Woodward Canyon Winery A Great Place to Start

If you follow my little train wreck of a column you'd know that I've been writing a series of articles over the past few weeks concerning a recent day trip I took to Walla Walla. I thought it would be fitting to end this series with the first winery that I visited.

From my house to Walla Walla is approximately an hour, depending on which state patrol officer I'm visiting with. At about 30 minutes into my ride I have the opportunity to stop at Woodward Canyon winery.

Woodward Canyon reminds me so much of the farmhouses from where I grew up. Large shady trees cover the picket fence and pretty lawn around a quaint farm house that looks like it could tell stories. Winemaker and owner Rick Small spent years building other successful wineries in this region, and when he had the opportunity to make his own he went for the keep it simple and fun. He lets his wines do the performing rather than fancy facilities.

I started with the 2009 Sauvignon Blanc. It was exactly what I was looking for on a 100 degree day. The nose was bright with minerality, lime, and grass. The taste was both citrus and creamy from the malolactic fermentation. A delightful acidic finish left the mouth feeling crisp.

Next, the staff poured the 2008 Chardonnay. The wine opens on the nose and the palate with ripe apples and pear. The wine crosses the mid-palate with a slight creaminess which turns into vanilla and hazelnut on the finish. A light acidity cleanses the palate. Rick makes his Chardonnays for long term cellaring and I would suspect that you could lay this one down for up to 10 years.

I had not tasted the Nelms Road 2008 Merlot, so I thought I'd give it a try. If you aren't aware, the Nelms label is Small's everyday brand. It is meant to be affordable, however not to be understated at all. The juice is still from top vineyards in the region and still made by a masterful winemaker. The 2008 is no exception, favoring towards the jammy side with flavors and odors of dark tree fruits and vanilla, this wine is among some of my favorites from the region.

Following the Merlot, I tried the 2008 Nelms Cabernet Sauvignon. Leading the way on the nose was notes of cherries and dried dark fruit. The berry flavors mingle and lead the way to notes of cassis, leather, and tobacco. This is a highly complex wine for the low price.

I've had the 2007 Old Vines Cabernet Sauvignon before, but when the staff asked I just couldn't resist. This wine offers up a nose of dark berries, cassis, and smoke. The flavors are deep and complex with notes of cherry, cassis, leather, spice box, vanilla, and smoke all swirling around on your tongue. It is an adventure in your mouth with each sip.

Last, I had to have the 2008 Estate Barberra. The nose offers up dark, rich fruits, with the spiciness and tannin that I love so much in Barberras. This wine would be perfect served with a chorizo and chevre pizza, or a nice venison pepper steak.

I highly suggest you start at Woodward Canyon on your Walla Walla adventures. It will help you in forming a great barometer for what the region has to offer in flavor and quality.

Enjoy!

Independent Grocers Rock My World

It was a gorgeous week to be outside. Sunshine and love filled my heart as I pulled away from my studio and made a road trip through Umatilla County to do some research just for you.

A little bit of information at my first stop led me to make other stops along the route. Each step taking me closer to finding out the real story. Now, I’d like to consider myself some sort of super-sluth, but honestly I’m more of a Barney Fife than a Sherlock Holmes.

A few weeks ago I wrote a rather scathing article about a local establishment that served grocery store wine. I guess that this hit home in more establishments than I thought it would. While eating lunch I was told by the proprietor that they were struggling to keep up their wine list so that they wouldn’t have store level wines on the shelves. However, they shared with me that there were stores now in the area carrying high-end wines on their shelves “at good prices”.

Leaving there, I drove to one establishment or store after another. In each of those seven instances of my stopping, I met someone that I knew from my wine business work in the area. Each of those persons independently, and I swear, without prompting, told me that they were totally impressed with the wine selection at one particular store.

Eventually, I just had to stop and see for myself. Well…I drove up to Fiesta Grocery in Hermiston, and I thought I had gone to the circus or something! The place is bright. I mean really bright! Colors so vivid on the walls that there was no way I was going to miss it.

I’m not new to this Grocery Store. We have a sister store in Pasco, where I love to shop for produce and meat. They also have a fantastic Mexican deli and fresh baked goods that are always a hit.

Today, I wasn’t shopping for any of those things. However, it was really hard to walk past the big jar of fresh Horchata. I made a straight bee-line for the wine shelf. All the while thinking that the world was upside down, because… I’m headed for a wine shelf in a Mexican grocery store!

When I did get to the wine isle, I was amazed, surprised, shocked, and even awed! I couldn’t believe the selection of wines that the store had to offer. No, there isn’t a huge number of wines. What you’ll find is that the wines are of high quality and of very high value.

Wine selections ranged from Woodward Canyon Nelms Road to Forgeron. And the prices were amazing. Gascon Malbec for under $12 was a perfect example of the dozens of bottle prices that were shockingly low.

So, what is the moral of the story? It is that independent grocers are awesome! They have the ability to sell and merchandise items at the prices that they choose at a store level. Someone in “Hucksterville” Minnesota isn’t forcing down prices and store set decisions in Pendleton or Hermiston. Store level decision makers create a consumer friendly environment where you can get what you want for an exceptional price.

I want to end with a big thank you to the independent grocers of the region. Thank you to Fiesta, the Red Apple in Umatilla, and Keglers in Boardman for your willingness to carry local wines made right here at home. Keep up the good work!

