Taste Washington's Dirty Little Secret: The Vineyards

This year was my first Taste Washington! experience, well, primarily because it's my first year back in Washington after five years in Oregon.  Makes sense, eh?  Clive was well-versed in the wonderfulness of this particular event, so I was pretty stoked to have the opportunity to attend and see what the hub-bub was all about.  I spent many days agonizing over my approach to the event.  With over 200 wineries and 60 restaurants, there was no way I could come even close to tackling them all lest I stumble out the door never to be seen again.  Should I take the Disneyland approach and start in the back corner of the room, opposite the crowds?  Should I only visit wineries that I had never tried before?  Should I connect with old winery cronies such as Heather from Terra Blanca, Neil from Cooper, Frank, from Picazo 7Seventeen, and Wendi from Col Solare?  Halfway through my deliberation, my friend Paul agreed to attend with me so my mission was clear:  show him the best that Washington wine has to offer.  It certainly wouldn't be hard with the cast of characters at the event.

Gametime came...and Paul couldn't make it.  Don't worry, friends, he wasn't just blowing me off for booze and hookers; he legitimately couldn't make it so it was time to rethink the strategy.  As I flipped through the brochure, a section caught my eye:  TASTE! The Vineyards.

Hmm, tell me more oh magical brochure of wine.

"Try a new approach to wine tasting.  This area is organized by vineyard, so you can compare and contrast the wines that several different wineries have produced from a single source," it whispered seductively into my ear.

Klipsun, Sagemoor, Tapteil, Upland...damn, these jokers weren't fooling around.

A new game plan was solidified; taste a variety of wines from the best vineyards in the state.  Swirl, sniff, sip, spit, and move on to the next.  Maybe swallow a little every second or third taste.  Have I mentioned how tough of a life it is to be a wine blogger?

Why is this Taste Washington's dirty little secret?  It's actually not dirty at all, but the secret is that there were no lines whatsoever in the vineyard area of the event, despite being near the front of the room.  While every Tom, Dick, and Sally were elbowing their way to get a sip of the awesome Betz Syrah, I sashayed right on up to the Klipsun table and had the place to myself.

Klipsun, Chinook Indian Jargon for Sunset, is one of the preeminent vineyards in the Red Mountain AVA.  You may know it as one of the primary sources of fruit for Quilceda Creek's run of 100-point Cabs back in the early 2000's.  From my count, at least 37 wineries used their fruit for the 2009 vintage, all of them notable in one way or another.  I had the opportunity to taste 5 different Klipsun wines at this event, all were amazing in different ways.  Don't ask me what they were, I didn't take notes and swallowed more than I should have.  Point being...awesome interaction with the pourer, awesome wine...no crowd.  Next I saddled over to Sagemoor, then Tapteil.  Same experience.

Interested in another protip for Taste Washington 2012?  Winery Association Tables.  Again, smaller crowds, more wine.  I spent more than my fair share of the event at the Red Mountain AVA Alliance and Horse Heaven Hills Wine Growers tables.  That was when I wasn't chowing down on some great food with Picazo7Seventeen or these awesome little mini-cupcakes from The Yellow Leaf Cupcake Co.  The Pancakes n' Bacon cupcake is to die for, no joke.  

By the end of the event, I was well satiated and did have the opportunity to connect with Heather, Neil, Frank, and Wendi.  I even got to skulk around with Clive a bit, and friends of the Blog - Andrea and Craig - showed up before I left.  I'd had my fill of wine by that time, as you can tell by my wine lips.  After reading this are you sad that you missed Taste Washington?  Well, don't fret Oregon friends, because I have a deal for you!  Taste Washington is coming to you...Portland style.  Sunday, May 1.  Do it.

The Grand Discovery and Taste Washington

I drink a lot of Washington wine; probably 65% of what I consume minimally, and maybe closer to 80%. My wine rack is loaded with Washington wines and honestly I love the stuff.

