On Wednesday we were on the road at 7:30 am headed for Yakima Valley where my group visited Airfield Estates. After a few punch downs and pump overs we observed a mobile bottling line put some of their finished product into final packaging. The use of these semi-trucks for bottling is very popular and a smart  business decision considering the cost of an in-place bottling system and the fact that it would sit dormant for 10-11 months of the year.

Co-fermented with 3% Viognier; fermented with 40% whole clusters. "Lagniappe" is a Creole term to denote a little bonus that a friendly shopkeeper might add to a purchase. By extension, it may mean "an extra or unexpected gift or benefit." This Syrah certainly gives a little extra by means of its incredible aromatics. This really reminds me of Northern Rhône wines with violets, dark berries and a hint of dried herbs on the nose. The palate shows elegance but no restraint with regard to intensity. I really like the texture of Greg's wines.

Dark ruby color. There's more new oak on the nose here followed by violets, underbrush and white pepper. Densely packed layers of red fruits emerge along with fine tannins mid-palate and the finish is medium length.

I'm a big fan of David O'Reilley's wines and this is always one of my favorites. This vintage is deep ruby in color and exhibits aromas of plum, violets, leather and pepper all nicely wrapped up in velvety tannins for a long finish.

2006 Radio-Coteau Syrah "Las Colinas", Sonoma Coast

This was riper and fuller in body but still maintained a good sense of balance. Pepper, ripe berries, a hint of dried herbs and roasted meat with a medium-long finish of fine-grained tannins. I did guess California...

This was a much more restrained style with earthy, gamey notes that made me believe it was from France...

This one too was a little rough around the edges and didn't strike me as New World in style. It definitely didn't have the typical power I associate with Barossa Valley Shiraz.

Purple ink in the glass, the 2007 La Cote Rousse is 100% Syrah primarily from Kiona and Ciel du Cheval Vineyards. This smelled voluptuous and tasted even better! Based on the nose I thought this might be from the Northern Rhone but once in my mouth I guessed Washington. Very dense and layered on the palate with fine-grained, mouth-coating tannins and an exceptionally long finish. Really good stuff.

Deep ruby/garnet color. My least favorite of the bunch because of its lack of precision. Rather chunky in style the wine seemed out of balance (perhaps it needed a bit more acid?).

Dark ruby-red color. Lovely aromatics of lavender, ripe red berries and a meaty component thrown in for good measure. This was classic Northern Rhone style Syrah with chewy structure and power without excess weight.

Day three began at a little more reasonable 7 am. I don't mind getting up early, that's what I do every day. But many of the group work in the restaurant world where 2-3 am calling it quits is the norm and getting up at 5:30 is not. After an hours drive my group ended up at Goose Ridge Vineyard, the largest contiguous vineyard in the state of Washington at 1400 acres.2006 Goose Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon

Medium-dark ruby color. A nice burst of red fruits when it first hits your palate is followed up by some sage and olive notes. The tannins are ripe and it has a medium-long finish.

2005 Goose Ridge Vireo

39% Syrah, 37% Merlot and 24% Cabernet Sauvignon. This has more dark fruit elements along with a hint of cocoa on the finish. The supple mouthfeel and smooth, ripe tannins make this very enjoyable.

82% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc (most of the fruit is sourced from Horse Heaven Hills with roughly 1/3 coming from Red Mountain). Medium-dark garnet color with black cherry, blackberry and a hint of roasted herb on the back end. Medium body with good overall balance and fine-grained tannins. Medium length finish.

88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, 5% Merlot (mostly Red Mountain fruit). Deep ruby color with black cherry, anise and currant aromas that are echoed on the palate. Mouth-coating (ripe) tannins provide a lovely texture to the wine and the finish lingers pleasantly for almost a minute.

78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot (all Red Mountain fruit). This was my favorite of the bunch. Deep garnet color with aromas of cherry, wood smoke, cassis and sage followed by flavors of dark fruits and dried herbs. The texture is fantastic and the finish goes on and on. Really well made.

