World Wine Weblog

Woodinville Warehouse Wineries 3rd Thursday Wine Walk

I've been hoping to attend one of the monthly Woodinville Warehouse Wineries District 3rd Thursday Wine Walk events since they started several months (years?) ago. The stars appear to be aligning, and I'm planning to go tomorrow. [update: I went today ... details below]

Although the event runs from 4-8pm, and there are only about 20 wineries, I probably won't get to all the participating wineries. Also, the $20 admission ticket includes only [1-ounce] 15 pours, further promoting a more focused exploration. So I assembled a list, searched for their web sites, and found most of their addresses and a list of the wines they produce. In case this information is useful to others, I figured I'd post the info here, along with specific wines I'm hoping to taste (in italics). If I do make it to the event, I'll update this post with some of the highlights. [Update - highlights now added.]

Having attended the event, I'll update the items below with specific impressions of some of the wines and wineries, but first I'll share a few general observations.

• I estimate the ratio of women to men to have been approximately 3:1.
• There were lots of dogs there (this month's theme was "Bottles and Dogs").
• Unlike some of the large-scale wine tasting events I've written about previously (e.g., the 2009 Zinfandel Festival and 2008 Zinfandel Festival at Fort Mason in San Francisco), I didn't find any new outstanding wines for low prices, i.e., having a high quality-price ratio (QPR). There were a few very good wines, but they were not inexpensive. Note that subtlety is often lost on me - in all dimensions of life - and so "good" to me, in the context of wine, typically means big, bold, viscous ("chewy") reds.
• Most of the participating wineries offer only a small selection of their wines - for a ticket - during the event, similar to Passport to Woodinville (a much larger-scale, and frankly, overwhelming, event I haven't attended in many years).
• My favorite winery / tasting room - in fact, the only one I'll probably go back to - was Bunnell Family Cellar. I include a more thorough review below.
• Unfortunately, although I'd listed it as a "definitely go here", I did not make it to Vortex Cellars, so will plan to visit that during a separate visit (perhaps before/after my anticipated return visit to Bunnell Family Cellar in the near future).
• The most exciting discovery of the evening was not a winery, but a distillery: Project V Distillery and Sausage Company. I didn't find their regular Single Silo Vodka (80 proof, $38), served at the front bar, anything to write home - or in this blog - about, but heading into the backroom, I found their Distiller's Cut (100 proof, $51) to be outstanding, and the Double Silo (160 proof, $83) was an amazing full-body experience: powerful aroma, fully coating my tongue with a strong alcoholic taste, and yet not burning by the time it reached my throat. I have to admit to being a bit self-conscious about my preference for higher alcohol wines, beers and spirits; it's not that I'm looking for quicker or higher levels of intoxication, but given my unawareness and unresponsiveness to subtlety [in flavors], I find the stronger flavor of higher alcohol drinks generally much preferable. In any case, I bought a bottle of the 100 proof and 160 proof vodkas (these were my only purchases of the night). They also have a Chai Infusion, which is interesting, but I'm not much of a Chai aficionado ... I imagine this might be appealing to anyone who is.

Now I'll update a few of my earlier entries for individual Woodinville Warehouse District Wineries below.

Red Sky Winery
19495 144th Ave NE, Suite B210
Bordeaux & Rhone red & white blends & varietals
Serendipity (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc blend)
Impressions: 2 tickets are required for Serendipity of the Cabernet Franc; I did not try either of these. I tried the Syrah, which was pretty good, but at $30/bottle, didn't seem to have a high QPR.

Alta Cellars
19501 144th Ave NE, Suite A-500
Bordeaux red blends
Escape (51% Cabernet Sauvignon,  43% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot)
Good, relatively inexpensive ($20), but only medium-bodied.

Davenport Cellars
19501 144th Ave NE, Suite B600
Bordeaux red & white blends & varietals
RHD (53% Merlot, 27% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc, 7% Malbec and 2% Petit Verdot)
Continuity (54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc, 9% Malbec and 2% Petit Verdot)
Good, but both are medium-bodied.

