Castillo de Feliciana Is A Trip To Spain In Walla Walla

This week I met my friend Rich Funk at Saviah and talked about some amazing plans that he has to share later this spring. I picked up some of his newest releases, and then, rather than heading straight home decided to take a different fork in the road.

Past Waters Winery and VaPiano, and after taking a right at the fork, I came to Castillo de Feliciana Vineyard and Winery. A cute little Spanish hacienda, located down a short gravel drive with views of the Blue Mountains, Seven Hills Vineyards, and most of the Walla Walla valley.

As I entered the winery I was met by the youthful and entrancingly blue eyed tasting room manager Katie Regnier. It was cold outside, but her excitement to open a few bottles for me, and the great wines had me thinking of warmer climates.

Castillo de Feliciana is one of Walla Walla’s newest wineries. Owned by Sam and Deborah Castillo, the winery is located on a 66 acre estate that is surrounded by fantastic vineyards of world renown. The tasting room itself offers a nice Spanish theme, with beautiful art that Deborah herself has hand-picked.

The Castillos opened their winery with the hopes of offering fine wines in the Spanish varietals. This being the northwest, there has been some issues with reaching those offerings, but the Sueno (dream) will become a reality with time and patience. They planted true Spanish Albarino vines this past year, and at this point they are looking good in the ground.

I caught Katie on a quiet day, where we could talk and taste through the wines. I highly recommend that you take the opportunity to visit wineries during this time of year when the tourist season is off. It is so much fun, and you feel like you own the whole region.

Anyway, Katie poured the 2008 Viognier for me to start. Mixed with 19% Roussanne, the wine has wonderful floral aromatics to start. Melon and baked bread open up to a nice mouthful of peach and other stone fruit, with a lightly acidic finish. I picked this one up to share with my wife before bed.

Katie then poured me the flagship 2008 Temperanillo. This wine is made from 100% Rosebud Vineyard Temperanillo grapes. The wine opens on the nose with a bouquet of violets and desert sage. The flavors are deep and rich, with red currants, and espresso. The finish is long, with soft acidity and supple tannins.

Next I tasted the 2008 Miercoles. This wine is made up of 55% Syrah, 27% Malbec, 9% Temperanillo, and 9% Merlot, with the juice being sourced from Pepper Bridge, Rosebud, Airport Ranch, and Les Collines. The flavors and nose are black cherry, plum, coffee, and cocoa. There are further layers of baking spices on the long finish.

Last, Katie poured me the 2008 Adentro. This wine is a Bordeaux blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 5% Malbec, and 5% Cab Franc. It offers up a nose and flavors of herbs and spices on the front, with vanilla, tea, and tobacco on the mid palate. The wine finishes very nice with a distinct minerality from the perfectly blended Cab Franc. Very nice.

I hope you’ll take the time to venture to the southern reaches of Walla Walla. When you do, I suggest you stop in and taste the Spanish influence offered by Castillo de Feliciana.

Enjoy!

Watermill Winery A Good Reason To Visit Milton Freewater

Over the last few weeks I have been sharing on a recent day trip that I took to Walla Walla Valley. These articles are being punctuated by other articles as they arise.

It had been quite a while since I had been to Milton Freewater. As much as I enjoy the little town, it is not exactly a straight shot from my home in Kennewick. But, I was on a mission with my friends Phyllis and Becky Fergueson who run the annual Savor The Flavor event in the Tri-Cities.

After a quick visit to Petit Noir on the main drag through town to quench everyone’s need for the region’s most delicious handmade truffles, we headed back into the older section of town to visit Watermill Winery and its twin sister company Blue Mountain Cider.

It had been at least two years, if not closer to three, since I had been to the old Watermill building, and the now beautifully renovated tasting room that sits on the front of the property.