Deep garnet in color with some earthy notes under the black cherry and plum. Good depth of fruit and a mouth-filling texture make you go back for another sip after enjoying the lengthy finish.

71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc. Medium ruby color with ripe blackberry, plum and black cherry aromas that get delivered on the palate too. Very lengthy finish on this complex wine.

72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot, 2% Syrah. I don't know, a lot of people were really excited by this wine while I didn't care for it that much, at least not at this time, but then I'm not an oak slut either ;> Perhaps with some additional bottle ageing it will come together.

Medium golden yellow in the glass. Tangerine, pear and some tropical notes emerge from this well-balanced Chardonnay and the vibrant acidity really keeps the fruit core focussed.

Cabernet Sauvignon (73%), Merlot (26%) and Cabernet Franc (1%). Medium-dark garnet in color with lush aromas of dark cherries, plum and sweet spices. The flavors echo the aromatic profile and are wrapped up by velvety tannins that provide great texture to the wine.

63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot. Bright ruby-red. Aromas of redcurrant, licorice, and toasty oak. Sweet, lush and highly concentrated, with a candied quality to the flavors of currant, black cherry, and spices. A really elegant wine of great depth and complexity but at $120 it's a little too spendy.

A Merlot-based wine with aromas of menthol, cherry, blackberry and wood smoke. On the palate the shows focus and concentration with silky tannins and a long finish. First rate stuff.

Another well made wine this one with a medium-dark ruby color in the glass and a complex array of aromas from black cherry and currant to dried herbs and cocoa. Layers of fruit unfold on the palate and the fine-grained tannins hold it all together for a long, long finish that begs for another sip.

Medium-dark garnet color. Blackberry, currant and dried herb aromas follow through onto the palate where vibrant acidity holds the ripe fruit in check into the lingering finish.

DAY 1 - Seattle

First of all, kudos to the Washington Wine Commission. In the middle of the harvest season they managed to put together an incredible journey through Washington's most significant wine regions giving the 40 of us an opportunity to interact with the most influential growers and winemakers in the state. And my personal thanks to the many growers and winemakers that took the time to enlighten us about what makes Washington wines so special during their most critical moments of the 2009 vintage.

I must admit that my impression of Washington wines before this trip was that most of them were over-extracted, highly-alcoholic and showed no precision. A tasting I attended a few years ago that featured Washington wines left me wondering if the winemakers had ever been to Bordeaux or the Rhone Valley. But I must confess that I now have a new-found appreciation for the wines from most of the major regions of Washington, and I look forward to the next releases that hold even more promise.

Our adventure began in Seattle, at the Edgewater Hotel where Shayn Bjornholm, MS provided an overview of the Washington state wine scene (MS is Master Sommelier, a.k.a. Wine Geek!). If you haven’t heard the story of the Missoula Floods, ask me. I am not going to take up space here writing about it,but it is fascinating and key to understanding the geology of the current Pacific Northwest and why there are so many world-class wines made here. We then proceeded over to the Space Needle for a reception that included tasting wines from the Puget Sound region, Lake Chelan as well as some of the wineries that are located in the area who source grapes from other areas of Washington.

Notable wines (in alphabetical order, not necessarily by preference):

2006 Andrew Will Two Blondes Vineyard Red Blend, Yakima Valley

43%Cabernet Franc, 29% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 28% Merlot. Dense and concentrated.  It offers up aromas of cinnamon, sage, incense, black cherry, and black currant. This is a supple, ripe wine with fine-grained tannins, savory flavors, and excellent  balance. 

2006 Andrew Will Ciel du Cheval Red Blend, Red Mountain

40%Merlot, 37% Cabernet Franc, 19% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 4% Petit Verdot. Dense purple in color, it has an outstanding bouquet of cedar, baking spices, blackcurrant, and blackberry. This has a very lengthy finish. 

2006 Cadence Bel Canto Bordeaux Blend, Red Mountain

52%Cabernet Franc and 48% Merlot, so this is a take on the right bank region of Saint-Emilion. A lively wine with aromas and flavors of black currant and black cherry and silky tannins that coat your mouth. 