Eye of the Needle Winery (Seattle PI review)
no web site, no address found
Bordeaux & Italian blends
Little Itally (Sangiovese/Barbera-dominated blend)
Eye (Bordeaux blend)
Eye of the Needle acts as a négociant: they produce wines by blending wines leftover from other wineries' bottlings. I was told they shipped 5000 cases of wine last month, they've been in business for over 4 years, the tasting room has only been open for 4 months, and their web site will be coming online soon. All their wines are $11/bottle, and have a pretty good QPR ... but are medium-bodied.

Piccola Winery
19501 144th Ave. NE, Suite D-700
kegs only; Bordeaux & Rhone red & white blends & varietals
Bordeaux Blend (Cabernet Sauvignon 36%, Merlot 24%, Petite Verdot 16%, Malbec 12%, Cabernet Franc 12%)
Syrah/Mourvedre (Syrah 56%, Mourvedre 44%)
There was too large a crowd of people and dogs around when I stopped by, so I didn't sample their wares.

Amelia Bleu Winery
no address found
Red blend, Barbera & Riesling
Riverenza (no description found)
The Riverenza is a Barbera-based blend, but rather medium-bodied.

Vortex Cellars
19501 144th Avenue NE, D500-A
Rhone red & white blends *** definitely going here
CM² (Cinsault 75% and Mourvedra 25%)
Tempranillo
Syrah (with 5% Viognier)
How did I miss this place?! They were on my "definite" list, and I didn't see their sign. Next time ... or perhaps a separate trip (they are open Saturdays 12-5).

Dirty Bucket Brewery
19151 144th Ave NE, Suite 101
Beers
They only serve pints, no growlers, on Thursdays ... and never serve their Imperial beers (the only ones I like) in growlers :(

Project V Distillery
19495 144th Ave. NE, #A-130
Vodkas
Highly recommended; see notes above.

Pondera Cellars
19501 144th Ave NE, B400
Bordeaux blends & varietals
Pasion (48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 48% Syrah, 4% Merlot) was my favorite wine of the night. However, at $38 / bottle, it's a bit above my comfort threshold.

Patterson Cellars
19501 144th Avenue NE, D-600
Bordeaux & Rhone red & white blends
The Syrah Sirah blend was pretty good, but at $25, didn't quite pass my threshold.

Michael Fiorentino Cellars
19501 144th Ave NE, Suite C1200
Bordeaux, Rhone, Italian & Spanish red & white blends & varietals *** definitely going here
Monastrell a.k.a. Mourvedre
Counoise
Fusione (Merlot and Sangiovese "super-Tuscan")
Tempranillo
Port
They didn't offer any of the wines I was intereste in tasting; however, the Miscoloto (Granache, Tempranillo & Syrah), at $21/bottle, offers a pretty good QPR.

Bunnell Family Cellar
19501 144th Avenue NE, Building C
Rhone red & white blends & varietals *** definitely going here
Primitivo
Syrah
Petit Sirah
Petit Verdot
Mourvedre
Grenache
As I anticipated, given my love of Rhone reds, this was my favorite tasting room in the complex. Their Lia - a Mourvedre-dominant southern Rhone blend - was my second favorite wine of the night, and is on sale this month for $24 (regularly $34), making it [currently] the best bang for the buck among the wines I tried. Rochelle (the pourer on duty when I arrived) also offered me a taste of the SoRhoMoJo (another southern Rhone, only available on tap), which was, although a bit softer, was my third favorite wine of the evening. The tasting room offers most of their wines in 3 oz, 6 oz and [of course] by the bottle, making this [probably] the most appealing to Amy (who prefers larger glasses of fewer wines rather than many small sips). They have a few wines that are currently only available in kegs (like the SoRhoMoJo), but they anticipate offering [wine] growlers in the near future. The Woodinville tasting room is not listed on the web site, but I'll update this when I find out what hours they are open. We will surely visit this again ... probably this month.

