obert Smasne, the iconic winemaker who hand-crafts his wines right here in Eastern Washington recently won the “Best of show” award at the annual Tri Cities Wine Festival with his 2007 Block #3 Syrah.
Smasne, who was born and raised right here in Eastern Washington, and a Washington State University Alumni, has been taking the local wine business by storm these past few years. His past experience includes time spent working at Amavi and Pepperbridge under the famed Jean Francois Pellet, as well as his years working at Covey Run Winery in Prosser. Most recently, before venturing out on his own, Robert worked for the Boyle family as winemaker at Alexandria Nicole cellars.
Smasne currently controls several labels. His ROS company also produces Alma Terra, a project that I have written about in the past that celebrates the importance of Terrior. His Farm Boy label is a fun label that reaches out to the entry-level market.
The Smasne label is Robert’s flagship. The wines that he produces under this label are very carefully handcrafted with the expectation of being world class wines. It really isn’t any wonder that he won the top award considering his high energy and dedication to the craft of winemaking.
Smasne’s 2007 Block #3 Syrah is sourced from the Lawrence vineyard. Co-fermented with Viognier to increase the suppleness and elegance of the grapes, the wine is very elegant. It offers up Soft, dark, dark berries intermingle with the flavors and nose of fresh cut flowers. The wine shows soft, supple tannins that are balanced nicely with the fruit and acidity. There were only 116 cases of this wine made so I would suggest getting some soon.
Robert also took home other awards as well. His 2008 Petit Verdot took home gold, and he earned silvers with his 2007 Syrah, 2010 Aligote, 2010 Farm Girl Katlin Rayann White, 2008 Old Vine Cabernet, 2008 Country Line Red, 2008 Half Ass Red #2, and his 2008 Malbec.
I highly suggest you visit the Smasne Tasting room in the Southern most end of Kennewick. The tasting room and wine bar, located near Bob’s Burgers and Brew on Highway 395. Check out thier website at www.smasnecellars.com for hours of operation.
Along with Smasne, several other winemakers from the region took home awards. Other “Gold, Best of Class” winners were Pend d’ Oreille Winery with their 2008 Bistro Rouge, and Upland Winery with their 2008 Teunis. Golds went out to Brian Carter Cellars, C.R. Sandidge Wines, Chateau St. Michelle, Coyote Canyon Winery, Heaven’s Cave, Hoodsport Winery, Le Chateau, Market Vineyards, Martinez & Martinez, and Patrick M. Paul Vineyards. Congrats to all!
For a complete listing of the vintners and their awards, as well as information on next year’s festival go to www.tricitieswinefestival.com.
Enjoy!
Showing posts with label Robert Smasne. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Robert Smasne. Show all posts
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Social Media Is Changing The Way We Drink Wine
Last night I went to a great wine tasting event. I met a lot of new people and had a great time laughing and comparing notes with the 100 or so other people in the room. I wore my workout shorts and t-shirt, and when it was all over I went upstairs and went to bed.
So, now you’re probably wondering what wine bar I live above? I don’t, unless you want to call my dusty basement closet a wine bar. No. Last night I went to a wine “tweet up”.
After dragging my feet on Twitter ,Facebook, blogging and every other type of social media out there, I have slowly been coming around to the whole concept. I started tweeting officially sometime around Christmas and now have just under 400 wine drinking friends.
The amazing thing with Facebook and Twitter is that I can read articles, opinions, and reviews not only once a week, but all day and night every day of the week. The discussion is open ended. I can read someone else’s opinion, and then turn right around and give my own. Input is usually relegated to short sentences, so I’m not forced to listen to someone’s long, boring diatribe.
With Facebook and Twitter, both have extensive lists of vintners and their employees. You’re not always getting the public PR scoop from the marketing department. You are able to talk directly to the cellar rat or the tasting room employee who has their feet on the ground every day.
In several cases here locally you can reach out and have a personal conversation with the actual winemakers regularly. I have daily conversations with Charlie Hoppes, Neil Cooper, Rich Funk, Marie Eve Gilla, and Cameron Kontos. I know when Robert Smasne is in town, or at his tasting room in Woodinville. I know when the new release of Bookwalter Cabernet Sauvignon comes out immediately, and where the release party is going to be.
