The lists of the Top 100 wines have started to appear — just in time for holiday buying. Wine Spectator released their Top 100 last week and now Wine Enthusiast has followed suit. Other lists are showing up, too, such as Paul Gregutt’s list of the 100 best Washington wines.  Fun and informative, these lists provide wine lovers with endless opportunities to discuss, debate and of course pull corks. Gotta love ‘em.

But you’ve gotta hate ‘em, too. Top 100 lists are a mixed blessing on the supply side of the market. Although they do promote wine and wine drinking generally, they necessarily privilege some wines over others and this is always problematic given the thousands and thousands of good wines that are produced each year. Why this wine and not that one? It’s an inevitable question that matters because wines on the list get more attention than the wines that don’t for some reason make the cut.

Dancing in the Streets

Top 100 lists slice up the market in many ways and this year my email inbox has revealed a North-South divide. Here in Washington State we are very happy with the 2009 Wine Spectator league table. Nine Washington wines made the list — more than any previous year — including the #1 spot, which went to the 2005 Columbia Crest Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon (95 points, $27 dollars). Two Oregon wines were also listed, so altogether this was a banner year for the Pacific Northwest.

While they are dancing in the streets in Woodinville and Walla Walla, the mood is more sober down south in Mendoza.  Two Argentinian wines appear on the WS100, which is welcome recognition of course, but that’s down from four last year. This is really Argentina’s year to shine in the U.S. wine market, with overall sales surging by more than 40% in dollar value according to Nielsen ScanTrack data. But only half as many WS100 wines! You can’t blame members of the Argentinian industry for kinda hoping to see their success more enthusiastically celebrated in the Top 100 lists. Hmmm. Maybe next year.

A Nobel Prize for Wine?

It seems to me that these top 100 wine lists are a little bit like the Nobel Peace Prize. Highly publicized awards like the Nobel and the Top 100  end up being both reflections of excellence and opportunities for the judges to send a message (political, economic or otherwise). There are many worthy nominees for each award so the final choice is always arbitrary — and the opportunity to send a message is irresistible. Or at least I wouldn’t be able to resist it.

There are obviously many factors that go into a Top 100 wine list and a wine’s objective quality  is just one of them. This is easy to see if you take numerical ratings seriously. The WS100 #1 wine this year earned a 95 score, for example, but the #2 wine received a higher score (96) and the #8 wine’s score was even higher (99). A 100-point wine was placed in the 21st spot last year. This is a numbers game but not just a numbers game.

Don’t Cry for Argentina

Wine Spectator uses four criteria in making their list: quality (the score), value (the price), availability (the volume) and excitement (the X-factor). The Columbia Crest wines (both the Reserve that won this year and their other wines) generally do very well on the first three factors year in and year out. The X-factor this year, I believe, was the recession and the desire to inspire some excitement among American buyers by giving them a #1 wine they could find and afford. That $27 Columbia Crest wine says that American wine drinkers can enjoy truly excellent wines at relatively affordable prices. Time to start pulling those corks! A good message to send in this economic climate.

What about Argentina? Well, I understand their situation. No problem with quality, volume or availability. But I think the market excitement is already there and doesn’t need any help from the wine lists at this point (as much as the Argentinian makers would love to have it). The U.S. industry (like President Obama?) could use some encouragement right now, which may be a good enough reason to draw attention to its outstanding, good value wines like the Columbia Crest Reserve.

Note: Congratulations to Juan Manuel Muñoz Oca, the 34-year old Argentinian winemaker who made the #1 Columbia Crest Washington State wine. What a great North-South connection!

Will’s Choice:    I’m gonna hands down say that the Chateau Ste Michelle Winery is the crappiest excuse for a winery I’ve ever experienced.  Everything is weak and unsatisfying.  Imagine taking a descent drink then adding more water and temperature conditions to all their drinks.  To make matters worse, literally across the way is the worst brewery I’ve ever experienced…the Red Hook Brewery (which at one time was descent before Budweiser got a hold of it.)

But despite all odds…CSM created a killer Riesling for the whopping total of $6 per bottle.  Excellently balanced, brilliant for food & cheese pairing.   Crisp, light, zesty and downright a tasty bargain.

Will Moore from VERITAS - "Try pairing with a Stilton Cheese. Totally flushes out the flavor!"

Your suggestions: I’d love to hear about wines, beers & assorted treasures you might have found on your travels.  Don’t be shy to share them with me. My only condition is only suggest “affordable” wines.       Email Will at will@veritaslovesme.com

There were 12 NW wines included in this years Wine Spectators Top 100!  And one of Washington’s very own came in at numero uno!

#1

95  $27 Columbia Crest!  Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley Reserve 2005

# 18

95 $60 Argyle! Extended Tirage Willamette Valley 1999

 #26

95 $65 Cayuse!   Syrah Walla Walla Valley Cailloux Vineyard 2006

#33

92 $25 Novelty Hill!  Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley 2006

#36
93 $29 Efeste!  Syrah Red Mountain Ceidleigh 2006

 #38

92 $28 Chateau Ste. Michelle! Cabernet Sauvignon Horse Heaven Hills Canoe Ridge Estate 2006

 #60

93 $50 Spring Valley!  Uriah Walla Walla Valley 2006

#66

90 $8 Barnard Griffin!  Riesling Columbia Valley 2008

#72

91 $20 The Magnificent Wine Company!  Syrah Columbia Valley 2006

#74

 Top 100 2009 Wine  

This will be my last post until I return from Ohio following Thanksgiving (either 11/30 or 12/1). I hope you enjoy!
 
This past week I ran a column in the Nashua Telegraph (Thanksgiving recommendations from the experts) that paired terrific Thanksgiving inspired recipes with their perfect wine pairings. The contributions came from a panel of truly creative and talented chefs, restaurant owners, a sommelier and even a trailblazing winemaker.