Having said that, there's a lot of wine being made in Washington. Over 700 wineries now call this great wine producing state home, and Taste Washington for your general consumer, is a way to really explore what the state can offer. The event hosted over 200 of Washington's wineries. The food that was showcased was an added bonus (or perhaps a necessity given all that wine). About 60 of the state's best restaurants, many of them from around the Seattle area, provided bites of varying sizes to pair with the wines.

Taste Washington is truly a remarkable event and a great celebration of the state's most interesting and delicious product: Washington wine. In addition to the tables of food and wine, there are educational opportunities for attendees as well; seminars where vineyards of some acclaim poured wines made from their fruit and highlight the vineyard characteristics that show up in different varietals. The Viking center stage had chef demonstrations and interactive audience opportunities.

What many people don't know is that Taste Washington really begins on Friday with the Restaurant Awards where The Wine Commission takes the time to recognize the restaurants, sommeliers, and service industry professionals that do their share to spread the word and love of Washington Wine.

Notable awards this year were given to The Oregon Wine Blog's favorite wine country restaurant; Picazo 717 of Prosser, which was recognized as the Winemaker's Choice. This (well-deserved) award is selected anonymously by winemakers for the restaurant that they deem the most supportive of the wine industry. The first ever Washington Wine Ambassador award was given to long time industry supporter Lars Ryssdal, most recently of Tranche Cellars. Kristen Young of the Waterfront Seafood Grill was honored as Sommelier of the Year and legendary Seattle eatery Canlis was given the grand honor of Restaurant of the Year, and the cool looking goblet that goes along with it.

Saturday follows Friday, at least on the Roman calendar, and Saturday brought the Taste Washington Seminars. For reasons that are becoming increasingly unclear to me, for two years running I have missed the seminars so I could race my bicycle in the Independence Valley Road Race. I'm not sure why because both years I have had my ass handed to me. What did I miss?

The seminars covered the gamut from food pairing with celebrity chef Michael Mina to a look at Washington's up and coming varietal, Grenache, to a panel exploring the 100 point system. Had I gone to the seminars, I would have likely gone to the Grenache and point system seminars. Washington Grenache is really promising and with examples from Maison Bleue, Grand Reve, and Syncline, there is real sense that this varietal shows Washington's ability to blend both new and old world style in wine. The point seminar included a discussion of the 100 point wine scoring method and included the Washington Wine Report's Sean Sullivan, Rebecca Murphy of the Dallas Morning News, and Blake Gray, most famously the guy who started all the dust storm that had Charles Smith of K Vintners suing people. As someone who doesn't subscribe to the scoring system but understands its place in the market, this would have been a fascinating debate to overhear.

As the weekend ended for many, it was just beginning for most as Sunday brought the Grand Tasting. This is a wine event that you should make a point of attending at least once. The sheer scope of it, combined with the overall quality of the wines, just boggles the mind. It's proof positive that Washington may just be the perfect climate for wine.

Though I'm no stranger to Washington wines, the scope and breadth of the Grand Tasting means that even I got to make some new discoveries. The most impressive wine I tasted was also the first, the Betz Family Cellars 2009 Cote d' Patriarche Syrah. Betz, of course, has one of the finest reputations in the state and so this wasn't a discovery per se, but it was indeed the finest. I did however taste some wines that I'd never had. Here are of some of the day's most impressive findings:

Cadaretta Cellars SbS is a Bourdeaux style blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. It may have been the best white wine I've had in a long while, with great acidity and a really nice mouth feel. The nose was a beautiful example of floral and bright fruit notes. Very young and new winemaker Brian Rudin is especially proud of this release as it's his first wine to be made to completion as the winemaker at Cadaretta.