Over the next few weeks there are going to be several wine tweeting events. Some are being held at wineries such as Desert Wind Winery in Prosser. Taste Washington in Seattle the last weekend of this month will be a huge “tweet up”. I’ll be there, and would love to see you at the event.
These events are options for people to physically get together, meet, and establish friendships over a glass of wine. Afterwards, you can keep that relationship going by tweeting with those friends on an ongoing basis.
Another option is to attend a tweet discussion. I will be the guest “specialist” in a tweet discussion happening between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. on March 10th. The way to join the discussion is go to go to www.twitter.com and signing up for an account. You can follow me by searching @onerichwineguy. Once you’ve found me click in the “follow” box. I’ll then follow you in return!
On the 10th at about 6 p.m., once you’ve got your account, type in #socialwine in the search window on the right side of the screen. Grab a glass of wine and join the conversation. If you want to add in your own thoughts just type #socialwine in the body of the status sentence and it will be listed for the group to see. Cool huh?
This event is in an interview format. I encourage you to send me questions through my blog at www.onerichwineguy.blogspot.com or you can direct message me on Twitter before the event.
See you there!!
So, now you’re probably wondering what wine bar I live above? I don’t, unless you want to call my dusty basement closet a wine bar. No. Last night I went to a wine “tweet up”.
After dragging my feet on Twitter ,Facebook, blogging and every other type of social media out there, I have slowly been coming around to the whole concept. I started tweeting officially sometime around Christmas and now have just under 400 wine drinking friends.
The amazing thing with Facebook and Twitter is that I can read articles, opinions, and reviews not only once a week, but all day and night every day of the week. The discussion is open ended. I can read someone else’s opinion, and then turn right around and give my own. Input is usually relegated to short sentences, so I’m not forced to listen to someone’s long, boring diatribe.
With Facebook and Twitter, both have extensive lists of vintners and their employees. You’re not always getting the public PR scoop from the marketing department. You are able to talk directly to the cellar rat or the tasting room employee who has their feet on the ground every day.
In several cases here locally you can reach out and have a personal conversation with the actual winemakers regularly. I have daily conversations with Charlie Hoppes, Neil Cooper, Rich Funk, Marie Eve Gilla, and Cameron Kontos. I know when Robert Smasne is in town, or at his tasting room in Woodinville. I know when the new release of Bookwalter Cabernet Sauvignon comes out immediately, and where the release party is going to be.
Over the next few weeks there are going to be several wine tweeting events. Some are being held at wineries such as Desert Wind Winery in Prosser. Taste Washington in Seattle the last weekend of this month will be a huge “tweet up”. I’ll be there, and would love to see you at the event.
These events are options for people to physically get together, meet, and establish friendships over a glass of wine. Afterwards, you can keep that relationship going by tweeting with those friends on an ongoing basis.
Another option is to attend a tweet discussion. I will be the guest “specialist” in a tweet discussion happening between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. on March 10th. The way to join the discussion is go to go to www.twitter.com and signing up for an account. You can follow me by searching @onerichwineguy. Once you’ve found me click in the “follow” box. I’ll then follow you in return!
On the 10th at about 6 p.m., once you’ve got your account, type in #socialwine in the search window on the right side of the screen. Grab a glass of wine and join the conversation. If you want to add in your own thoughts just type #socialwine in the body of the status sentence and it will be listed for the group to see. Cool huh?
This event is in an interview format. I encourage you to send me questions through my blog at www.onerichwineguy.blogspot.com or you can direct message me on Twitter before the event.
See you there!!
Saturday, August 1, 2009
I Taste Dirt…Discerning Terroir In Wine
You know, when people talk about Terroir affecting the flavor of their wines, I tend to chuckle a little. It isn’t that I don’t believe wines taste different based on the place the grapes are from. It is just, well, my childishness comes out. When people start talking terroir I get visions of them drinking mud. Weird, I know. But, I just have a hard time believing that the dirt that a wine is grown in really has that big of an effect on flavor. Call me a skeptic.