The Reds (pictured above)

- 2007 Chateau Pesquie Terrasses, Rhone Blend, Cotes du Ventoux, France – $10.99 (reg. $12.99)

- 2008 Chalone, Pinot Noir, Monterey, California – $12.99 (reg. $15.99)

- 2005 Castano Solanera, Mourvèdre and Cabernet Sauvignon, Yecla, Spain – $13.99

- 2004 Antinori Villa Toscana, Cabernet Blend, Tuscany, Italy – $21.99

- 2008 Seghesio, Zinfandel, Sonoma, California – $22.99**

- 2007 Benton Lane, Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon – $25.99

- 2007 Domaine Drouhin, Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon – $43.99**

I know that it is cliche to say “life is too short to drink bad wine”, but it is true. There are a tremendous amount of wines out there that are crafted by winemakers whose sole intention is to share their artistry with you. The wines above are a good introduction to food-friendly wines that are crafted with love. This Thanksgiving I ask you to invite them into your homes to help enhance your memorable Thanksgiving dinners!

** indicates my top 2 picks per category

David Rosenthal at Chateau Ste Michelle

I  teach a class called “The Idea of Wine” at the University of Puget Sound. It isn’t your typical wine class. It’s an examination of wine in the context of geography, history, science, business, politics, culture and globalization and how these various forces create different and sometimes conflicting “ideas of wine.”

I guess it is really about my idea of wine – that wine is a liberal art and a fascinating social mirror. The fact that it tastes so good is a wonderful bonus.

Wine isn’t usually included in the liberal arts curriculum, reflecting  America’s prejudice against anything that contains alcohol. But there is historical precedent. Symposium, in the original Greek useage, was a discussion over wine! Wine, as I think about it anyway, is certainly in the liberal arts tradition.

Chateau Warehouse sur Industrial Park

Part of my course involves fieldwork. In 2008 I took  the class to experience two ideas of wine that they wouldn’t get on a typical winery visit. Ken Avedisian at Cordon Selections wine distributors gave us a tour of his warehouse and explained how the distribution business works. We learned how Ken successfully balances his deep love for wine with the need to make a living selling it. Most of all, I think, we came away with an understanding that wine business is really a people business and that Ken is successful because he never forgets this fact.

Then we visited owner/winemaker Tim Narby at Nota Bene Cellars, where he makes spectacularly good red wines in an anonymous South Seattle industrial park. No fancy chateau here, just focused winemaking using exceptional fruit. We were fortunate to be there during crush, so my students got a clear sense of how wine develops by tasting at many stages from fresh juice to fermentation bin to barrel to finished product. The field trip popped some romantic visions of wine by revealing the reality of how it is made and marketed.

The Big and the Small of It

This year we headed to Woodinville, Washington, which is home to four or five dozen wineries that range from tiny family operations to the large and magnificent Chateau Ste. Michelle. The fruit comes from Eastern Washington, but the wines themselves are made and sold here, close to the market in a classic “cluster” of inter-related businesses. Our agenda was to compare and contrast big and small winemakers to see what we could learn from the experience.

We started the day at JM Cellars, a family winery that has in just a few years  expanded from a couple of barrels to 5000 case annual production. The setting is so spectacular – perched an a hillside next to a wetlands – that Wine Advocate praises the view almost as much as the wine.

Owner/winemaker John Bigelow took us through both the cozy winery and the hands-on production process (it was crush time once again) and I think everyone learned a lot about the art, craft and science of winemaking. It was easy to see that John enjoyed the opportunity to talk with a group that really wanted to learn about wine, not just swirl, sip, spit and move on. It was a great experience.

After an alcohol-free lunch at the Red Hook Brewery pub (I think this made some of my beer-loving students want to cry!) we headed to Chateau Ste. Michelle, which is Washington’s largest wine producer by a big margin. CSM and its sister wineries like Columbia Crest produce about three-quarters of all Washington wines. The beautiful Woodinville chateau-style facility makes nearly 2 million cases of white wine each year. The reds are made in Eastern Washington.

Enologist David Rosenthal took time out from the rush of crush to show us how a big winery works. Tanker trucks were arriving every few hours from the Eastern Washington vineyards full of fresh Riesling juice. We were able to taste the fresh juice and at several stages of the fermentation produces, with David drawing wine from the giant stainless steel fermentation tanks. Quite a difference in scale compared to JM!

The Little Winery Inside the Big One

One of the most interesting parts of the visit, for me at least, was to learn the extent to which CSM’s winemakers keep the lots of wine separate through fermentation and aging and, in the case of Chardonnay, make a point of experimenting with many different oak treatments. Instead of just making one big volume wine they actually make dozens and dozens of smaller lots, which can then be assembled in different ways that both reflect different geographic and geologic terroirs, different market ideas of wine (price points and so on, since CSM is in the wine business) and different aesthetic concepts of wine as well.

I’m impressed with CSM’s commitment to keeping wine small while making it big – I don’t know if there are many other wineries that pull off this trick quite so well. Maybe this is why Ted Baseler, CSM’s CEO, was recently name Wine Enthusiast’s Man of the Year. The citation reads

Ted Baseler is President/CEO of Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, the most prominent wine company in Washington State. Under his leadership, it has evolved into a high performance organization known for its top quality, world-class wines; for its strategic partnerships with leading wine producers in Italy and Germany; and for collaborating with fellow members of Washington’s wine industry to help raise the region’s profile, worldwide. For his vision, leadership, brand-building, team-building, and region-building accomplishments, Ted Baseler is Wine Enthusiast’s Man of the Year.

Sounds like Chateau Ste Michelle thinks big and global while acting small and local. Sounds like a contradiction, but it is an appealing idea of wine.

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Special thanks to Ken, Tim, John and David (and to Marci Clevenger at JM Cellars) for making time in their busy schedules for my students and several parents who came along on the trip. Thanks, as well, to the anonymous donor who established the Robert G. Albertson Professorship at the University of Puget Sound, which makes my class and this educational fieldwork possible.