JB Neufeld are the initials and last name of Justin Neufeld and his wife Brooke and is a relatively new winery. Justin, however, has been making excellent wines at Gilbert Cellars for quite awhile. JB Neufeld makes two Cabernets from two of Washington's most sought after vineyards, Artz Vineyard on Red Mtn and my favorite of the two the Dubrul Vineyard Cabernet. The Dubrul is the more elegant of the two Cabernets and has an excellent finish. The flavor profile is nuanced, layered and compliments the nose of this wine beautifully.

aMaurice Cellars Syrah/Grenache blend. Anna Schafer easily the prettiest person making wine in Washington state and has made a reputation for herself with her Malbec, but I really liked this Syrah and Grenache blend. It was less of a big, bold example of Washington Syrah and more true to some of the elegance of its ample but not 100% Boushey vineyard fruit. The wine spoke of fruit and herbal characters and shows the range that Rhone varietals have in the state.

The final highlight was the Tranche Cellars Rose. While I've had Tranche Cellars wine before, I hadn't had this Rose. There was a time when I would claim, hands down, that the Rose coming out of Delille Cellars was far and away the best in Washington. That day has passed. The rose that Tranche is making is dynamite. It’s very light in color and has a crisp old world style. It’s a Syrah based wine that includes Cabernet Franc; this is a rose that will make serious wine drinkers proud. With this offering Tranche continues to shock Washington wine fans with amazing wines at affordable prices that boggle the mind.

March is Washington Wine Month

March is Washington Wine Month, a perfect occasion to both celebrate and learn about the quality, variety and personalities of Washington Wine. The accolades and recognition for the wines coming from Washington continue to mount and national and international wine publications and wine authorities are fully aware that Washington is making some of the country's and really the world's best wines.

Washington Wine Month and its culminating event, Taste Washington, are aimed not at these media outlets or industry types, but rather at the consumer, and specifically the consumers within Washington. Washington is the country's second largest wine producer, but only a fraction of the size of California, which is a very good thing in my opinion. Washington's 160,000 tons crushed in 2010 pales in comparison to California, where they crushed 654,522 tons of Chardonnay alone, but California produces a lot of wine, much of it bad, and some of it in boxes. When you look at the higher quality California regions, Sonoma and Napa, who crushed 189,897 and 138,379 tons, respectively, in 2010, then Washington is in good company for quality wine production.

The Washington Wine Commission hopes consumers will educate themselves about the high quality wine that that's being produced here in Washington - often close enough that you can more or less throw a rock and hit a vineyard or winery. The hope is that consumers in Washington are at the very least, shopping for, ordering and actively seeking out the wines that we make right here in Washington.

For those of you who may be - somehow - still in the dark about Washington wine, shame on you, but what are you waiting for? This month gives you the perfect opportunity to brush up on your familiarity with Washington wine. As a primer here are a few tidbits you can use to get yourself ready for Taste Washington on March 27th.

The AVAs
Washington has eleven federally recognized AVAs including one on the western side of the Cascades. The fruit coming from each of these AVAs varies and when wineries produce an AVA or vineyard designate, that wine gives you an opportunity to focus in on one of the characteristics and qualities that define these eleven regions. As a consumer and budding Washington wine connoisseur, take the time to sample wines from each AVA, it'll give you a sense of Washington's range when it comes to wine growing.

Urban Wine
Wineries and tasting rooms are popping up in Seattle and Spokane and they give consumers a great opportunity for easy access to the kinds of experiences those visiting wineries often come away with. Wineries like Domanico Cellars in Ballard and Laurelhurst Cellars in SoDo/Georgetown do all of their production on site. You don't need to leave the big city to meet the winemaker and see what they're doing.

Exploring Varietals
Washington has become known for Riesling, Cabernet, Merlot and Syrah and for good reason: we produces some of the best in the world. Increasingly, though, growers and wine makers are also stretching themselves and exploring a variety of varietals. For examples, check out Washington Tempranillo by Gifford Hirlinger, a Lemberger from Kiona, Gruner Veltliner and Pinot Noir by Syncline and Petit Sirah by Thurston Wolfe.