I will admit that wines grown in different regions and climates have a distinctive flavor profile. However, I think that difference comes from the winemaker, the cooperage, and the style or process that the wine was made with. The conclusion I’ve come to over the years is that wine is like any other art form. Regionally, people have a standard that they like to see in their wine, and they train themselves to be just like everyone else on the block.
Now I’m being challenged in my thinking. Dr. Allan Busacca, a geologist and agricultural soils expert, has paired up with Robert Smasne, wine giant and owner of Smasne Cellars. They are releasing their Alma Terra Label together as a true experiment in terroir.
This experiment is not for them. They have already done their painstaking research and packaged it neatly for you to take home and experiment with your friends and family. The real purpose is to allow childish skeptics like me to see once and for all that dirt does make a difference.
The first version of this experiment was chosen to be Syrah. Busacca and Smasne chose three distinctly famous vineyards throughout Eastern Washington to do their project. After picking the lots they painstakingly made sure that the grapes were grown the same, picked at the same brix, pressed, fermented, aged, and bottled in the same way from the same year.
The sources of these grapes were Ciel du Cheval from Red Mountain, Coyote Canyon from Horse Heaven Hills, and Minick from the Yakima Valley. Knowing these were the vineyards will automatically make any wine fanatic realize that these are the top Syrah vineyards in the state, and possibly in the Northern Hemisphere.
A fourth bottle was also produced that mixes generous amounts of each of these vineyards to create a gorgeous blend of the best of the best. The name of this wine is Coéo, which is a Latin term for “coming together”.
As I mentioned earlier, the experiment has been painstakingly prepared for you to try. A beautiful four bottle gift box complete with beautifully designed cards explaining each of the vineyards and wines is available at the winery.
If you are visiting Woodinville, near Seattle, I suggest stopping by their tasting room. Their address is 19495 144th Ave. NE. Suite B240. The website is http://www.almaterrawines.com/. You can also follow them on Facebook.
By the way, yours truly was the photographer who brought over 100 lbs of rocks and dirt into my studio to create the style image and bottle shots for this label. Believe me, after hours of shooting bottles in dirt you do taste terroir!
I will admit that wines grown in different regions and climates have a distinctive flavor profile. However, I think that difference comes from the winemaker, the cooperage, and the style or process that the wine was made with. The conclusion I’ve come to over the years is that wine is like any other art form. Regionally, people have a standard that they like to see in their wine, and they train themselves to be just like everyone else on the block.
Now I’m being challenged in my thinking. Dr. Allan Busacca, a geologist and agricultural soils expert, has paired up with Robert Smasne, wine giant and owner of Smasne Cellars. They are releasing their Alma Terra Label together as a true experiment in terroir.
This experiment is not for them. They have already done their painstaking research and packaged it neatly for you to take home and experiment with your friends and family. The real purpose is to allow childish skeptics like me to see once and for all that dirt does make a difference.
The first version of this experiment was chosen to be Syrah. Busacca and Smasne chose three distinctly famous vineyards throughout Eastern Washington to do their project. After picking the lots they painstakingly made sure that the grapes were grown the same, picked at the same brix, pressed, fermented, aged, and bottled in the same way from the same year.
The sources of these grapes were Ciel du Cheval from Red Mountain, Coyote Canyon from Horse Heaven Hills, and Minick from the Yakima Valley. Knowing these were the vineyards will automatically make any wine fanatic realize that these are the top Syrah vineyards in the state, and possibly in the Northern Hemisphere.
A fourth bottle was also produced that mixes generous amounts of each of these vineyards to create a gorgeous blend of the best of the best. The name of this wine is Coéo, which is a Latin term for “coming together”.
As I mentioned earlier, the experiment has been painstakingly prepared for you to try. A beautiful four bottle gift box complete with beautifully designed cards explaining each of the vineyards and wines is available at the winery.
If you are visiting Woodinville, near Seattle, I suggest stopping by their tasting room. Their address is 19495 144th Ave. NE. Suite B240. The website is http://www.almaterrawines.com/. You can also follow them on Facebook.
By the way, yours truly was the photographer who brought over 100 lbs of rocks and dirt into my studio to create the style image and bottle shots for this label. Believe me, after hours of shooting bottles in dirt you do taste terroir!
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