Please take this review with a grain of salt as this is the first drink I am having after my head cold.  That being said, this was a very nice  wine that opened with a strong aroma and continued with a striking dark fruit flavor.  The best part about this wine was that it paired perfectly with some aged gouda and hearty crackers.   This 2006 Chateau Ste Michelle Cabernet was bursting with flavor and spice.  I haven’t had many washington wines in the past and was pleasantly  surprised with the strong flavors and quality along with the cheap price point at around $15 dollars a bottle.  I look forward to heading up north and checking out some Washington wineries in the future.

3 stars

You know it’s been a long week when you almost pour your wine on your salad and your dressing in your wine glass. I’ve been insanely busy as of late, so there has been little creativity in my kitchen. But I got distracted last weekend and bookmarked a ton of new recipes to try while trying to figure out what to make for dinner. One of them is the one I made tonight, a Grilled Chicken Salad with Cherries.

The other day when I was in the supermarket, I noticed the heated stand near the self checkout. It’s always been there, but I always seem to just pass by it without really comprehending it. It’s where they put the ready cooked rotisserie chickens (wow, spelled “rotisserie” right on the first try – gold star for me!). So I was trying to think of what I could use one of them for, since, while I like chicken, I don’t like cooking it, because raw chicken is slimy and gross. This salad sounded like a perfect candidate. However, I ended up not going that route because I wasn’t sure what I’d do with the dark meat that I assumed would exist, what with it being a whole chicken and all. I thought about using pork chops, but the store was woefully understocked, so I went back to the chicken idea. Due to my own laziness, I bought the pre-cut “great for stir-fry” package, which, come to think of it, is also rather great for salads – it cooks up quickly, and you can pretty much use it as is without all the chopping or cutting or whatever.

The other issue was the cherries. Fresh sweet cherries are wonderful, amazing things. I’d never really thought about cooking with them before – I never really think about putting them with anything. I could easily just sit and eat a bowlful of them cold (and when they’re in season, I often do). This looked like a reasonably low-risk dish to start with, but cherries aren’t in season now, so I used frozen ones. On the upside, they defrost pretty quickly, and you don’t have to take the pits out. (Though do be careful with the frozen ones – the machines don’t always get all the pits out. I found one pit, but the rest were fine.) The downside is that, like most frozen fruit, they get a little squishy if you let them defrost too much. I ended up slicing a few, but I left most of them whole – they were hard to slice, but they were fine.

The recipe calls for “gourmet salad greens,” so when I was at Whole Foods yesterday to get the frozen cherries, I picked up some Olivia’s Organics 50/50 mix (baby greens and baby spinach). The photo with the recipe actually looks more like an herb salad mix, but the 50/50 mix was the best-looking variety at the time. Unfortunately, when I opened it tonight, half of it was bad. (It seemed to be mainly the reddish leaves – not sure what they are.) So I ended up putting the cherries and chicken on a bed of mostly spinach. I also don’t measure my greens when I make salads, I just put what looks like a good amount for the meal. I think I ended up with roughly 2 cups of baby spinach, which worked out quite well.

As I was plating the salad, I had the idea to add some goat cheese to the mix. Goat cheese goes well with fruit over baby greens, and I had some in the fridge. I wanted to add some pear slices to it also, but the ones I bought yesterday aren’t ripe enough to eat yet. (Pears are tricky to get right. Too firm/green and they don’t taste right; too yellow, and they’re mushy and mealy. You really have to be on top of the pears, figuratively speaking.)

The dressing had a bit of a kick to it. I’m suspecting the Dijon mustard, but I was probably a bit liberal with the black pepper and/or the shallots, too, so I can’t be certain. I liked the dressing, but it’s got a… not sour taste, exactly – maybe “savory” is the word I’m looking for. In either event, to my brain, it’s the diametric opposite of the cherries’ taste, which was quite sweet. It worked, but it sort of clashed a little. It’s hard to explain. Don’t get me wrong, it was a good dinner, and I’m sure it’ll go more quickly next time (I think the key is to already have minced shallots for something else ahead of time), but I almost feel like the dressing would be better on the salad without the cherries. I’m not sure what I would substitute in – maybe just pears? They’re sweet as well, though, so I don’t know if that would do it. It bears further experimentation, but the dressing itself is good, and the salad was a good meal. I had it with a glass of my current favorite wine, the Chateau Ste Michelle 2008 Columbia Valley Riesling I mentioned back in the Bacon Mac and Cheese post. (And yes, I did catch myself before I poured it on the salad.)

I also took pictures before I put the dressing on, so here’s the picture with the dressing.

I have been a longtime fan of Riesling. Many people turn their noses up at Riesling because they’ve never had a good one. Their concept of Riesling is that syrupy sweet concoction that, outside of a late harvest dessert wine, should never be drunk IMO.

While I’m on the topic, I always chuckle to myself when people say, Oh, I don’t drink white wine. Now, sometimes, people have a medical reason. But generally, they’re just trying to be wine snobs. My point of view on this is that if you like wine, you like all kinds of wine and you love to discover. I’m always much happier discovering new wineries and varietals I’ve never tasted than sticking with the same old same old.

This week’s New York Times Wines of the Times column focuses on Riesling, specifically American Riesling. Riesling is making a strong comeback in the U.S. though it may be premature to call it the new sauvignon blanc. Three of their top 10 wines were from Washington, which now has the largest Riesling acreage of any state in the U.S. One Oregon Riesling, Belle Pente’s 2005, made the top 10 at No. 7.  Here’s what they had to say about it:

The 2005 Belle Pente from the Willamette Valley was the only Oregon riesling in our top 10, at No. 7. It was also the oldest bottle in the tasting, and it already showed a touch of kerosene, a pleasant sign of age in a riesling, but one you might wait another 10 years to find in European rieslings, which age far more slowly. Not that it’s fading fast — the wine was quite enjoyable.

I’ve not tried it, but am familiar with Belle Pente and have always been a fan of their Pinot Noir, which we always found to be a great value.

The NYT’ gave their top spot to Chateau Ste. Michelle’s Eroica. It is made in partnership with Ernst Loosen, the well known German Riesling producer from the Mosel region. I have tried Eroica and it’s good though didn’t blow me away.