Page Cellars
19495 144th Ave NE, B205
Bordeaux & Rhone red blends & varietals

Kaella Winery
18800 142nd Ave NE, 5B
Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Sangiovese

Convergence Zone Cellars
18800 142nd Ave NE, 5B
Bordeaux red & white blends

Tenor Wines
19495 144th Ave NE A-120
Bordeaux red & white varietals

Gard Vintners
19495 144th Ave. NE, Suite B240
Bordeaux, Rhone, German & Italian red & white blends & varietals

Smasne Cellars
19495 144th Avenue NE, Suite B240
Bordeaux & Rhone red & white blends & varietals
The Smasne Zinfandel was my fourth favorite wine of the night. It was encouraging to find another Washington Zinfandel I like (the Thurston Wolfe "Howling Wolfe" is the only other one I can think of), but at $34/bottle, it doesn't pass my QPR threshold.

Barrage Cellars
19501 144th Avenue NE
[web site seems to be parked]
Barrage Cellars impressed me with the most creative wine labels I saw all night. Their Rose has a wine label with an ampersand in the middle of the label, enabling the buyer to fill in something on both sides prior to giving the wine to someone (or, perhaps a couple) as a gift. An ingenious wedding / anniversary gift. Their Riesling has a blank label with an exclamation point in the lower right, also offering intriguing opportunities for personalizing a bottle of wine as a gift.

Elevation Cellars
19495 144th Ave. NE, A-115
Bordeaux red blend & varietals, Riesling

Pairing seafood with big reds: Sesame seed encrusted Ahi Tuna and Mourvedre

I love seafood, but I don't particulalry like white wines, which are typically recommended for pairing with seafood dishes. Several years ago, I discovered that grilled salmon pairs well with Pinot Noir, and that my penchant for big reds makes bigger Pinot Noirs, such as Irony, nicely complement grilled salmon with a spice rub. I've discovered what may be my favorite pairing yet between a seafood dish and a big red wine: sesame seed encrusted seared Ahi Tuna and Mourvedre. The peppery, spicy flavor of a 2008 Chateau Ste. Michele Mourvedre turned out to be the perfect complement to the peppery, spicy flavor of the meal. Here is what the tasting notes from CSM winemaker Bob Bertheau say about the wine:

“Mourvèdre is traditionally blended with Rhone-origin varietals, but it’s the shining star of this wine with just a touch of Syrah for additional layers. This is a round and elegant wine that exhibits flavors and aromas of Herbes de Provence with white pepper spice. There is an underlying meat and earthiness that is beautifully complex all on its own, with an interesting juxtaposition of very soft tannins.”

For Christmas Eve dinner each year, we've taken to experimenting with non-traditional meals. This year, we found some good looking Ahi tuna steaks at Costco for $12.99 / pound, and decided to grill these up using a tasty recipe for sesame seed encrusted Ahi Tuna that I found at GrillingAddiction.com. Following the directions thre, I rubbed the tuna steaks with olive oil, toasted up some sesame seeds and rubbed them in, along with some coarsely ground black peppercorns. I gently laid them on the rack of our Weber Genesis Silver gas grill and because they were about 1.5" thick, I seared them on high heat for 3 minutes per side vs. the recommended 2 minutes per side for 1" thick steaks. I forgot to add a dash of sesame oil, but they turned out fine (the photo above is from Grilling Addiction, as I also forgot to take a photo of the tuna steaks before we ate them).

To accompany the tuna, I turned to another online recipe - Seared Ahi Tuna with Baby Boc Choy and Seasoned Rice - found at cbsop.com (cbsop = Cooking By the Seat of Our Pants). The sauce for the baby boc choy called for soy sauce and oyster flavored sauce, but I substituted a variant of the "3-2-1" sauce from Grilling Addiction: 3 parts soy sauce (I used tamari), 2 parts hoisin sauce and 1 part hot Thai sauce (the recipe called for Sriracha Thai Hot Sauce but I substituted Thai Kitchen Roasted Red Chili Paste). Unfortunately, I didn't notice the "baby" part of the ingredients while at the store, so I picked up a regular bok choy, and cut it down to size. Evan stir fried it in vegetable oil for a few minutes to soften it up and we drizzled in some of the 3-2-1 sauce near the end. The recipe called for seasoning with Nori Komi Furikake (a rice seasoning blend containing contains sesame seeds, seaweed flakes, salt and sugar), but we we just sprinkled on some of the leftover toasted sesame seeds. We found mixing some rice, bok choy and the tuna in each forkful was most flavorful way of eating it. [The photo above is from cbsop.com].