World Class Vineyards
Some of the best fruit in the world is growing right here in Washington and the growers and winemakers are doing a wonderful job of working together to really push the boundaries and make improvements to what they've done. Look for vineyard designate wines that will allow you to see what these sites can do. Vineyard designates are indicated on the wine label, and vineyards to look for include Boushey Vineyard, Champoux Vineyard, Ciel du Cheval, Conner Lee, Dubrul Vineyard and Klipsun Vineyard.


Taste Washington
The greatest tasting event on earth is quite simply Taste Washington. There is nothing else like it. The event spans three days beginning with the Restaurant Awards on Friday, the amazing and once in a lifetime seminars on Saturday and wraps up with the greatest tasting extravaganza of all time on Sunday at the Qwest Event Center. Over 200 wineries and 60 Seattle area restaurants are coming together to give you the opportunity taste the best Washington has to offer. There are a lot of options, and it’s easy to go too far. Instead, make a plan, pace yourself and figure out exactly what you hope to get out of the experience. “Plastered” should not be at the top of that list. I'll have more on Taste Washington for you soon, but if you're not excited about March now, I'm not sure you can be helped. For tickets click here.

Taste Washington: Part 3 ( I Missed out on Part 2)

Part 2
So my plan for the Taste Washington weekend was to hit the Restaurant Awards on Friday, then head down and race the Independence Valley Road Race Saturday morning, returning in time for the afternoon seminars at Taste Washington. That last part never happened. Coming back from Rochester, Washington takes a lot longer than I thought. Luckily Yashar Shayan, the sommelier at Seastar in Seattle and a Twitter fixture in Northwest wine, had the hook up. Yashar used Ustream streaming video to allow those of us who couldn't be there in person to check out some of the seminars remotely. So I went to Yashar's blog and jumped right in to the Mighty Malbec seminar. In fact, Yashar even asked the panelists a question I asked, and gave The Oregon Wine Blog a shout out. Thanks, Yashar.

Part 3
Sunday, though, I wasn't going to miss a serious day of wine tasting so I was on my way to the Qwest Event Center for the 1 p.m. kick-off to the media and trade tasting. This was my first Taste Washington and I am a relative newcomer to the world of online wine media. I was slightly nervous and I had to figure out what to do with my coat.


I did a loop of the place and took it all in. I needed a plan. I needed advice. I looked up and I saw Josh Wade, the king of #WAMerlot and the guy who seemingly is always being stalked by a guitar. (I don't even know if Josh plays the guitar.) He told me where to put my coat, and after that, things started to fall into place.

There was so much going on at The Grand Tasting, it was like a wino's dream come true. I paired some oysters from Elliot's (they had three or four varieties) with a Terra Blanca Reserve Roussanne. I did a blind tasting with the lovely Emily from Full Pull Wines and got it horribly wrong (I blame the Tabasco on the aforementioned oysters). I was having a great time all the same. I ran across my favorite wine country culinarian Chef Frank Magana from Picazo 717 and he took me around and introduced me to some of Prosser's winemakers like Jarrod from Alexandria Nicole Cellars. I started to feel pretty comfortable at Taste Washington and managed to get over to Betz Family and Boudreaux Cellars before they poured all their wines.

The takeaways from Taste Washington?

My short conversation with Dick Boushey, and what still excites him about his fruit and the wines that people are making with them. Look for another post on this cool opportunity to pick the brain of a Washington Wine legend.

The Food! I had some amazing bites. The oysters from Elliot's were great, but so was the lamb chop pop from Picazo 7 Seventeen. They also make a chorizo-stuffed prawn wrapped in Proscuitto that was unreal. Other treats included a crispy thing with Dungeness crab from Muckleshoot Casino with a citrus-based salsa and a lime sorbet. All together, it was incredible. I also had more oysters from Alderbrook Resort with the pink peppercorn migonette. I ate a lot and it was all so delicious.