I’ve also been a big fan of Lemelson’s Rieseling. They make a small quantity every year from a vineyard near their Carlton winery. I’ve found it to be crisp, minerally and very lemony. It’s quite thirst quenching and sometimes reminds me of lemonade. I would also recommend Chehalem’s Riesling. Harry Nedry, the winemaker there, has long believed in the importance of Riesling and contends that if you can’t make a good Riesling, you may struggle with the rest of your wines.

My friend Lily and I have been friends practically our entire lives: we’ve known each other since the days of pigtails and fingerpaints. And as you would expect, I ate quite a few dinners at her house. I like her mom, so dinners were fun, but I remember the letdown of mac and cheese night. Now, I love mac and cheese. But for most of my life, that meant strictly Kraft mac and cheese (or “Kraft dinner,” as my Canadian buddy calls it). So when Lily’s mom would tell us it was mac and cheese night, I was always psyched to stay for dinner, and then ultimately was disappointed when we got to the table. (Apologies to Lily – please don’t tell your mom!)

Anyway, like I said, until recently, that’s how I thought of mac and cheese, and it’s made me very picky about it. Generally, if it’s not out of that blue box, I’ll pass. (The one exception to this is the lobster mac and cheese at Tremont 647, which is awesome.) So I was a little wary when I saw Cooking Light’s bacon mac and cheese recipe. How this thing is “light,” I have no idea – it’s roughly 400 calories per serving (1 serving = 1 cup). But I digress.

It’s an easy enough recipe, though I imagine it will go faster now that I’ve done it once. I cooked some Barilla Plus elbow pasta that I had leftover in my pantry, instead of the recommended strozzapreti or penne pasta. I’d like to think this made it a little healthier, if nothing else. I’ve never been able to persuade myself to eat whole wheat pasta for more than a mouthful, but the Barilla Plus seems to be a satisfactory in-between, at least in terms of taste. And since there was going to be cheese on it and all, I decided the slight taste variation wouldn’t be a big deal. (And it wasn’t.)

When that was done, I drained it and let it sit while preparing the sauce. Hint: the flour and milk will cook up and start to resemble thickened paper mache if you let yourself get distracted by, say, the ridiculous soapiness of One Tree Hill. (Rachel Gatina married Dan Scott? What now?!) So don’t do that. I managed to salvage the flour/milk mixture by mashing up the clumps and stirring in the remaining cup of milk (I halved the recipe) quicker than I probably should have. So it can be fixed if you make a mistake, but it’s probably better to just pay attention in the first place.

Though I halved the recipe, I used the original amount of bacon (2 strips). Even so, it still felt like there was very little bacon in the mix, and though I could smell it, I couldn’t really taste it. I’m debating whether that’s because I cut the bacon up into very small bits or simply because there needs to be more bacon involved. (More Bacon Than The Pan Can Handle, if you will.) I also substituted minced shallots for green onions, because I had shallots and not green onions. (I’m becoming a fan of shallots on the whole – I’ve never liked onions, and shallots seem to accomplish the same things, but taste better to me. I have not, however, gotten used to how quickly my eyes start stinging when I start chopping them.) I think I’ll leave them out next time, though, because I think it creates a smell that put me off, even though the dish tastes great. I haven’t really thought that part through yet, just pretty sure I’ll leave them out next time. Oh, and I left out the hot sauce, because, well, I don’t like it. So there.

The only other alteration I made was to use reduced fat cheddar. This was not my original intent. I tend to buy Cabot’s 50% light cheddar, because it’s a little healthier but without losing much of the cheddar flavor, but what I’ve learned is that it melts poorly. It sorta dries out and gets bubbly. I haven’t determined if that really alters the flavor much, but the texture can be off-putting. Shaw’s has Sargento cheese on sale this week, and since the recipe calls for “finely shredded cheddar” (which I figured would melt easier), I went for that. I knew I didn’t want to use the Cabot cheese, even though that’s what was in my fridge. I didn’t expect to find a reduced fat sharp cheddar, but lo and behold, there it was. So I figured I’d give it a shot. And on the whole, it’s not bad. I don’t know if I’d want to eat it straight, but for the purposes of the mac and cheese, it worked just fine.

I didn’t feel like firing up the oven, so I took the opportunity to see how the broiler setting on my ancient toaster oven would work. I’d only recently deciphered the cryptic icons on the toaster to determine that there was actually a broil setting, so I hadn’t tested it before. I’m not entirely sure why you’d have to use that instead of just baking the mac and cheese, but whatever. I also don’t own a broiler pan (that I know of), which was part of the appeal of using the toaster oven. I put the mac and cheese in a metal loaf pan, which just fits into the toaster, and worked great. Make sure you keep an eye on the mac and cheese while it’s in the toaster – if you don’t, the cheese may burn a bit. I’m not sure if that has to do with the fact that I was using a reduced fat cheese, or if I put it in the toaster for too long, or if my toaster oven is simply temperamental and inaccurate. Fortunately, there weren’t any major burn spots on mine, just a few browned bits, which were easily scraped off when eaten.

I served this with a simple grilled pork chop, which was a good choice. I considered mixing either edamame or corn into the mac and cheese, but didn’t on this round. I’ll definitely make this again, so maybe next time. (I’d been considering this originally, when I’d intended to make the mac and cheese as a stand alone dish, rather than as a side dish for the pork chop.) I had the pork chop and mac and cheese with a 2008 Chateau Ste Michelle Columbia Valley Riesling, which I’ve had at Legal Seafood before, and recently found in Ye Olde Sketchy Liquor Store nearby. I’m biased because I like the riesling anyway, but I thought it went well. I also tried it with a Sutter Home White Merlot, which wasn’t bad either, but I like that wine on its own as well, so my pairing suggestions are fairly simple – amateur at best. But I like them, and since it’s my dinner, that’s what counts.

Vinho: Chateau Ste. Michelle

Uva: Syrah

Impressão: o que eu posso falar desse vinho, além de que ele é uma agradabilíssima surpresa? Primeiro pela região produtora, que não me parece algo tradicional – vinho produzido na região de Washington. Segundo que ele é delicioso, um vinho perfumado, tanino agradável, excelente ao meu paladar. Amei. Comprarei novamente.