I had originally planned to pair the tuna with Grenache, which has become my most recent favorite wine pairing with rubbed salmon, but Chateau Ste. Michelle was sold out of their most recent release of the wine, and I couldn't find any other wineries or stores in Woodinville that had Grenache. I also bought a bottle of the CSM 2008 Austral - a blend of Mourvedre, Grenache and Syrah - at the winery, which we opened to taste side-by-side with the Mourvedre to accompany the tuna. The Austral was another worthy candidate, but I think the single varietal Mourvedre was the better of the two. Next time we grill up some salmon, I may try a similar side-by-side tasting, although it would be nice to find some Grenache as well ... and I find myself wondering about Carignan (though that can be even more challenging to find than Grenache).

Describing vs. Imbibing: Thinking Too Much About Wine

I haven't been writing much about wine lately, but I have been reading about wine (and, of course, drinking wine). One of the things I've recently read helps me rationalize my reluctantance to describe wines in much detail: thinking too much about wine and writing down a description may affect one's perceptions and enjoyment of wine.

I have been writing a lot about Jonah Lehrer, ever since seeing him give a fabulous convocation speech at Willamette University last month: Jonah Lehrer's Metacognitive Guide to College. I started reading his book, How We Decide, and following his Twitter feed (@JonahLehrer) shortly thereafter, leading me to write another post on my main blog about his - and Stanford Philosophy Professor John Perry's - views on creativity, distractability, productivity and structured and unstructured procrastination. Last night, I read a passage in Lehrer's book about a study showing the how writing about different strawberry jams affects our perceptions of those jams, and it helped me feel a little less inadequate about my wine blog, where I rarely offer much in the way of original descriptions of the wines I enjoy (I typically copy and paste descriptions others have written).

In the strawberry jam study, psychologists Timothy Wilson and Jonathan Schooler set out to see if undergraduates' taste preferences for strawberry jam would correlate those with experts recruited by Consumer Reports. In a blind taste test, they asked undergraduates to rank the 1^st, 11^th, 24^th, 32^nd, and 44^th best tasting jams from the CR article, and found a pretty good correlation (0.55) to the rankings of the experts. Then they repeated the experiment with a second set of undergraduates, but asked these subjects to fill out questionnaires describing why they liked or disliked the different jams. Under this condition, the correlation between students' ratings and expert rankings plummetted to 0.11. Lehrer writes:

What happened? Wilson and Schooler argue that “thinking too much” about strawberry jam causes us to focus on all sorts of variables that don’t actually matter. Instead of just listening to our instinctive preferences, we start searching for reasons to prefer one jam over another.  For example, we might notice that the Acme brand is particularly easy to spread, and so we’ll give it a high ranking, even if we don’t actually care about the spreadability of jam. Or we might notice that Knott’s Berry Farm has a chunky texture, which seems like a bad thing, even if we’ve never really thought about the texture of jam before. But having a chunky texture sounds like a plausible reason to dislike a jam, and so we revise our preferences to reflect this convoluted logic.

Lehrer reports that these results have been replicated in rankings of posters, jelly beans, cars, IKEA couches and apartments. I started wondering about whether and how these results might apply to the domain of wine tasting, and sure enough, Schooler was involved in another study investigating this area of preferences:

When participants generate a detailed, memory-based description of complex nonverbal stimuli (e.g., faces) their recognition performance can be worse than nondescribing controls. This effect, termed verbal overshadowing, has been hypothesized to occur in situations in which domain-specific perceptual expertise exceeds verbal expertise. The present study explored this hypothesis by examining the impact of verbalization on the wine recognition of individuals of three categories of wine tasting expertise: Non-wine drinkers, untrained wine drinkers, and trained wine experts. Participants tasted a red wine, engaged in either verbalization or an unrelated verbal activity, and then attempted to identify the target wine from among three foils. As predicted, only the untrained wine drinkers showed impaired wine recognition following verbalization. The results are explained in terms of the differential development of perceptual and verbal skills in the course of becoming an expert.