The Wine! Of course it's about the wine. What surprised me was how many wines and wineries that were out there that I'd never heard of. And some of them were damn good. Nodland Cellars out of Spokane may have had one of the nicest wines available. They make a Bourdeaux blend with a nice presence of Carmenere. I was tipped off to the wines by Josh from Drink Nectar, and I passed it on to Doug of Wino Magazine, who also thought it was excellent. Nanstad Cellars is another winery I had never heard of who is making a great Cabernet Franc. I also ran across El Corazon and finally got to meet Jon Martinez from Maison Bleue and the fellas at Gramcercy Cellars. All of these winemakers are producing some excellent and original wines.

The People! I got to see my buddy Frank again, as well as Emily and Paul from Full Pull Wines. I got to meet some of the famous folks of the Twitter universe. The aforementioned Josh and his lovely wife, as well as Yashar, Seattle Wine Gal, JJ from Kiona Wines, 106 Pine's Shannon Borg, Robert Smasne, the Full Pull folks, Jessica from Gifford Hirlinger, Heather from Terra Blanca and Josh from Cartel Wine.

Even though I just got done saying it's about the wine, it's really about the people. Washington is the home to a bounty of great wine, but also great wine folks. And let's be honest, would you want to drink all this great wine alone? Of course not. We're lucky to have great terroir and brilliant wine makers, tasting room staff, restaurant folks, media, twitterati, and farmers. I've been lucky to taste some amazing wines via my work with The Oregon Wine Blog, but my real perk has been meeting some great folks. That's what keeps me blogging. See you all again very soon. I hope.

Taste Washington: Part 1 Restaurant Awards

(Disclaimer: While all the other wine bloggers were releasing their Taste Washington pieces last week. I was on a romantic getaway with Gwynne to the Willamette Valley. I apologize for the delay, but not really.)

Friday March 26th kicked off the Restaurant Awards for the marathon of wine and culinary appreciation that is Taste Washington. I found my way to the Washington Athletic Club and managed to get past security for this event. The event is held annually as a way for the Washington Wine Commission and the wineries to show their appreciation for their supporters in the restaurant and service industry.

Restaurants apply for recognition and awards are given based on a variety of criteria, including hosting wine events featuring Washington wine, staff training, promotions and percentage of Washington wines on an establishment's wine list. Sommeliers were also recognized for their expertise, but also specifically for their support of Washington wine.

There were about 40 or 50 Washington wineries also in attendance pouring their wine and getting the crowd warmed up for the awards presentation. I saw this as an excellent opportunity to tick a few of the wineries off my Grand Tasting list. The Sunday event was going to include 225 wineries, and quite frankly there was no way to get around to all of them, from a time and physiological stand point.

I also got to see Chef Frank Magana and Trina Cortez from Picazo 7 Seventeen again. We chatted and talked about the various wines that were in the room. Frank and Trina had served several of these wines at Picazo and so they were able to recommend particular options for me.

I sampled the Cote Bonneville wines for the first time, and I was impressed with all of them, though the Chardonnay particularly stood out. The Waters Winery wines did not disappoint my high expectations. Their Forgotten Hills Syrah was a very earthy, gamey wine both on the nose and in the palate. I had heard that his wine typically elicits a love or hate response. As for me? I loved it.

There were various levels of awards, including the Grand Award, the Certificate of Recognition and the Award of Distinction. The Certificate of Recognition goes to several restaurants doing their part to promote Washington wines, but whom the Commission hoped would continue to find ways to integrate Washington wine into their program. The Award of Distinction is granted to restaurants for restaurants who have shown dedication and support to Washington wine. The Grand Award is the recognition for those restaurants that are considered industry leaders in support of Washington Wine. This award went to restaurants like the Barking Frog, SkyCity at the Needle, Sun Mountain Lodge, and my hands-down favorite, Picazo 7 Seventeen.

Sun Mountain Lodge in Winthrop, WA, received the Washington Wine Restaurant of the Year award, which included a custom-blown glass sculpture designed by Seattle-based glass artist Jesse Kelly.