Kidding, Mom!

If you have out-of-town guests coming to Washington and they enjoy a relaxing afternoon of imbibing, take them to Woodinville, a 30-minute drive northeast of Seattle. There are close to 40 wineries out there, with many offering daily tours and tastings. (Seattle Metropolitan magazine has a great article on local wine country weekends that helps narrow down the options.)

When my family visited this past weekend, we did the winery-brewery combo package: first, we stopped at Chateau Ste Michelle for a 35-minute tour of its wine-bottling/fermenting plant. The grapes aren’t grown on this property – that happens farther east in the Columbia Valley – so the tour guide has to make do with maps and pictures. But she has a lovely French accent, so that helps. The tour ends with a tasting of three of their Columbia Valley wines and a quick lesson on sniffing and swirling. As long as your brother doesn’t shout that he smells hints of Cream of Wheat, then drain his glass and ask for another, you can pretend to be sommeliers for the afternoon. Or, you too can chug your vino. I won’t judge, and they won’t either.

Cost: Free. Tours run from 10.30am-4.30pm daily.
www.ste-michelle.com

After Chateau Ste Michelle, wander across the street to Redhook Brewery, which offers tours on the hour, Sat & Sun, noon-5pm, for $1. (Note: After Labor Day, tours are at 1, 3, and 5pm Sat & Sun, and 2 and 4pm Mon-Fri.) This dollar goes a long way. It gets you a souvenir tasting glass, a “tour” (you stay in one room and turn around a couple times), and five samples of beer. Those are the basics – but what does that really mean?

It means that you enter a room that smells a bit like college, manned by a tour guide who used to study opera and could double as a stand-up comedian. You hear about the history of Redhook – then try a beer! Look at the brewing tanks – now have a beer! Answer a trivia question right? Win a beer! It’s informative and entertaining, and by the end of it, you’ve had 2 pints of beer for the cost of a Snickers. I would have paid 20 times that just to hear my mom say “I love Washington!” again, giggle, then ask for another glass of the porter.

Cost: $1. www.redhook.com

For information on the other Woodinville wineries, go to www.woodinvillewinecountry.com.

There are a myriad of circumstances that can affect the taste of wine. A cat licking the outside of the bottle won’t be one of them, I hope.

See, our cat has this problem. “Hi. My name is Yoko. I’m an alcoholic.”

I’ve got this bottle sitting in front of me on my desk as a reference, as I do every Friday morning. And, like every Friday morning, I’m shooing the cat away. Any kind of bottle, glass, or receptacle containing or having recently contained juice, beer, wine or anything with an aroma similar to these things, must be watched carefully at our house. If you take your time drinking from your frosty mug, or leave your wine glass sitting on the coffee table while you go get some more of the husband’s famous guacamole, you’re going to have some competition. Whatever it is, just pick it up and take it with you. Unless you like the idea of sharing cooties with She-Who-Spit-Bathes-Herself-In-Public.

If I’m being totally honest here, I have caught this cat with her head inside my wine glass a time or two, and have seriously taken a few moments before deciding to dump it out. And there has been more than one time when I’ve come back from the kitchen, looked at my glass, looked at the cat, looked at the husband, asked “Did she?” Heard “Uh … I have no idea,” looked back at the glass, looked at the cat again, got a feeling in my gut that the cat appeared suspiciously satisfied with herself, and went ahead and drank the wine anyway, praying that the alcohol does the job of killing whatever diseases might be communicable from feline to human.

Let’s hope tonight’s glass is as good as last night’s, the cat love notwithstanding: This is a very good chardonnay, and a little more complex than the average. Slightly spicy with a hint of green apples. $10 is worth the price for a chardonnay that’s superior to the old reliable kind, such as one of those bottles that has, let’s say, a kangaroo on the label. Not that I would ever turn up my nose at an old reliable bottle of anything. I know Yoko wouldn’t.

On Saturday, we went to the KWJZ Music Festival at the Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery.  It was a WARM day but we sure did get to hear some great music and enjoy the time with our neighbors!  I found plenty of blue at the festival…

For more Blue Monday posts, head on over to Sally’s!

I spent a few days in the Seattle area this week and had the chance to make several wine-related stops while I was there.  (Thanks to Kori at Wine Peeps  for the recommendations.)   Since this was a quick trip, I was limited to the tasting rooms in the Seattle area, namely Woodinville.   Interestingly, the 2010 Wine Bloggers Conference may be held in Woodinville.

Woodinville is located just 45 minutes northeast of Seattle and is home to just over 40 wineries.  Most of the grapes for the wineries located in Woodinville are grown a few hours away in Eastern Washington near Yakima or Walla Walla. 

Most of the small, family-owned owned operations were closed on Monday so I opted for Washington’s first and largest winery, Chateau St. Michelle, for my first stop.  Chateau St. Michelle, produced over 6 million cases last year and is owned by multi-national conglomerate Altria (parent company of Philip Morris Tobacco).

The tasting room and grounds were beautiful (as expected) and could rival many of Napa’s most notable tasting rooms.   The tasting room bar extended through two rooms and could easily serve 75 tasters if fully utilized.   

I do respect the wine that Chateau St. Michelle produces, but I’ve never been a big fan of any of their wines that I’ve had, and this trip didn’t change that.

The tasting room staff was exceptionally friendly and inviting, similar to what you find at a much smaller operation.  I tasted seven wines during my visit, a few notables include:

My favorite of the tasting was the Ethos 2005 Syrah, made from the top 1% of all the grapes the winery grows.  The nose started with bell pepper, blackberry and cola that led to more cola and sour cherry flavors in the mouth.   Lengthy cherry crème finish.  $29.99/bottle.

Indian Wells 2006 Merlot

Very nice wine.   Interesting red fruit on the nose along with hints of coffee.  Very smooth mouth feel with flavors dark jammy fruits.    $17.99/bottle

Indian Wells 2006 Chardonnay

Blech.  Too much $/bottle.

