the bottle possibly inkier and darker than the Terra Blanca did. Basically closer to black than purple. Even the bubbles created by pouring were inky. The nose was more veggie, like a bowl of fresh green beans and sliced eggplant. The flavors of fruit were dark, ripe plums.

My decision after virtually traveling over 26,000 miles, and tasting wines from both skilled winemakers on each side of the world, was that both were quite delicious for their own qualities. The Terra Blanca definitely was more berry in its profile, with the Hughes showing more veggie qualities. Both will taste great on their own, or with food.

Personally, I would suggest the Hughes with a Porterhouse, and finish of the night with dark chocolate, gorgonzola, and the Terra Blanca.

Enjoy!