2007 Cadence Coda Bordeaux Blend, Red Mountain

57%Merlot, 18% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Cabernet Franc, and 12% Petit Verdot. The “value” wine from Cadence that offers aromas of black currant, toasted oak and a floral note that extend onto the palate. This has less structure than the Bel Canto but offers more immediate enjoyment. 

2006 Soos Creek Wine Cellars Ciel du Cheval Vineyard Bordeaux Blend, Red Mountain

67%Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Cabernet Franc and 16% Merlot. Bright red-ruby. Dense,smoky nose of berries and cassis with floral scents, with a distinct viscosity to the very ripe dried fruit and nutty oak flavors with undertones of chocolate, mocha, licorice, minerals, ripe tannins and dusty earth. 

2007 Syncline Cuvée Elena, Columbia Valley

70%Grenache, 17% Mourvedre, with Carignan, Cinsault and Syrah making up the balance. Very reminiscent of Chateauneuf-du-Pape with concentrated aromas of bright red fruits along with herbs-de-provence. On the palate this is silky and intense. The finish lasted several minutes!

Following the regional tasting we had about the only freetime that we would see for the next 5 days (unless you count 11:30 pm – 5:30 am free time…). I tried to get over to Pike Place Market but they roll up the sidewalks early on Sundays so I ended up at a great sushi bar, Umi Sake House (2230 First Ave, Seattle). By far the best sushi I’ve had since relocating up here 5 years ago. Extensive sake list, freshest fish around and the head chef is very creative. Give it a try if you’re in the area. By the way, it was absolutely beautiful in Seattle that day.

Day 2 – Walla Walla

After a 5:30 am wake-up call we headed to SeaTac airport for a short flight down to Pasco where we boarded busses that took us to Walla Walla. We broke up into groups of 6-8 for the vineyard exercises and my group visited with Tom Waliser of Beresan Winery. While the Walisers only own 18 acres of vineyards, Tom and his crew are responsible for farming something like 30-40% of the total acreage in Walla Walla including Pepper Bridge Vineyard. Tom talked to us about how they mitigate winter hazards like freezing with smudge pots and large fans to move the cold air out of the vineyard. He also mentioned that most of the vineyards are planted in a north-south orientation and that the canopy is not trimmed symmetrically. They pull more canopy from the east side so that the grapes there get more exposure to the early morning sun and they leave more canopy on the west side to help protect the bunches there from the blazing hot afternoon sun.

We rejoined our companions for a comparative tasting of Rieslings from around the world. We were given 9 wines and had information about the first 3 that were from Washington. We then blind tasted the other 6 and had to try and determine where they came from knowing that there were 3 more Washington Rieslings among them. They were easy to pick out. With few exceptions I am not a fan of  Washington Riesling. They just don’t have the same precision that I find in good German, Austrian and even Australian Riesling. I got the Mosel and Australian versions but I thought that the other one was from Austria, but it was Alsatian.

After lunch we broke up into different groups and headed out to a bunch of the local wineries. I got to spend time with Greg Harrington at Gramercy Cellars. Greg was the youngest American to pass the Master Sommelier exam at the age of 26 and then spent time as a sommelier and wine program director for Wolfgang Puck, Emeril Legasse and Joyce Goldstein before turning to his true passion, making wine. He has a fairly minimalistic approach and doesn’t like to mess around too much with the wines. He uses more stems in his syrahs than many of the winemakers I talked to and the rich texture and mouthfeel that he achieves is at least in part due to this. 

We were supposed to “experience” punch downs, but we had all “been there, done that” so we opted to taste some of the current ferments tha twere percolating in open-top fermentors. It was interesting to taste such primary wine that still had a little residual sugar. It was hard for me to tell where the wines would end up after completing fermentation.

After a quick shower at the Marcus Whitman we were taken to a Walla Walla regional tasting at L’Ecole No. 41 where 22 wineries poured their best wines for us including: Abeja, Beresan Estate Vineyard, Bergevin Lane, Buty, Cougar Crest, Dunham Cellars, Gramercy Cellars, L’Ecole No. 41, Long Shadows Vintners, Nicholas Cole Cellars, Northstar, Pepper Bridge Winery, Reininger Winery, Seven Hills Winery, Sleight of Hand Cellars, Spring Valley Vineyards, Tamarack Cellars, Walla Walla Vintners, Waterbrook Winery, Waters/Wines of Substance and Woodward Canyon. Too many good wines to write up but I will include some of my favorites. 

