McCrea Cellars produces the best -- or, at least, my favorite -- rhone-style varietals in Washington state. The McCrea Syrahs (5 bottlings to choose from), Mourvedre, Counoise and Sirocco (a blend of the foregoing varietals plus Grenache ... which I have not yet seen bottled separately) are all big, thick, chewy, red wines, nearly constituting meals in themselves. The only white I've had so far is the Viognier, which was so rich that it overpowered the grilled King Salmon that I paired it with (and so this probably would have been better off as a meal in itself). They are offering a new rhone-style rose -- either based on Mourvedre or Grenache (I've heard/read conflicting reports) -- and I hope to try that soon at one of the local upcoming events.
Fine Wines, in Redmond, will be offering a selection of McCrea wines for tasting during their weekly Friday tasting event at the store on March 25 from 4:00-7:00pm. There will be an Inn at Langley and McCrea Cellars Winemaker Dinner the following Thursday, March 31, at 6:00pm at the World Trade Center Seattle, for $80 per person, including the Rousanne, Rose, Ciel du Cheval Syrah, Mourvedre and Late Harvest Viognier from McCrea. There is another McCrea wine tasting event at Daniel's Broiler (Lake Union) on April 14 at 6:30pm. And, for anyone who will be in Tokyo next week, there is another McCrea winemaker dinner at Fujimamas, for 10,000 yen per person. I'll probably focus more on the local events, myself.
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