[The Misremembrance of Wines Past: Verbal and Perceptual Expertise Differentially Mediate Verbal Overshadowing of Taste Memory, by Joseph M. Melcher and Jonathan W. Schooler, Journal of Memory and Language, Volume 35, Issue 2, April 1996, Pages 231-245]

So, this study suggests that experts' ability to recognize wine is not impaired by verbally describing it, whereas non-experts' recognition is impaired by the process. This may be consistent with the earlier study, which only studied students, most of whom are presumably non-experts in the realm of strawberry jam tasting. However, given the high variability in ratings and reviews by wine experts that I wrote about in my last post, I'm not sure how much faith to place in experts' descriptions. And as Lehrer convincingly argues, many ratings and descriptions are simply arguments aimed more at persuasion and rationalization than finding or describing the truth.

I do not have a copy of the full study by Melcher and Schooler, so I don't know how verbal overshadowing impacts the enjoyment of wine (vs. its recognition). I suspect that verbal overshadowing did impair the enjoyment of jams by some of the students in the second strawberry jam study. If a jam they would have ranked higher based solely on nonverbalized perceptions is ranked lower when those perceptions are verbalized, I would expect that they were enjoying the hard-to-describe jams less as a result ... and they may not have enjoyed the verbalization process, either.

As for my own perceptions and verbalizations of wine, I often have strong opinions about wines, but those opinions are typically at the level of how much I like the wine rather than what I specifically like or dislike about a wine. While I admire the ability of Robert Parker and other wine experts to describe a mind-boggling array of flavor and aroma components they discern in a wine ("pencil shavings" and "saddle leather" come to mind), I've never been able - or, perhaps, willing - to delve into such fine levels of detail. The best I can usually do is something along the lines of "big, bold, fruit-forward, full-bodied and chewy" (as I described my favorite wines in my report from the 2009 Zinfandel Festival).

I'm still not sure whether training myself to become more expert in verbalizing my impressions of wines would enhance or detract from my enjoyment of them ... but these studies give me more to think about (but hopefully, not too much).

Taurino 1997 Notarpanaro Salento Rosso

On the eve of departing for Italy, I decided to open up a bottle of an Italian red I stocked up on awhile back from the magnificent 1997 vintage. I first had this wine at Pallino Restaurant, when they had one in Woodinville, where it was selling for $18. At the liquor store, it was $12. Unfortunately, this is is (was) my last bottle.

Here's what the back label had to say:

Notarpanaro is the name of one of our estates. It is also the name of our single vineyard, estate bottled red wine. Notarpanaro is made from a blend of two indigenous grapes, Negro Amoro and Malvasia nera. Tasting Notarpanaro will reveal an intense ruby red color, full rich flavors, and elegant feel on the palate, a sensation echoed by the smells which evolve in the glass. Notarpanaro is best served a cool 55 degrees F, as an accompaniment to flavorful, rich dishes, particularly meats and aged cheeses, or on its own as a wine for meditation.

We paired it with my standard spaghetti sauce, which is flavorful, but meatless, and includes lots of aged Parmesan and Romano cheese, which it complemented quite well. We did not attempt a meditation / wine pairing.

It reminded me a bit of a "baby Amarone" - rather full bodied, but somewhat less tannic and complex than a "real" Amarone (especially a 1997).

Here's what Robert Parker had to say:

"...exhibits a distinctive earthy nose of creosote, scorched earth, pepper, spice, black cherries and licorice...with abundant glycerin, power and richness..."

Here's what the Wine Lovers Page had to say:

Inky dark ruby color, almost opaque. An exotic mix of dark fruit and spice - plums, anise, hints of tarragon and brown spices - in a warm and approachable aroma. Full and ripe, black-fruit and anise flavors follow the nose; lemony acidity and smooth, barely apparent tannins segue into subtle licorice in a long finish.