Indian Wells 2006 Cabernet

A blend of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Syrah along with 1% Malbec.  Very fruit forward with a nose of sweet blueberries, prune, currant, and dust.  The blueberries were sweet like over ripe blueberries that you would find in the wild.   Mild tannins with flavors of earth, plum and more blueberries in the mouth.   $17.99/bottle

Eroica 2007 Riesling

The Eroica line is collaboration between Chateau Ste. Michelle and German winemaker Ernst Loosen.  This one is a 100% Riesling.  Perhaps the most complex wine that I tasted at the winery with notes of lemon, cheddar cheese and citrus on the nose.  Very smooth mouth feel with nice acidity.  Flavors of citrus along with a fuel component in the mouth.  This one would have been excellent with extra spicy szechwan shrimp.  $24.99/bottle

One of the consistent themes of the reds I tasted was lingering vanilla on the finish.  I would recommend a stop by Chateau Ste. Michelle if you find yourself in the Seattle area.

I look forward to returning to Seattle in August for two weeks, which will allow more time for exploring the wine scene.

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This is one of those posts that may fly in the face of wine etiquette, but being an average wine consumer…I just gotta ask it:

Is there any problem with drinking a Gewürtzraminer for dessert?

I’ve had smaller, quicker dinners the past couple of nights and haven’t thought to open this Chateau Ste. Michelle 2007 Gewürtztraminer (geh-VERTS-truh-meaner…although it’s actually quite nice!) I recently bought at Trader Joe’s for well under $10.

When I finally remembered I had the wine and tasted it, I found it to be just sweet enough that I poured myself a glass after the meal while winding down for the evening.

(Although not exactly the same, I found a quick review of their Dry Gewürtz at this cool site.)

Have I broken some punishable Law of Winedom by doing this?  It’s two nights in a row now so my sentence would be that much more severe, methinks.  Time to petition for a stay of execution?

Or am I just a wine rebel dancing to the beat of my own drum?

The global economic crisis has been bad news for Argentina, but good news so far for Argentinian wine. Will the wine part of the story have a happy ending or, like so many Argentinian economic booms, turn eventually to bust?

Bad News and Good

The Economist Intelligence Unit reports that Argentina’s economy has been hard hit by the economic crisis. The economic forecast is gloomy (see below) with the only good news being that inflation, while still high, is falling.

Given rapidly declining business and consumer confidence, the government’s fiscal stimulus measures will have a limited effect, and we expect the economy to contract by 3% in 2009, before only a mild recovery in 2010.

Unofficially measured inflation will ease to 10-15% in 2009, as private demand falls. The official rate will end 2009 at 6.8%, with a similar rate in 2010.

The peso will continue to depreciate in 2009 owing to weaker foreign-exchange inflows, before the pace of depreciation slows in 2010. The current-account position will weaken in 2009-10.

The Argentinian wine economy situation is sunnier.  The May 2009 issue of Wine Business Monthly includes two reports that paint a bright picture of Argentinian wine trends.

The first story is a competitive analysis of Argentina wine in the United States market.  It reports that U.S. imports of Argentinian wine have risen dramatically in recent years, from 2.6 million cases in 2006 to 4.3 million in 2008.  The total value of Argentinian wine in the U.S. rose from $75 million to $146 million in this period.

It is important to put this increase in perspective, however. Total Argentinian imports are roughly equal to the annual output of a single US winemaker, Washington State’s Chateau Ste. Michelle. So the Argentinian presence is rising, but from a modest base.

Molto Malbec

Unsurprisingly, Malbec is Argentina’s calling card in the U.S. market. Malbec’s share of Argentinian wine imports increased from 35% to 48% over 2006-2008 measured by volume and from 44% to 55% measured by dollar value. I was interested to learn that Argentina wine sales are rising at all price points, not just in the value brand segment as you might imagine.  But value is still important.  Argentinian wine prices are rising, but still relatively low.  The article reports that the average FOB price has increased from $29 to $33 per standard 9-liter case.

In the same issue the results of the Nielsen company wine market survey for the period ending 2/7/2009 are reported.  Argentinian table wine imports were up 40% by dollar value for most recent year.  This compares to a 10 percent increase for Chile, one percent for Italy and a one percent decline for Australia.  Overall growth in imported wines was 2.4 percent by dollar value for the most recent year.

The 40 % annual rise is spectacular, but  Argentinian wines account for just 1.4 percent of U.S. domestic wine volume compared with two percent for Chile, nine percent for Australia, almost 10 percent for Italy. This shows that Argentina either has a lot of room to grow in the U.S. market, as optimists will perceive, or a lot of work to do to escape niche player status.

American Exceptionalism

I think the Argentina producers were wise to focus on the U.S. wine market for their export surge.  Although the European Union is more important to Argentina in other major export sectors, the U.S. is the target wine market, and that’s a good thing in this economic environment.  EU wine consumption has long been in decline because of demographic and market shifts, for example, while wine sales have been rising in the U.S.

The recession is likely to depress wine sales growth in both the U.S. and the EU, but the impact will be less in the U.S., I believe, if only because I think the recession will be shorter here. My current thinking is that the U.S. economy will benefit from greater short term fiscal and monetary stimulus, compared with the EU, and more effective medium term structural adjustment.  That said, the recession is and will be very severe.

Early U.S. evidence suggests that wine sales have actually continued to rise during in the first year of the recession, when measured by case volume, although the dollar value of those sales has declined as consumers trade down.

Opportunities and Threats

Reading the latest articles on WineSur, a noteworthy Argentinian industry website,  it pretty clear that Argentina producers appreciate both the opportunities and threats inherent in the current situation.  The opportunities — to establish a market presence built around good value and the rising popularity of Malbec — are significant. But I think it must be hard for Argentinians to see silver linings without looking around for associated dark clouds — their country has suffered repeatedly from the global market booms and busts.

Some of the threats are strictly economic. Argentinian producers are currently benefiting from a falling peso value relative to the US dollar, for example, which helps their wine hit market-friendly price points in the US.  But the falling currency is in part a reflection of high domestic inflation rates, which ultimately lead to higher production costs. A lot will depend upon how the inflation (cost) and exchange rate (export price) factors balance out in the future.

