Wash Winer

Natural disaster

Sarah P — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 17:55:11 +0000

Natural disaster is hitting at least two wine-growing regions right now. In Iowa, Wine Spectator is reporting, floods threaten vineyards. In California, wildfires are threatening vineyards in Napa Valley.

On a lighter note, check out this article about NASCAR and wine. A love affair?

I’m no sommelier

Sarah P — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 12:35:31 +0000

I like wine! I like wine that tastes good, not like alcoholic grape juice or like vinegar - but I’m no sommelier.

My time in the San Francisco Bay Area, not far from wine country, gave me an appreciation for the wine biz. My posts will include wine business news, new wine-related gadgets and products, and an occasional this-is-amazing-you-should-try-it wine review.

Now, I live in my birth state of Maryland, home to a growing wine industry. I’ll be sure to include lots of information about our state’s wineries (and the yummy bottles they produce).

The other night, I went to my favorite wine shop and asked the very nice woman behind the counter for a recommendation. I had brie and baguette in the car, I told her, and I’d like a nice red wine in the $20-$25 range to drink with my husband that night.

She pointed me to several wines, and she asked if I had an hour to let the wine open up. Bedtime for the kids would be at least that long, I thought.

She recommended a 2005 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon by Educated Guess. About an hour and 15 minutes after opening it, my husband and I finally curled up for wine, cheese and a movie.

We were impressed with the depth of this $20 bottle. The Roots Run Deep winery really impressed us with its first release, flagship cab. We’ll be going back for more, for sure. The philosophy behind this bottle really seemed to capture who I am in the wine store. (My husband is a tad more knowledgeable about wine.)

As much as I love wine, I love learning about the people and process and business behind the wines I love. I hope you will enjoy going on this adventure with me.

To your health!

Sarah

Marietta Cellars Angeli Cuvee

yurodivuie — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 08:55:45 +0000

Sometimes, I splurge. Yes, even the Wash Winer himself cannot resist the occasional wine impulse buy. I think to myself, “Me, there isn’t that much difference in price between a twenty dollar bottle and a twenty-five dollar bottle. And this twenty-five dollar wine is actually quite wretched when compared to the thirty dollar bottle I just tasted.” Such happened to me a couple of weeks ago at a tasting at Jack’s Cellars (formerly Vesta). And thus I am currently writing about a thirty dollar bottle of Angeli Cuvee.

But this is the article that almost wasn’t written! Wine changes as it is exposed to air, and frequently the first tasting of a complex wine is too confused and jumbled; the tannin and alcohol tearing through the delicate earthy and fruit notes to scourge the unprepared tongue. So I no longer even consider writing about a wine on the first night I drink it (I generally have enough left for three more nights). The second night, however, was even worse! Suddenly the brash insolence of the first tasting (like stepping off the plane in a foreign country) had dissolved into a syrupy sweetness that was cloying and frankly unpalatable. I can already tell what you’re thinking: is this a warning (abandon hope!) or a recommendation? Well, four days after opening the bottle, I despaired of finding it either worse than previous tastings, dissolving into a messy saccharine drip, or (as had happened with my previous bottle after merely three days, even with the air assiduously pumped out) hopelessly oxidized. Such was not the case; at last I was once again tasting the Cuvee i had decided to squander thirty weak american dollars on.

Why was it still, or rather finally, tasty? 15.7% alcohol, most likely, or the high sugar content. Both of these act as natural preservatives for wine. The wine (primarily Zinfandel, blended with Petite Sirah and Carignane [no, I’ve never heard of it either]) has thus a hint of oxidation, which accentuates the soft tannic thread that tightens the mouth into a serious purse. The smell reminds me of milk chocolate, while the taste itself has a faint reminder of raspberries and cherries. But oh, why did I buy it? Words fail to describe how smoothly it rolls across the tongue, with an arrestingly full bodied texture. Seductive enough for you to pay 30 dollars? Perhaps… for one night out of three.

Walnut City Pinot Noir

yurodivuie — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 02:29:04 +0000

I don’t know much about wine varietals. Whereas, for the cognoscenti, each variety of wine, from malbec to cabernet to pinot, has it’s own distinct character, as easily recognizable as the characters of our closest friends, to me they are more like distant cousins, many of which I have never met, although I can vaguely recognize a few of them from a police lineup (though fortunately have not yet had to). To me, the pinot noir gives me a slight recollection of the flavor of a muscadine I had once when I was 18 years old, living in South Carolina, and working in a tiny cubicle on programs that were so poorly written that the project manager could never bring himself to use them. And that’s why I like them.

I’m drinking the Walnut City Wineworks Pinot Noir from 2006. Allegedly the Willamette Valley in Oregon is some sort of garden of Eden for the Pinot Noir varietal (pre-fall), but I’ll reserve judgment until I’ve had a few more. At $20 it feels a bit over priced to me, but does have that wistful muscadine flavor I crave; low in tannin, easily sippable, low acid, with about a medium sugar content (to my admittedly plebeian palette). The scent is “grapey” (such a revelatory term), it has a medium body with a not unpleasant aftertaste, but not exactly “savorable”. Smooth, with faint mineral notes, it really isn’t especially complex.

I’m still looking, to be honest, for a pinot noir in this price range, but in the meantime, I have something I can serve to friends. Have you found better for 20 or less?

Welcome

yurodivuie — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 05:20:38 +0000

Hello and welcome to the WashWiner, a blog that (like its name) is economical, improvised, and a bit cheap. And it’s all about the wine. And as you can’t separate wine from it’s terroir, I can’t separate this blog, and it’s entries, from it’s roots here in Seattle, Washington. In particular, most of the wine you’ll hear about is wine that I’ve tried here in Seattle, usually from Vesta Wine Cellars. They have free tastings every Saturday from 1pm to 5pm: try them.

My first recommendation, to get started immediately, is the Caligiore Reserve Malbec from 2005. Since value is primary here, I’ll start by letting you know what you’re getting into: a bottle retails for anywhere between $13 (at Vesta, thankfully) to $22 at some unscrupulous online stores. I wonder how one can even send a bottle (wine or no) from Mendoza in Argentina to Washington for $13, but what’s more impressive is the quality that’s delivered. 88 points from wine enthusiast, which of course means that it’s slightly better than an 87 but not quite and 89, or something. It’s a dark red wine, completely organic, and 100% malbec grapes. If you’re unfamiliar with the malbec varietal, the lesser vintages have that garnacha sour black cherry cobbler taste (not entirely unpleasant, and well suited to a glass of sangria). This sour flavor is not even noticeable here. The taste is soft, clean, with berry and toffee notes all exceptionally well rounded. It’s the best value proposition I’ve tasted all year, a good buy.

Incidentally, I’ve no confidence whatsoever in food pairing advice, since I never take a single glass of wine and drink it with dozens of dishes sequentially, and I won’t pretend to imagine what any combination might produce. Drink it in good health. Salut!