Hopefully, during my upcoming travels, I'll discover a newfound (or newly expanded) appreciation for Italian wines - while Amarone is my favorite wine in the world, very few other Italian wines have made it into my favorites list. The Notarpanaro comes close ... but it's gone now.

VinoFiles: Richard Gagnon's Wine Blog

Richard Gagnon knows more about wine than anyone I've ever met. He's the wine guy at the Brattleboro Food Co-op, and he's also my cousin-in-law, who I used to see most Thanksgivings ... before we moved to the other side of the continent (Woodinville, WA). I've mentioned Richard before in this blog -- for example, he's the one who showed me (and the rest of the family) that the best Thanksgiving food and wine pairing is, well, whatever you like to drink, and he's also responsible for my relatively new interest in Pinor Noir.

Anyhow, even people who don't know Richard personally, or shop at the Co-op, can benefit from his wine knowledge now, as he recently launched a new wine blog, Vino Files, in which he recently shared some specific ideas for Thanksgiving food and wine pairing for those who might find "whatever you like" too daunting.

Portalupi 2004 Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel

Wow -- this is one of the most amazing under $30 Zinfandels I've ever had, and ranks among the best Zinfandels I've had at any price (rivaling the Hartford and Turley Zinfandels). It's currently available for $23/bottle at VinElla in Woodinville (through the end of the month) -- interestingly, while the wine is made in Sonoma, the winemaker, Tim Borges, lives here in Woodinville. With a little over a month to go until the end of 2006, this wine currently ranks as my most exciting find of the year.

Here's the description from the Portalupi web site:

"We feel our 2004 Zinfandel falls once again into our style zone. The wine benefits from an almost picture perfect growing season in Sonoma County accentuated by a short heat spell just prior to harvest. The result is an extremely balanced wine with a well rounded mouth feel and elevated alcohol levels. Classic toast and jam punctuate the nose with black and red berry fruits dominating the palate. Hints on allspice, cinnamon, vanilla and nutmeg intertwine with a touch of black pepper which compliments the bowl-full-of-berry-backbone of this classic Zin. Drink now or comfortably age to 2009-2010."

Viña Ventisquero 2004 Root:1

Wow, yet another fabulous $10 cabernet, this one from Chile, and bigger and more intense than the Columbia Crest Grand Estates I recently wrote about ... and [thus] I like it even better.  Root:1 is a 85% Cabernet Sauvignon / 15% Syrah blend from Colchagua Valley, the result of a partnership between Viña Ventisquero from Rancagua, Chile, and the Click Wine Group here in Seattle.  The name stems from the fact that the grapes used in this wine are taken from vines from the original European rootstock, rather than those grafted onto other roots.

I picked up a bottle from VinElla in Woodinvillle after Steve, the proprietor, turned me on to the wine during what appears to be a perpetual informal tasting at the wine shop.  It was my first visit, and I was delighted to see they also have a great selection of Amarones and Zinfandels; I'll be picking up more of the Root:1 (and probably others) next time I stop in.

Here are the tasting notes from the Root:1 web site:

Intense, cherry red in color, with ripe berry notes, including raspberries, blueberries, blackberries and plums. Attractive aromas of coffee and dark chocolate combine with a touch of tobacco, smoke and vanilla, into a rich structure with soft tannins. A full-bodied wine with a long and concentrated finish accented with fruity, smoky notes.

And here's what Vin Ella has to say on their web page:

Peter Click, owner of Click Importing and Distribution in Seattle created this little project, a collaboration with Ventisquera, S.A., one of Chile’s largest wine groups. They hired Felipe Tosso, formerly of Concha y Toro, to make this with grapes from two of Chile’s legendary vineyards, Apalta and Trinidad. It’s 85% Cab and 15% Syrah, has beautiful, supple structure, deep fruit, a satiny texture, lovely terroir notes, and a rich, chewy feel. It’s just simply far more wine for the money than 90% of the wines sitting on wine shop shelves, nowadays. As a bottle of Cabernet, I’d put it up against nearly everything I’ve tasted under $25 and under $15, it’s equaled by only one bottle I’ve ever found. They made a lot of it and I don’t know how widely Click distributes this but I can bet that you won’t find many bargain Cabs that top it, no matter where you are.