The Brown family established Watermill Winery in 2005 in conjunction with Rich Funk of Saviah Cellars fame. Rich and Andrew Brown set forth to produce wines together with the understanding that as Andrew’s skills honed, Rich would take more of a back-seat consulting role. That has happened, and now Brown is taking on the lion’s share of the winemaking tasks with Funk offering support. I was excited to see what Andrew has done with the reigns he’s been given.

I had to try the 2008 Viognier. I think I can openly say “scrumptious”. This is a really good Viognier. An English flower garden on the nose, with floral, apricot, and peach flavors. It finishes with creamed honey and minerals on the finish. I took a bottle home, and now I wish I had taken a case.

Next, I jumped to the Chances R Red Blend. A few vintages ago this was one of my favorite red blends from the region. Very affordable and rich. The 2007 has more of a grown up taste than the label suggests. After some air this wine offered up dark jammy nose and flavors, mixed with hints of leather, pepper, and spice box. At $15 it is definitely worth it.

The 2007 Midnight Red is an Estate Blend from the McClellan Estate. It offers 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, mixed with equal parts of Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot, and Cabernet Franc. This wine is quite complex and elegant with bright cherry up front, leading to tobacco, leather, and berry pie as the wine slips across your palate.

I’m a sucker for a good Cabernet Franc, so I had to try Watermill’s 2007 vintage. This wine offers cloves and pepper on the nose. The flavors are rich with black cherry cola, pepper, and wonderfully silky tannins on the finish.

The 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon is sourced from several acclaimed vineyards reaching from Walla Walla to Kiona on Red Mountain. With a balance of 25% merlot, this wine hits all the corners of your palate. Dark fruit on the front, leading to dark cocoa, figs, walnut, and finishing with vanilla and a light smokiness this wine is one to have with a nice grilled rib steak.

One of the best parts about Watermill is once you’ve tasted through the wines, which I’ve only given a short list of, you can walk across the room to the Blue Mountain Cider tasting counter. I’ll leave that for a later article though.

Enjoy!

Wonderful Tasting Turkey Wines!

It’s not what you think. I’m really not going to pitch you on drinking wine made out of turkey. I would never suggest you drink a wine made with turkey flavoring. There are sodas that are flavored that way, but I wouldn’t drink them either. However, it is time to round up wines for the big turkey dinner again, and I’m all jazzed up about the opportunities!

Thanksgiving dinner is probably one of the toughest meals of the year to buy wine for. Usually served as somewhat of a potluck, you never know exactly what is going to be served until the meal shows up on the table. That is exactly why I always suggest that you buy several wines for the event.

First, you should include a sparkling wine. I just learned that one of my local favorites is being discontinued and won’t be available long. Domaine St. Michelle’s Frizzante is a slightly sweet sparkler that has won several awards in the last few years. Get it while you can.

You really can’t have Thanksgiving without a bunch of white wines. I prefer to host with Pinot Grigio, Riesling, Viognier or Rousanne, and a good old oaky Chardonnay. Pinot Grigio has citrus and mineral qualities that break down fats well. If you are serving creamy foods such as green bean casserole, you’ll love the way this wine pairs with it. I’ll be serving one of my favorites made by Casey McClellan at Seven Hills.

Good Rieslings are spicy, fruity, and also have a level of minerality to them. I tend to like ones with low residual sugar, and prefer them bone dry if I can find one. Pacific Rim winery makes a wonderful Riesling that hits the spot.

As for Viognier, I would suggest Alexandria Nichole Cellars. Lots of fresh fruits including pineapple, melon, and a faint hint of banana coax out the flavors of a nicely prepared butterball, and pair with mom’s stuffing.

I prefer a good, old fashioned Chardonnay for Thanksgiving. I serve one of those major oak bombs that you usually run from, but the vanilla and buttery flavors compliment so well with the comfort foods of the day. I suggest a good Napa Chardonnay, or if you want to go local I suggest Columbia Crest Grand Estates.