Some Of My Best Friends Are Thirsty Pagans

There are some times in life where you just have to put your religion aside and enjoy life for what it is. One of those times is when it comes to drinking wine.

Being the good Catholic boy that I am, I’m always careful to keep myself away from associating with or getting messed up with the occasion of sin. I say my prayers before meals and at bed time every evening like I was taught. And, I enjoy a good glass of libation, as long as it’s in moderation.

So, what’s a good boy like me to do when I’m met by a stunningly beautiful woman offering me a glass of ruby red wine. I drink it. I smile. I ask for the whole bottle!

Such was the case last week when I ran into my friend Jeannie Inglis-Chowaneitz. She and her winemaker husband Rob Chowaneitz have released their first bottling from their new winery called…(parents cover your children’s eyes)…”Thirsty Pagans”.

The Chowaneitzs, with good friend Crandall Kyle, started Thirsty Pagans in the harvest of the 2005 vintage. Using their combined skills and love of wines, they have created a fantastic micro-winery that they intend will create no more than 250 cases of wine each year. Their location at Alder Ridge, the heart of the Horse Heaven Hills puts them in a prime location to source the regions best grapes year after year.

Rob Chawaneitz is one of the rising stars in the winemaking business. Working as a cellar rat under John Abbott during the Canoe Ridge days, followed by a stint as the cellar master at Woodward Canyon, Rob now is the head winemaker for Corus Estates where he has worked since 2004. His specialties are bone-dry whites and deeply complex reds.

Jeannie Inglis-Chowaneitz is an equally talented wine marketer. She began her career working as Waterbrook’s club manager, and went on to be the PR and Marketing Director for Cayuse. In 2004 Jeannie started her own wine marketing firm, of which she has several very noteworthy Northwest wineries under her watch.

The first vintage created by Thirsty Pagans is their 2005 “Communion” red wine. A blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 5% Malbec, and 5% Petit Verdot is thick and rich with the flavors indicative of the Alder Ridge Vineyard that the grapes are sourced from. In 100% French oak for 22 months, and an additional 12 months of bottle aging tells you that they are in it for quality and not quantity. As extra insurance from cork taint, the Thirsty Pagans chose screw-caps to preserve their wine.

Communion features a nose of cassis, sage, blueberries, and plum. It is dark and rich in the glass. Layered flavors of dark cherry, blueberry, pepper, and baking spices fill your mouth. The tannins are long and silky, leaving you wanting more. At $26 at the winery this is a very good price for an excellent wine.

If you want to try Communion I suggest going to http://www.thirstypagans.com/, or by friends requesting them on Facebook. There are several outlets for the wine in the greater region. If you don’t see it, ask for it.

Enjoy!

New Wines Unveiled For Spring

One of my favorite times of the year is tax time. No, not because I’m some sort of sadist who likes to give Uncle Sam all my hard earned dough. The reason for my April 15 jubilation is because this is the time of the year that the region’s distributors and vintners get together to host trade tastings.

A trade tasting, is a private, industry only event, usually held at the distributorship. People who work in the wine trade, such as retail shop and restaurant owners, chefs, and the press converge on the tasting and get to sample new vintages available for the season.

On Monday I visited my friends at Graybeal Distributing for their second annual trade tasting. Bigger and better this year than last, the tasting hosted over 90 wines from 23 different wineries. The wines ranged from exquisite selections from Pepperbridge, Walla Walla Vintners, Seven Hills, and Saviah down to a complete line of fun and affordable wines from Barefoot.

My only disappointment that day was a severe shortage of local shop owners, who failed to make an appearance. My suggestion is that you go to your favorite local wine shop and tell them that you want these wines on their shelves. They owe it to you to carry them.

The first wines I want to rave on are from Seven Hills. Casey has once again hit it out of the park with his 2007 Riesling. The Riesling has 3% residual sugar this year, giving it a wonderful balance of fruit and acidity. One of my favorites of the day was McClellan’s 2005 Klipsun Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. Filled with flavors of dried stone fruit and spice, this is a wonderfully balanced wine.

Gordy at Walla Walla Vintners shared a table of his newest reds. Probably my favorite wine of the day was his 2006 Sagemoor Cabernet Sauvignon. The juice comes from some of the oldest vines in Washington State, with flavors of dark black fruit, chocolate, and a slight sweetness in the tannins. Absolutely delicious! His 2006 Bello Rosso and Sangiovese were also fantastic.

Woodward Canyon shared their 2007 Nelm’s Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, which as always, are amazing wines for their price. The 2006 Artist Series Cabernet Sauvignon was arguably another favorite of the day. It has notes of oak and cedar entwined in the flavors of black cherries.

The guys at Basel Cellars were on hand with five of their wines. I was impressed with the affordability of their wines, and suggest that you try both the 2007 “Forget Me Not” white blend, and the 2006 “Claret” red blend. Their 2005 Merriment was another bright spot in the day. This Bordeaux blend of Cab, Merlot, and, Cab Franc drinks nicely now, but will be incredible if you can cellar it for a couple of years.

Cougar Crest unveiled their 2007 Rose’ of Grenache. The intense flavors of black and white pepper, balanced by the fruit and acid will make this wine one of this summer’s regulars at my table and back yard.

Not to be missed, Rich Funk of Saviah poured several of his wines, including his 2006 Cab, which just scored a Wine Spectator 93 this week. You better buy this one quick!

Next week, I’m going to share with you my impressions of the other wines and wineries at the Graybeal trade tasting. Until then…Enjoy!