2007 Abeja Chardonnay

This Chardonnay has a lovely texture wrapped around tropical flavors of pineapple and star fruit along with spiced pear. Beautifully balanced where the oak is an ingredient, not the dominant character. Long finish. 

2006 Abeja Cabernet Sauvignon

Deep red-ruby. Another wonderfully textured example with a core of raspberry, redcurrant, tobacco and licorice. Broad and sweet, with pliant, harmonious flavors of plum, raspberry, currant, leather and mocha. The long finish has ripe mouth-coating tannins that are very smooth. 

2006 Bergevin Lane Cabernet Sauvignon

76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot,5% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Petit Verdot aged for 20 months in 60% new French, American, and Eastern European oak. This one is wine ink – very deep purple color with a bouquet of graphite, black cherry, blackberry, and violets. Darkfruits, licorice and chocolate on the palate with supple tannins make for a complete package. 

2006 Cougar Crest Cabernet Franc

To be honest I prefer Loire Valley Cab Franc. But for those of you out there that like big, beefy styled CF this is the one for you. Bold red currant and red berry flavors on a polished frame of supple tannins. Very long finish. 

2006 Dunham Cellars Trutina

49% Cabernet Sauvignon, 48% Merlot,and 3% Syrah. No lack of oak in this one but it is well integrated with the lush black cherry, blackberry and licorice flavors. Great depth of fruit and fine-grained tannins that linger on and on. Good Value. 

2005 Dunham Cellars Syrah

Dense purple color with aromas of smoked meats, violets, and fresh cracked black pepper. A very supple texture with ripe blackberry, currant and boysenberry flavors on a sleek frame of fine tannins. 

2006 Gramercy Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon

Medium-dark ruby red color. Lovely bouquet of black cherry, blackberry, and sweet pipe tobacco. Excellent balance of fruit, acid and oak with mouth-coating fine-grained tannins that firm up the long finish. 

2007 Gramercy Cellars Syrah Walla Walla

This reminds me of Syrah from the Rhône Valley. Purple hued with aromas of bacon, black olives, underbrush and dark berries. On the palate there are rich layers of dark berries, black pepper and tapenade framed by smooth tannins. 

2007 Gramercy Cellars Syrah John Lewis

He used 100% stems in this version and the texture was incredible. Dense, concentrated dark fruit flavors accented by smoked meats and sage are wrapped up by the mouth-coating tannins that provide an incredibly long finish. 

2007 Gramercy Cellars “Inigo Montoya” Tempranillo, Walla Walla

"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.” In Rioja new American oak is commonly used for their Tempranillo. Here winemaker Greg Harrington used 1 year old barrels to let the fruit shine through and the result is stunning. Earthy, spicy aromas waft out of the glass and the palate reveals layers of dark fruits, smoke and a lengthy finish. 

2006 L’Ecole No. 41 Apogee, Pepper Bridge Vineyard

46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot, 8% Malbec, and 4% Cabernet Franc. Dense crimson color with aromas of black currant, graphite, and blackberry that are echoed on the palate along with some plum and black cherry notes. Very supple texture and a long finish. 

2006 Sequel Syrah (Long Shadows Vintners)

I’ve been a fan of this wine since its first vintage and this might be the best yet. 96% Syrah and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon aged for 18 months in 65% new French oak. Aromas of bacon, black pepper, blackberry and violets give way to a palate of concentrated layers of dark fruits, spice, smoke and fine-grained tannins with a long, long finish. 

2006 Pedestal Merlot (Long Shadows Vintners)

Move over Sideways! This is a Merlot that everyone will love because of the rich layers of fruit and supple texture. 86% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Petit Verdot and 2% Malbec aged for 22 months in 85% new French oak. OK, so it’s not all Merlot! Dark fruits dominate the bouquet along with some graphite and spice box notes and on the palate this really delivers the goods with an exceptionally long, smooth finish. 