Some of the threats relate more to the fickle nature of the wine market itself.  Malbec and Argentina are nearly synonymous today, but this could change as other wine regions adopt their signature varietal. A recent visit to the Walla Walla AVA, for example, found many producers experimenting (successfully, I think) with Malbec.  Argentina has the first mover advantage in Malbec and must capitalize on this because it will face more competition in the future.  This happened to New Zealand (Sauvignon Blanc) and Australia (Shiraz) and I do not think Argentina will be different.

In exploiting its Malbec lead Argentina will need to strike another difficult balance, between establishing a useful “house style” that will build market identity and letting this deteriorate into a stylistic “monoculture” that soon bores consumers.  It seems to me that Australian Shiraz is currently suffering from the “monoculture” curse, perhaps unfairly, while New Zealand still benefits from a popular “house style,” although I’m not sure how much longer it can ride the gooseberry wave, especially given the vast quantities of Sauvignon Blanc that need to be sold.

Argentina is at a crossroads at a critical moment and moving in the right direction.  Count me cautiously optimistic regarding the future of Argentinian wine.

Update: Just hours after I posted this piece about Argentina the following item appeared on the Decanter.com website.

Argentine wine harvest down 25%

May 1, 2009  / Jimmy Langman

Due to climatic conditions, this year’s wine harvest in Argentina will be down 25% as compared to last year.

According to Argentina’s National Wine Institute, hail in some provinces, and overall higher temperatures in February and March, are factors in the lower production output this year.

The lower production this year has occurred despite Argentina having a 12% increase in land under cultivation for wine grapes.

Guillermo Garcia, president of the National Wine Institute, said: ‘If there had not been an international crisis, we would not have been able to provide wine to countries with developed markets.’

Garcia added that Argentine wine companies need to begin keeping more than three months of stock on hand to make up for such production shortfalls.

Exequiel Barros of the Mendoza-based Caucasia Wine Thinking consultancy told decanter.com that many Argentine wineries are worried about their ability to supply medium-priced wines but added: ‘We need to see how the international outlook develops this year before we can dare to make any projections.’

In Chile, wine growing areas that are not irrigated, such as Cauquenes in the Maule Valley, are predicting a similarly low harvest, with an estimated drop in production from 30 to 40% because of higher temperatures and low rainfall.

Most wineries in Chile, however, are reporting a good harvest. ‘The lack of rain has been good for this year’s harvest. But wineries in the far south, such as in the Bio Bio, may experience changes to quality because of the higher temperatures,’ said Edmundo Bordeu, professor of oenology at Chile’s Catholic University.

There is something amazing and magical about listening to live music, on a warm Summer evening, outdoors, under the star light, under the moon, at a winery, in Woodinville.

St. Michelle just released their Summer concert calendar.    Gypsy Kings, Pink Martini, Elvis Costello & the Sugarcanes, Dianna Krall are just a few of the names coming out to Woodinville this Summer. 

Tickets go on sale April 25th! 

Click Here for Concert Calendar

What a great day and what a great group of wineries.  I’ve been wanting to take Vegas with me on a wine day for a while but wasn’t sure how many of the wineries would allow it.  I also wasn’t sure how Vegas would handle it, being the neurotic little hairball that he is. 

• Our first stop was St. Michelle and that was the only place not to allow dogs; we didn’t mind waiting outside because they have beautiful grounds to walk around.  We also ran into a woman with a 17 week old puppy that was adorable,  Vegas had a mini-meltdown initially but then was fine with her. 
• Chatter Creek was next.  They had a wine club release and some great wines to taste.  The Barbera was my favorite this time.  Vegas spent most of the day in my arms and at this first stop he spent most of that time shaking.  People were very nice and gentle when I told them about his puppy mill past, but you could tell that even with all the special attention, he was still scared to death. 
• We went to Gordon Brothers next and he was a little better.  There weren’t many people in there so I let him walk around and check things out for a while.  Had good wines here too; their Cab and Rose were my favorites. 
• Senoj was next and we were the only people there at first.  I let him sniff around for at least 2-3 pours and then people started to arrive so I picked him up again.  This time I noticed that he wasn’t shaking too much.  Before I knew it, there were a lot of people in the tasting room and most of them seemed to be surrounding us and wanting to pet him or ask questions about him.  I should also mention that this is a really fun tasting room, big projection TV, huge space and all kinds of seating.  Back to Vegas…he did very well with the mob of people; I was so proud.  I was also so happy to be there because they had a lot of nice wines, the blends were the ones I like best at this one. 
• Our next stop was Sparkman Cellars, always a favorite.  Dad and I drank and Vegas just kind of hung out on my arm and took it all in.  He let people pet him and didn’t seem to mind.  Loved the Ruby Leigh here and dad bought a Chardonnay – he never buys Chardonnay! 
• We went across the street (parking lot) to Darby next and stayed until a large group showed up – we were just about done anyway.  I liked everything I had here, and I bought another bottle of Chaos. 
• We went to Guardian Cellars next and I had him in my arms the whole time there.  I really like this place.  Jerry (owner/winemaker) and his girlfriend are so nice.  They welcomed everyone that came in and it kind of felt like being at a friend’s house for a wine party.  The tasting room is small but so well done, including black and white personal photos, a nice TV and the sofa where we parked for a while.  Again, Vegas wasn’t shaking.  He actually seemed to be getting the hang of it.  I even left him with dad when I went to pay and he was absolutely fine.  Favorites here were Chalk Line and Gun Metal. 
• Our last stop in the warehouse district was Alexandria Nicole.  We went to the initial tasting bar up front and they immediately gave me a dog biscuit for Vegas.  He thought that was top notch.  Then we went through the ’secret passage’ into the back tasting room – holy cow it was packed!!  My favorites here were the Cab and the Rock Star, no big surprise on either one.  We were able to squeeze into the bar but weren’t there long before all kinds of people wanted to pet Vegas.  I told them his story (which was starting to sound like a broken record at this point) and let them all pet him.  No more shaking and this was the biggest crowd so far.  He was either exhausted or had finally realized that nothing bad was going to happen.  Either way, he wasn’t a neurotic little dog anymore, at least for the moment.  He even let a little girl pet him and he kids always freak him out.  As dad and I were leaving, I bumped into a fellow wine blogger, Margot from Write for Wine and her dog, Jewel.  Such a nice surprise! 
• Our last stop of the day was Fine Wine and Cigars in Redmond.  Hightower was there for a tasting and to introduce their new dog, Riley.  Riley (a 1 year old yellow lab) and Vegas did not hit it off.  We kept them separated and enjoyed the great Hightower wines.  Their Cab and their Merlot were (and always are) fantastic.