The event was interesting and there were certainly some VIPs in the house. I would be interested to see what the Washington Wine Commission thinks about the idea of recognizing a restaurant that is working to bring younger wine drinkers to Washington Wine. There are some restaurants out there doing inventive and and creative things to bring young people to wine and food. I think that kind of effort should be recognized. If we had a The Oregon Wine Blog Restaurant Awards, we certainly would.

Some of the other awards given on this day:

Most Improved Wine Program of the Year – The Marc Restaurant, Marcus Whitman Hotel, Walla Walla, WA

Best Restaurant Event Featuring Washington Wines – Taste of Tulalip, Tulalip Bay Exceptional Dining, Tulalip, WA

Best Out-of-State Washington Wine Program – ENO, InterContinental Chicago, Chicago, IL

Doug Zellars of the Washington Athletic Club won the Walter Clore Honorarium award. Eric Zegzula from Anthony’s at Columbia Point in Richland was honored as Sommelier of the Year.

The Winemaker’s Choice award went to Ray’s Boathouse in Seattle, WA.

The Washington Restaurant Association award was presented to Pearl Bar & Dining in Bellevue, WA. The Seattle Business magazine award was presented to Canlis Restaurant in Seattle, WA

Upcoming Event: Taste Washington from The Washington Wine Comission

There are only about two weeks left until Taste Washington in Seattle on March 27th and 28th. An event of epic proportions, that includes Saturday Seminars the likes of which any experienced NW oenophile only dreams about. Sunday concludes with the tasting to end all tastings, the aptly named Grand Tasting. Taste Washington is one of the largest region specific wine events in the world, and it's coming to Seattle for the lucky 13th year.

The Washington Wine Commission sees Taste Washington as an opportunity not only to show the state's wares, but also to give it's serious wine audience some amazing opportunities to meet and speak with some of the state's growers and legendary vintners. This event is the culmination of that opportunity. If you are serious about wine in Washington, this is perhaps that time to smash the piggy bank and throw yourself headlong into a weekend of learning about what it is you've spent all that time collecting and drinking.

I counted about 216 wine and cider makers just in scrolling through the website. 216, which is a whole lotta wine. The Washington Wine Commission takes their events seriously from a production standpoint, but they're also serious about the education of their consumers. Yours truly will be covering the event for The Oregon Wine Blog, and I am thrilled at the opportunity.

While the public events kick of on Saturday with the seminars, there are also the Washington Wine Restaurant Awards on Friday the 26th. The Washington Wine industry recognizes it's industry supporters, with recognition going to Sommelier of the Year, Restaurant of the Year, Most Innovative Wine List and more.

Seminars on Saturday will include food and wine pairing with Seattle's own Tom Douglas, a lesson on one of Washington's most distinguished terroirs, Boushey Vineyards, and peek inside the legendary Quilceda Creek. These are the kinds of opportunities Northwest winos dream about. To hear Dick Boushey and some of his devoted vintners talk about the essence of Washington fruit could be a "pinch me" kind of occasion.

The Grand Tasting on Sunday is truly grand, with almost one third of the entire wine industry in the state pouring. What is also exciting is that some growers will be pouring wines using their fruit, which is a unique opportunity as a wino to really get to the root of the matter. The folks at Taste Washington have also brought together 75 different culinary options, which will include small bites to pair with your wine, as well as cooking and other demos.

But a point to stress is that the idea is to Taste Washington not, Get Hammered on Washington, and so the Washington Wine Commission is out to make spitting hip. They want to emphasize, tasting (it's not called Drink Washington). So for those of you going to the Grand Tasting remember that it's "Hip to Spit" and quite frankly, with 216 options on the day, it's the only way you're going to get out of there on your own two feet.

Tickets are still available and they're also looking for volunteers if you're interested in getting involved and getting a discount. I hope to see you there.