Holiday Decorations, The Oregon Wine Blog Style

Hi Friends.

We wanted to do a quick interlude to our lineup of riveting, arm-gripping content to share with you a little bit of the holiday flair in The Oregon Wine Blog's home office.

Behold, our tree topper:

And, our style of ornaments:

You can see more of our Festivus / Christmas / Chanukah / Non-Denominational Winter Holiday decorations on our flickr stream.

Non-Traditional Wines: Sangiovese

The next non-traditional wine in our ongoing series of non-traditional wines of the Northwest is a Sangiovese. As with all wines from this series, all wines were sent to us complimentary from wineries that wish to showcase their work.

About Sangiovese
Like the rest of our non-traditional varietal reviews, we have consulted the experts at Wikipedia for the following fun facts.

Sangiovese is an Italian variety that is best known as the main component of Chianti. "Young Sangiovese has fresh fruity flavors of strawberry and a little spiciness, but it readily takes on oaky flavors when aged in barrels."

"In Washington State, winemakers are seeking out locations that can highlight the varietal character of Sangiovese. These young plantings in areas such as Walla Walla and Yakima Valley have so far produced wines with a spicy and tart cherry flavors, anise, red currants, and tobacco leaf notes. Other areas in the United States with sizable plantings of Sangiovese include the Rogue Valley in Oregon, the Monticello in Virginia and Texas Hill Country in Texas. In Canada, there are some plantings of Sangiovese on the Niagara Peninsula."

The Wine
We don't mean to sound like a broken record, but once again our good friends from Pend d'Orielle Winery in Sandpoint, Idaho came through by suppling us with our only review bottle of Sangiovese. Their 2005 Sangiovese Terrior Series is supplied by 100% Kestrel Vineyard grapes in the Yakima Valley. At 186 cases produced, this reserve series wine is one that won't be around for very long.

Upon pouring this wine, the first hues one notices is a big presence of cranberry, a little bit of boisenberry, and a hint of earthiness. After reading the publicized tasting notes, it appears what we picked up as cranberry was supposed to be pomegranate. Either way, one can expect tart red fruit coming through.

After tasting, our senses of smell came through in a very accurate way. Big tannins hit the palate with a very welcoming levels of tart and fruit on the finish. This wine would be perfect for food pairing with a red meat pasta or a big juicy steak, but also also holds its own if not paired. More simplistically, consider this mellower than most cabs from the region if that helps.

All things considered, this is yet another phenomenal wine from Pend d'Orielle. As a bit of editorial commentary, I'd also like to point out that Pend d'Orielle has been an incredibly delightful surprise. I don't think any of us at The Oregon Wine Blog expected to be blown away by Idaho wine, but winemaker Steve Meyer has proven us pleasantly wrong. That's not meant to say that Idaho isn't capable of producing great wine either, however, more to point out how relatively young the state is when it comes to world-class wine making. Looks like we'll have to find an opportunity to make it out to Sandpoint.

Thankfulness Abound in Wine Country

Here at The Oregon Wine Blog, we have a lot to be thankful for on this US holiday known as Thanksgiving.  Whether or not one agrees with the origins of the holiday, it provides an excellent opportunity to reflect on the things that are important to us.  As this is a wine blog, I'll stick to that realm.  As Managing Editor, I'd like to make note of the following that we've been thankful for in the past year:

• You, Our Readers:  Many of you have stuck with us through the thick and the thin, so to speak, with posting volume down as low as 0 some months but as of late we've been doing what I think is a pretty good job.  Apparently you think so, too, as site traffic is up 75% from a year ago.  Stay with us as we have a lot of amazing things to come. Do you have suggestions, comments, or other? Let me know.
• Our Staff:  In addition to regular contributors such as Micheal who has been with us from the start, this past year we've brought on Rick and Clive, who have filled some much needed niches in our staff.  Rick is the brains and the brawn behind the site redesign from this summer, and Clive has been doing an amazing job at covering the Washington part of the region.
• Our Winery Partners:  We've formed and nurtured some relationships with wineries and their staff that support the editorial mission of our blog.  These wineries -- think Willamette Valley Vineyards, Tyee, Belle Valle, Terra Blanca, Roxyann, and Ward Johnson among others -- exemplify the Northwest wine industry and have embraced social media and marketing. 
• The Future: An odd thing to be thankful for?  I don't think so!  We've got some awesome things lined up for the coming year including a number of wine reviews waiting to be written, some book reviews, a new and improved Le Tour de Vino, and a new focus on wine related events.  Whew.