I’m very happy with his first winery outing and I am committed to making sure that wasn’t his last one.  My hope is that he gets better and better and starts to really enjoy it.  I’d also like to take some really fun pictures of him in various tasting rooms, on barrells, next to a magnum, eating the cheese and crackers – whatever.  Now if only there was some way he could drive me and dad around, that would be ideal!!

Along with the wine theme of last weekend, I thought I would like to recommend this very cute film on American wine. It played Sundance last year and got pretty great reviews. It is a bit slow going in parts, but the 1970s vibe and beautiful California scenery make it worthwhile viewing. Plus, Alan Rickman is effing funny.

I am not a wine snob, and typically drink about a bottle a week of red in the fall and winter and white or rosé in the spring and summer. I like Spanish, French and South American wines, as well as wine from the northwest coast of the US. Here are two of my go-to, affordable American favorites…

14 hands Cabernet Sauvignon, which is about $11 at Whole Foods. http://www.14hands.com/wines.html

Chateau Ste. Michelle Gewurtztraminer, which runs about $12 at Central Market and HEB. http://www.ste-michelle.com/Sub_WhiteWine.cfm

Rating: 4

Marchese Piero Antinori represents the 26th generation of winemakers in the Antinori family of Tuscan winemakers. In 1992, he visited the Columbia Valley, and excited by what he saw, sought a partnership with the winemakers at Chateau Ste Michelle. Their shared goal was to make the finest Cabernet Sauvignon-based wine in Washington.

Well, I don’t know about the finest, but this is pretty damned good. On the nose, plums and coffee, with hints of butterscotch and beautiful background notes of orange. On the palate, the first word that comes to mind is “fresh.” There is a minty aspect that lifts the array of red fruit flavors. I got moderate acid and nice, big tannins that are still chalky and grippy for a 9-year-old. While this would probably be fine in another 9 years, there is no reason to wait.

Normally a $55 bottle, Cellar 46 currently has a ridiculous price on this: $31.50. For we cellarless masses, this is an extremely rare opportunity to taste 9-year-old Washington Cab that is just hitting its prime, at a fraction of the price of more recent vintages. We sold the last bottles in the store today, but we should be able to get one more allocation. If you’re interested in trying a bottle or two, let me know, through comments or e-mail.

Our session with the Baker/Boyd family was a blast! We meet with the families at Chateau Ste. Michelle in Woodinville. What a beautiful place for a family session!

Btms^ for January 6. On this date in… 

1412  –  Joan of Arc born.

How about a toast with a Chimay beer, made by Trappist monks?

Or if you prefer a wine toast, how about some wine from St. Emilion or Chateau Ste. Michelle or perhaps a nice bottle of Chateauneuf-du-Pape?

1981  –  Bruce Springsteen’s “Hungry Heart” released. 

We know ”Everybody has a hungry heart”, so what does your hungry heart desire? If it’s Chocolate, Liquor Barn quite simply has the largest and best array of fine chocolates to be found anywhere, and between Baltimore Jack, and Kingstown, for sure!

1854  –  Sherlock Holmes born.

A nod to the most famous denizen of Baker Street with a dram of the small batch bourbon, Baker, would do nicely!  Wine lovers could toast to their favorite amateur detective with a glass of Chianti; beer lovers could deduce that a “half and half” would add up to a perfect toast.  A mix of half porter or stout and half ale, “Black and tan” is a perfect example of this mix!

1878  –  Carl Sandburg born.

Of this remarkable Pulitzer prize winning poet’s works, one was named Chicago and another featured Abraham Lincoln. How about a toast to Mr. Sandburg with a Goose Island brew from Chicago, or a Knob Creek Bourbon, named for Lincoln’s birth place here in Kentucky! Or you could drop a shot glass full of Knob Creek into a mug full of Goose Island and have quite a nice Boilermaker!

Btms^

Deep purple in color. the nose gives off aromas of vanilla and black cherry. The black cherry holds on through the palate along with a smokey note. The finish is medium length with fine grained tannins. Very good but just short of outstanding.

Rating: 4

Note: this was tasted as part of Washington Wine Report’s virtual tasting for December.

Hugely expressive nose of blackberry jam and milk chocolate, along with alluring hints of banana and orange. Given the giant nose, I expected this to be a total fruit bomb, but it wasn’t. It was rich and fruit-forward, but I didn’t find it to be sweet or over-the-top at all. On the palate, great acid for a cab, along with moderate, chalky tannins. I got some red fruit flavors up front, fading to a finish of more chocolate and bananas. This was a generous, hedonistic, gem of a wine and is a ridiculous bargain at $13. I’m pretty sure it’s the best cab under $15 that I have tasted. Wow; I’m impressed.

This wine is from CSM’s Indian Wells Series, which sets out to provide “rich, luscious mouth-filling ‘best of region’ wines – jammy, fruit-driven reds and juicy, tropical whites.” While CSM does have an Indian Wells Vineyard, this wine is not made solely from that vineyard’s grapes but instead includes grapes from all over the Wahluke Slope. The composition is 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, with the rest filled out by Syrah to enhance the jam component.

I think I got the last bottle of ‘05 from the shelf at QFC. They had a lot of ‘06, and I don’t know if that will be as good. If you see any of the ‘05, snatch it up.