Irony 2004 Napa Valley / Carneros Pinot Noir

It's summer in Seattle, which I associate with grilling and salmon (among many other associations) ... and I associate grilled salmon with Pinot Noir.

We picked up some salmon -- generic Wild King Salmon and Yakutat Salmon -- at Whole Foods yesterday, where there were cases of the 2004 Irony Pinot Noir prominently displayed. With a wine name like Irony, a winery name of Life's Strange Twists, a $12 price tag and a description on the placard that included depth, complexity and smoke, I just had to try it.  Also, the alcohol level of 14.5% on the label -- high for a Pinot Noir -- reinforced my belief that this wine would have depth and complexity ... and it did, along with the smoke. 

The winery web site is "under contruction", and the only other description I can find on the web is at BevMo (where the 2003 version is available for $10):

90 PTS WILFRED WONG. Enticing, exotic, and another "e" word I cannot mention, the fascinating '03 Irony Pinot Noir steals the show; packed with fruit, smoked bacon rind, and pungent sour plum, tasty!

The wine paired beautifully with all four variations of salmon that we prepared: we coated half of each salmon with Tom Douglas' Salmon Rub (from the "Rub with Love" spice rub series).  The Yakutat Salmon, with 33% oil, was preferred over the regular King Salmon, with 16% oil, and the rubbed sections were preferred over the plain sections, by all members of the family.  Along with having twice as much oil content, the Yakutat Salmon is also nearly twice as expensive -- and, like Copper River Salmon and Yukon River Salmon, only available for brief periods each year.  It would be fun to arrange a multi-person multi-dimensional Salmon and Pinot Noir tasting while everything is in season ... but we may have to wait until next season.

Columbia Crest 2002 Grand Estates Cabernet Sauvignon

My wine blog has been rather dormant lately, but I have continued to discover great value wines.  One, in particular, prompts me to end my recent silence: the 2002 Columbia Crest Grand Estates Cabernet Sauvignon.  It's not quite as big and chewy as most of the wines I blog about, but for $12 a bottle (and often less than $10), it has a great body and flavor ... and it's widely available.

The winery provides a pretty good description:

A medium-bodied Washington Cabernet Sauvignon with supple tannins that is packed with intense black cherry, cocoa and smoke. Complex, rich and aromatic, this stylish wine offers balance and finesse from the start.

Robert Parker gave the wine an 88-point rating in the April 2006 issue (#164) of the Wine Advocate, with the following notes:

Spices, blackberries, and cassis are found in the nose of another extraordinary value, the 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Estates (97,000 cases). Medium-bodied and satin-textured, it offers impressive concentration and depth to its blackberry-dominated character.

I don't remember ever trying Columbia Crest before, and so decided to taste this in a side-by-side comparison with the winery's 2002 Two Vines Cabernet Sauvignon, which was a decent wine for the $6 we paid for it, but a bit too soft for my liking. The Grand Estates, however, is one I've stocked up on.

Brown Bag Flight Night at Purple Cafe: 0 for 4

I had a fun, but humbling, experience at Purple Cafe and Wine Bar last night.  I tried the Brown Bag Flight, where four bottles are wrapped in paper bags, and 2.5-ounce tastes are poured from each.  The goal is to guess the varietal of each wine.  I guessed wrong on all four.

Your Answers                     Brown Bag Flight Answers

Pinot Noir                         Heron Merlot

Syrah                                Zenato Merlot

Cabernet                           Bulletin Place Shiraz

Merlot                               Tre Donne Barbera D’Alba (Italian)

Actually, I think I mistakenly reversed my answers for 2 and 3 (the score sheet had two rows and two columns), but even that would mean I was only 1 for 4.  I missed all 4 the previous time I tried this experiment, so I'm making a little progress ... taste and learn!