2003 Cañon De Sol Syrah & Great Food

Last week a couple of friends kidnapped me for my birthday and took me to McMenamin's Edgefield Winery for some celebrating, drinking, eating and wine purchasing. The trip was doubly productive thanks to Chris' employee discount on the wine from their winery. It was a fun and delicious birthday treat, but while we were there having dinner we ordered a bottle of wine, which turned out to be out-of-stock so we upgraded to the top end syrah on the wine list. That wonderful bottle was the 2003 Syrah from Cañon De Sol Winery.

When the server poured my tasting sip the first thing I noticed was that the wine smelled of a very fruity jam, it had a deep red color, and has a very long and smooth finish. The palate is also of a very fruity deep red berry jam, with a mild oak flavor that provides just enough balance to the wine. It paired excellently with each of the three meals we individually had:

• Lamb Saltimbocca sirloin filled with sautéed artichoke hearts, seasoned with fresh sage leaves and wrapped in prosciutto with balsamic vinegar-pomegranate molasses reduction and roasted cippolini onions


• Grilled Smoked Ribeye Steak dried cherry and Edgefield Winery Syrah reduction, smoked jalapeño butter, roasted baby Yukon Gold potatoes


• New York Steak Béarnaise sauce creamy potato blue cheese gratin, sautéed green beans
  

Cañon De Sol Winery hails from Benton City, Washington which is about 15 miles outside of Richland, Washington in the eastern side of the state. Noteworthy of the Winery is that Victor Cruz the Managing Owner/Winemaker is the only Latino winemaker and winery owner in the state of Washington. So, not only can you be sure to enjoy some wonderful wine if you buy this syrah, but you can know you're supporting a minority owned small business.

In the end the wine is something I will continue to recommend to friends to enjoy, as will I recommend eating at the Black Rabbit Restaurant & Bar at the Edgefield Winery in Troutdale, Oregon.

-Cheers!

Edgefield 2001 Fireside Sweet Dessert Wine

We cracked open some Edgefield 2001 Fireside Sweet Dessert Wine, a zinfindel port style wine, as a nightcap and I must say that I am enjoying it. Edgefield Winery, a venture of McMenamins (famous for their beer and unique properties) is located in Troutdale, Oregon. I haven't been to the estate yet, but it's certainly on the list next time I head over to Eastern Washington.

I'm not a port expert, beyond enjoying drinking it, so I'll just give you the description from their website: "Our traditional Port-style wine is strong, sweet, and "raisiny," expressing quintessential Zinfandel characteristics from which it is made. "

It retails for $19 per bottle and is available by the glass at many of the McMenamin's restaurants in Oregon and Washington. From my experience, it's a good mid-priced port. I've certainly had better (on my shelf) but also had much worse. And, I'm always a fan of local companies so this is a winner.