2006 Spring Valley Uriah

54% Merlot, 33% Cabernet Franc, and the balance Petit Verdot and Malbec. It spent 18 months in French oak. Currants, blackberries and espresso all wrapped up in smooth tannins and the finish goes on and on. 

2006 Waterbrook Melange

28% Cabernet Franc, 21% Syrah, 19% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Sangiovese, 14% Merlot, 1% Tempranillo. Aromas of cedar, spice and dark stone fruit marry with delicious flavors of dark chocolate and toasted oak. Balanced tannins and lingering fruit round out the finish. Good value. 

2006 Waterbrook Reserve Merlot

99% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Sauvignon aged in 39% new oak. It is dark ruby-colored with aromas of, cassis, and black cherry. Moderately structured on the palate, this medium-bodied effort has plenty of ripe, spicy fruit, good balance, and a medium long, fruit-filled finish.  

2006 Woodward Canyon Cabernet Sauvignon Artist Series

87% Cabernet Sauvignon and 13%Syrah (the first time Syrah has been used as a component in this wine). A deep purple color, with scents of violets, spice box, black currant, and a hint of blueberry. Densely packed flavors of black cherry and currant along with ripe mouth-coating tannins. 

After tasting through a lot of wines we walked next door to Woodward Canyon and were treated to a very nice dinner in their new “Reserve House”. This newly created space is for private, sit-down tastings of their current and limited reserve wines. It’s a gorgeous facility and we had a great time mingling with the winemakers while we continued to enjoy their wines with food. 

The buses whisked us back to the Marcus Whitman in Walla Walla and at about 10:30pm there was “Beer Hall”: coolers packed with ice cold micro brews were brought into the foyer of the hotel and we had a chance to get to know one another a little better. You can’t imagine how good a cold beer can taste after slurping and spitting wine all day!

Reed’s Ginger Brews

I should preface this review with the statement that I am not a soda drinker. Water and wine make up 99% of my beverage menu, although there was a time when I did drink Canada Dry Ginger Ale on a regular basis. So when my long-time friend Jim Linesch asked me to evaluate the Reed products like I would a typical wine I thought “what the heck, I do have a reference for my evaluation, so here we go!”

The packaging is very nice, 4-packs of clear lime-green bottles with a tropical island look to the label, presumably representing the Jamaican heritage of the Original Ginger Brew. I like the twist-off caps that are color-coded to distinguish the three different ginger brews.

Looking at the back label for the ingredients list provides some insight into the intent at Reed’s:  “Freshly brewed from: sparkling filtered water (sweetened by a blend of fructose, pineapple juice from concentrate and honey, fresh ginger root, lemon and lime juices from concentrate and spices. No preservatives or artificial anything!” At 37.4 g of sugar per 12 oz. bottle it comes in a little lower than your average soda (Coke is 39 g), but that’s still a lot of sugar. All of the Ginger Brews are 25% fruit juice.

First up: Reed’s Original Ginger Brew – The first sip was sweet to be sure, but not overly so and the distinctive flavor of ginger kicked right in. Now I like ginger and I cook with fresh ginger on a regular basis so this had a familiar spiciness to it and after my palate adjusted to the sweetness I liked this drink. The yin & yang of the sweetness vs. the ginger bite reminds me of a good German Riesling where residual sugar plays against bright natural acidity to provide harmony and balance.

I thought I observed some sediment kicked up from the bottom of the bottle when I first opened it so I poured some into a glass and sure enough there is some particulate material. This is a good thing in my opinion and reflects the desire to have a naturally brewed product in the bottle, not some pristine filter-out-all-the-good-stuff beverage, much akin to unfiltered wines. If I were rating this on a 100 point scale I would give it 88 Pts.

Next up: Reed’s Premium Ginger Brew – This is basically the same as the Original but is sweetened with Canadian white water clover honey, raw cane sugar and pineapple juice from concentrate (no fructose). The sweetness here is mellower and seems less pronounced and the honey component is easily identified here. Rating: 89 Pts.