If you are like me, you’re into having smoked turkey, duck, or venison on the table. For smoked foods you really need to step out with some fun reds. I highly suggest a Rose’, a Pinot Noir, Malbec, and a good Cabernet Sauvignon to keep the Bordeaux drinkers happy.

The Rose’ that we’ll be drinking this year is from San Juan Island Vintners. I’ve reviewed this before so I won’t bore you, but this dry Rose’ is great with everything on the table.

Eyrie Pinot Noir is my hands down choice for Thanksgiving. Its bright raspberry notes turn to a earthy finish are great with duck or smoked meats. As for the Malbec, I love them dark and spicy, with huge flavors of blueberry pie. For that I suggest Saviah, Terra Blanca, and Gascon depending on where you want the wine to be from.

The choices for Cabernet Sauvignon run deep in my house. I’m just going to put my hand over my eyes and grab something off the rack. But, if you have to make a special trip, I would suggest picking up one of the local artisan winemakers such as Fidelitas or Whitman Cellars.

Enjoy!

Good People & Good Wine At McKinley Springs

In general, what I like most about the wine business is the people. It is inevitable that when you are out tasting you will run into old friends, and make a few new ones along the way. Last night I met a couple of new friends in Doug and Sandy Rowell, the owners of McKinley Springs Winery.

Doug and Sandy have been in the wine business for many years, beginning as grape growers for some of the most prestigious wineries in the region since 1980. Their considerable 1800 acres of vineyards, located south of Prosser in the Alder Ridge area, supplies juice for Bookwalter, Northstar, Columbia Crest, Waving Tree, and many others.

In 2002, like many other growers, Doug decided to take the difficult trail toward starting his own winery. With Sandy by his side, Doug started producing Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. They have since branched off into producing Viognier, Chenin Blanc, Malbec, Petit Verdot, and are working on many other varietals and blends.

The 2006 Viognier opens up with a nose of honeysuckle and spring flowers. It features flavors of peaches, pears, and a wonderful dry minerality which gives it a slight sparkle. The finish is quite acidic, which paired with the mineral clears the palate but leaves a nice lingering finish. My immediate thoughts were to pair this with grilled Tilapia and a nice spicy mango salsa.

I next tasted the 2005 Syrah. Doug produces his Syrah in the traditional Cote Rotie style by blending in a little more than three percent of whole Viognier grapes during the initial fermentation. This method produces a famously meaty, dark, rich Syrah that you can really sink your teeth into, while providing a beautiful elegant nose. A wonderfully balanced wine with a long tannic finish.

After the Syrah we went on to try the 2005 Malbec. As you already know, I’m a pretty ardent Malbec fan, and drink a considerable amount of the stuff. So, let’s say I wasn’t expecting anything out of the ordinary. Right away I was impressed with the dark, rich nose of blueberry pie and the nearly black colors in the glass. This wine opens up with dark cherries, blueberries, vanilla, and finishes with the lingering rainforest flavor that I love. I’ll tell you now, that this is among the best being produced in this region.

Last, we tasted the 2006 Petit Verdot. Usually used as a mixing grape with other varietals, I am usually hesitant to just reach out and grab a bottle at my favorite wine shop. Doug has, however, done a nice job of tackling this very difficult grape. The Petit Verdot opens with dark colors and flavors of stone fruit. It fills the mouth with espresso, cinnamon, and fresh black pepper. Serve this with a smoked ribeye and you’ll be in love.

In closing, I want to mention that you can’t get these wines in Eastern Oregon at this time. However, if you want a reason to visit the winery they are planning several Barbeque events when things warm up this year. The one to not miss is their BBQ Showdown & Benefit on June 13th. The cost is $25 per person over 19. 18 and under are free. This includes wine for those over 21, soft drinks, food, and a lot of fun. The proceeds go to feed returning troops at Ft. Lewis. To find out more about McKinley Springs go to www.mckinleysprings.com . Enjoy!