So with that mushy stuff out of the way, if you are like me at all, tonight will hit and you'll be all family'd out and ready for something to do for the rest of the weekend.  Well friends, we're in luck.  No matter where in the Pacific Northwest Wine Country you are, you'll find an event to meet your needs this weekend.  Here goes:

• Willamette Valley Wine Country Thanksgiving:  Join us November 27-29 when we kick off the winter wine tasting season in the Willamette Valley at the 27th annual Wine Country Thanksgiving event. Enjoy this unique opportunity to see first-hand the valley’s small, family-owned wineries and meet the faces behind the wine.  Taste from the barrel with winemakers, sample new releases and older vintages, enjoy local, specialty food pairings and live music. Taste the region’s acclaimed Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and a wide range of other wines.  Wineries open 11 AM - 5 PM.
• Wine Yakima Valley Thanksgiving in Wine Country:  Enjoy Thanksgiving in Washington wine country - the Yakima Valley. Participating wineries are offering food and wine pairings in addition to new experiences during Thanksgiving in Wine Country, November 27-29. Purchase your Thanksgiving in Wine Country Premiere Pass and enjoy exclusive benefits available only during this event weekend.  Thanksgiving in Wine Country Pass holders will be able to experience a variety of specialty food and wine pairings, library tastings, and tours not available to the public.
• Walla Walla:  I'm not aware of an official event, however, I know that a number of wineries are having events including Northstar's Thanksgiving in Walla Walla Wine Country.
• Woodinville Wine Country:  Again, I don't think there is an official industry-wide event, but click on the link and you'll get an awesome list of wineries who are using this weekend as their fall release weekend, or simply have great tasting events going on.

So with that, I think we've given you a lot to think about and do this weekend.  Are you looking for some pairing suggestions for tonight?  I'll direct you to our 2008 Holiday Wine Pairing Feature.  As for me, I've got a bottle of Dobbes Family Estate 2006 Meyer Vineyard Pinot Noir just waiting for the turkey to be done.

What's going to be in your glass tonight?

Seattle's Urban Wineries Part1: ...Where Everyone Knows Your Name

Kurt Johnson invited me to Ward Johnson Winery for their release party on November 21st, where they released their 2007 Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet and 2008 Counterbalance Chardonnay. The winery, run by brothers Kurt and Charlie Johnson is in an atypical location, between Magnolia and Queen Anne nearly under the Magnolia Bridge. They’ve been there about a year and a half now, and the location works quite well to back up their description of themselves as an urban family winery. The site is very welcoming and everyone goes out of their way to make you feel that you're part of the family.

Kurt invited me to belly up to the bar and as he poured he introduced me to members of the wine club who came and went throughout the evening. Kurt and Charlie knew everyone by name and they talked about little league coaches and where people were going for the holidays. Sitting there, the tasting room had such a homey, small-town feel that it was easy to forget that I was in Seattle and not Yakima or Sunnyside. The wine club members and regulars I spoke to talked about the personal relationship they felt to the winery and the Johnson brothers, the lack of pretension, and the fact that – when it came right down to it – we were drinking very good wine.

The Counterbalance Chardonnay ($20) that Kurt started me with is from the Sun River Vineyard (Columbia Valley). The Chardonnay is named after the old Queen Anne counterbalance, which was decommissioned in 1940. This wine is fermented in stainless steel and spends 8 months in neutral oak. It's a very crisp chardonnay, with a light color, and a fruity nose with bright minerality on the palate and a clean, crisp mouthfeel. Many of the guests I spoke with talked about how much they liked it; even those who didn't consider themselves "Chardonnay people."

The next wine was the 2007 Merlot ($30), from the North Block of the Hedges vineyard. My first impression was surprise: was a bit lighter and brighter in the glass than I expected. On the nose, there were cherries and a bit of tobacco, which was intoxicating. It tasted of dark and red berries with very well balanced tannins.

The 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon ($30) was a departure from their ‘06 (I was told) which was 100% Cab Sauv. The ‘07 incarnation was sourced from the Red Mountain AVA and blended with 10% Cabernet Franc for a very promising wine. As Charlie poured my Cabernet he told me that it had just recently gone into the bottle. The Cabernet was a dark ruby color with an excellent tannic structure, a peppery nose, and dark herbal and spicy notes on the palate.

The last wine I drank was the Ward Johnson Syrah ($30). Sourced from the Ranch at the End of the Road Vineyard, this wine is a visual masterpiece in the glass with a beautiful dark ruby color that promises good things to come. The nose on this wine is incredible, and the taste was classically well made Washington Syrah; peppery, intensely smooth, and well-balanced. Charlie poured the ‘06 for me so I could compare and I was surprised to find that I preferred the balance found in the ‘07.


I had a great time talking with Kurt and Charlie and meeting Dierdre, their sister. They're a friendly bunch with a great space and well made wines, and I will definitely be going back. If you're in Seattle I recommend you swing by Ward Johnson for some quality wine and first rate conversation.



Ward Johnson Winery

1445 Elliot Avenue West

Seattle, WA 98119