Reed’s Extra Ginger Brew – This brew has 25 grams of fresh ginger compared to 17 grams for the Original & Premium labels and this is evident on the first sip. I like spicy foods and this is definitely more my style. The ginger bite is more prominent and for my palate brings more balance to the overall impression. Rating: 91 Pts.

Overall I liked these drinks and they would be a good foil for spicy barbeque, Thai and other similar fare where a little sweetness helps to balance the fire from capsaicin (chiles). As I said at the beginning I am not a soda drinker and for me these are too sweet for everyday drinking but the ginger element really is a nice departure from purely sweet soda pop.  If you see these, give them a try. I mentioned that I previously drank Canada Dry Ginger Ale and I wanted a fresh perspective on that beverage so I bought one and there is no comparison to the Reed’s products. Even though there is slightly less sugar (33 g vs 37.4 g) it tasted very sweet and had no balance to the sweet component like in the Reed’s Extra Ginger.

The 2007 vintage of Willamette Valley Pinot Noirs is a minefield - some good, some very good, not many great, and lots of mediocre wines. << MORE >>

I wish I had had more time to allow this to really open up. Needless to say I didn’t spit!<< MORE >>

The Spring season of wine tasting events has begun and I had the good fortune of attending two really great ones this week. Monday was Taste Walla Walla<< MORE >>

OK, time for a short rant about some of the things I see when we're out tasting wine or when I'm pouring wine at Wine Xing. Most of this is common sense and none of it is life-threatening, but I swear I want to threaten the lives of some people!

First and foremost: wine tasting is a sensory activity that involves all of the senses but most of the action takes place within the olfactory system (your sense of smell). Yes that's right 70% of tasting is smelling. You smell the wine directly by sniffing from the glass and when you swallow the wine the flavors that you detect are sensed by the same receptors via your retronasal passage (the part of your sinuses that connect your nose and throat). You really only taste 5 things directly in your mouth: sweet (sugar), sour (acid), bitter (tannin and to some extent alcohol), salty (not usually associated with wine) and umami (savory, like mushrooms). All of the other interesting flavors are detected by your sense of smell.

The bottom line: don't wear perfume, oils, or cologne. I know you want to smell nice on your wine excursion but strong perfume affects other people who are tasting and nobody will be able to detect that slight whiff of cinnamon in the Pinot Noir that the tasting notes mention when all they can smell is your cologne.

Sometimes the tasting area can get crowded. The biggest problem is when people make their way to the bar and hold the bar hostage. Be polite. Get your taste of wine, ask a pertinent question or two and then move away from the bar to let others gain access. This happens more at the trade tastings that we attend and I have to be rude sometimes just to get to the spit bucket. If you really must ask 50 questions about each wine, schedule a private tasting and go for it, but when there are lots of other people trying to taste the wine move away from the bar while you assess the wine and move back in when you want another sample.

Use the spit bucket. If you are driving you want to make sure that you keep your intake to a minimum. Taste and spit. If you're not comfortable spitting directly into the bucket ask for another glass that you can use to transfer your taste to the bucket (just remember which one is which!). Dump the unused portion of your taste into the bucket, nobody will be offended. If you don't like a wine, you don't need to announce to the whole room your displeasure, just dump it out. Rinse your glass with fresh water when you move from whites to reds or from reds to sweet wines, but don't rinse between every taste. The water will have a greater impact on the next wine more than the previous wine will in most instances.

Use your Inside Voice at all times. We're all guilty of it, me most assuredly. We get a little alcohol in us and the volume goes through the roof. I see this at Wine Xing every week. People come in get a taste or two, pretty soon there are 3 or 4 conversations going in the room and if this was a venue without alcohol I would still be able to talk to someone in front of me without raising my voice. Mix in a little vino though and I need to shout at people standing 3 feet away!

The food at the tasting table isn't your lunch, it's to help you clear your palate or give you an idea of how a wine goes with food. Don't abuse it.

Don't roll into the tasting room five minutes before they close-- that's not enough time to taste anything.