Salacious Dirt!

No, I'm not talking about Spitzer's whore. I meant Siliceous soil. I mean after three trips to Paso Robles, I'm just beginning to get the inside scoop on this blowout region. Yesterday, at L'Aventure, I met Stephan Asseo, Jacob Toft, and Tom Rice. More about Stephan and Jacob later. Tom and his partner Tracy G. Cervellone self-published "Paso Robles: An American Terroir." This is the ultimate insider's guide to Paso Robles wines and vines. Tom is not only a soil scientist, but a great writer. You can always ignore the siliceous side and go for the salacious, but you will learn an awful lot from this book. As Frenchman Stephan says, it is "no bullsheet." With no publisher and no editor to satisfy Tom was able to write what he wanted about whatever he wanted to write about - geology, soil science, history, people, wineries, terroir - kind of like a long blog on paper. Tom writes about many Paso wineries, but with so many new wineries cropping up, it's impossible to cover them all. I'm on about number 20 out of 180, 200, 250.... Get the real dirt from this insider gem by e-mailing Tom at: pasoterroir@yahoo.com. Tune in during the next few weeks for more of the real dirt on Paso Robles and Santa Barbara.

Wine Notes

2005 St. Clair Reserve Merlot - Arizona is not the only state in the Southwest that produces wine. In fact, New Mexico's St. Clair Winery dates back to 1984. To me this is the ultimate chocolate wine. Not really big (only 13% alcohol), it nevertheless fills your mouth - kind of like chocolate mud pie with hint of raspberries and other black fruit. The mouthfeel seems to come from lots of soft tannin. The back label says lamb, cheese, roasts or venison. I say, Hersey's Milk Chocolate.

2005 Callaghan "Junior" - This brick red Merlot/Cab/Syrah combo is fairly transparent, but it has a nice nose of cigar box. Tastes of raspberry hard candy and fruit, but has a somewhat hard finish.

2004 Adelaida "Version" - This version of a Rhone beauty - Mourvedre, Syrah, Grenache, Counoise, Cinsualt - has lost a lot of weight since I tasted it at the winery, but that really hasn't improved its figure. It was full and curvaceous at the winery, but it may have become anorexic. Now it is easy, but too light and slim for my taste.

2004 Baer "Ursa" - While no bear of a wine, this beautiful Bordeaux Style Blend with a fairly light ruby color has a classic bouquet of blackcurrant and cedar. Raspberries, vanilla and coffee flavors make you want to drink more.

1998 L'Ecole No 41 Columbia Valley Merlot - Another ten year survivor, mellow and tasty in an old sort of way. Good fruit, balanced, mellow, but a little wrinkled and dusty.

2005 Opolo Mountain Zinfandel - Excellent big, full-bodied Zin from Paso Robles at 16.1% alcohol. Somehow I always unfairly compare every Zin the Grandpere vineyard in the Sierra foothills. This one was not bad!

2005 Ken Wright "Canary Hill" Pinot Noir - Good fruit, but too bright for me. A little too much acid in the finish for my taste.

2004 Turley Hayne Zinfandel - Big and complex, but not as great as its reputation. If this wine had not been made by a wine Goddess, expectations would not be so high, and you would love it.

2004 DeLille "Grand Ciel" Cabernet Sauvignon - Very European! Lots of fruit and lots of tannin. This Red Mountain biggie is DeLille's bid for a new Washington State "cult" wine. Reminiscent of the famous Bordeaux, Chateau Latour in a very good, but not great year. It has the size, depth and character of Latour and only the slightly hard tannins stop it from greatness at the moment. The real question is how will it age?

1996 Chateau Guiraud - Sauternes from this famous Chateau should be fabulous, but in fact it is prematurely bronzed in color and oxidized in taste. Tastes like a not so great 30 year old that has seen better days. Costco's buyer blew it on this one, even with the relatively inexpensive price for "great" Sauternes of only thirty buck

1988 Chateau Rieussec - Now this is what it's all about. A classic example of what aged great Sauternes should be - not too sweet, with beautiful floral notes.

1988 Chateau de Rayne Vigneau - Lighter than its two more famous cousins, this twenty year old is exquisitely elegant and refined. Had the famous Czeck writer Milan Kundera tasted this, he might have written "The Incredible Lightness of Being." Ineffable, paradisical!

Nostrovia!

Today I will use my four words of Russian. Nostrovia! Cheers! Many cities in the U.S. now have shops where you can buy Russian food and wine. Seattle and San Francisco have several, even Tucson has a "European" market where you can get Russian goods. My favorite is the shop on Irving and, is it 15th, in the Sunset in San Francisco. This shop has an entire wall of Russian charcuterie, a freezer full of Pelmeny and Pirogi, a freezer tray full of smoked fish, shelves of canned goods from Latvia, Bulgaria and other places. The fourth wall is a deli counter with pickles, stuffed cabbage, pickled tongue, anything your heart desires. Behind the register is a wall of wine and liquor mostly Vodka. In my naive American way, I asked the owner for potato Vodka. Immediately everyone in line was telling me in a friendly way that I was crazy and that I should get "Standard" Vodka - very good, very smooth, the best, but made from wheat. This vodka has 60% market share in Russia and is sold in many countries around the world. BTW, the company that sells Standard also sells life insurance, so if you drink yourself to death you are covered. Standard is the best Vodka I've had. With Stoli, Grey Goose, Absolute, or Ketal One, you are paying for a massive marketing campaign. Standard is way better and Bevmo even had a two for one sale, thus, $10 a bottle ( regular price - $20). Standard, dah, Stoli, nyet! This goes great with smoked fish and salmon roe caviar.

I brought some smoked sausage with me from San Francisco and bought some Kishka at the "European" store at 4500 Speedway in Tucson. I, also, bought my first bottle of Russian wine from Georgia - 2001 Mukuzani made from the Saperavi grape. Georgia has been producing wine for thousands of years ,although recently there have been some questionable practices. Some Georgian have reached record old age, maybe there is something special in the wine. It has been said that it was Stalin's favorite wine, though I doubt he could possibly have killed as many bottles of it as he killed people. The wine is a kind of purplish claret color with spicy fruit, mushrooms and a hint of cedar in the nose. It is soft, round, light to medium bodied, with big soft fruit, a hint of mocha and a slightly tangy finish. It went great with the Kishka and salami. Very good wine. Dasvedania!

Northwest Treasure From The Sea

You think Northwest wines are special, wait 'til you taste Northwest oysters. The Toveys passed along a piece on the East Coast Shellfish Grower's Association's First Annual Invitational Oyster Challenge. Totten Bay oysters from Charles Taylor won. After downing dozens of these beauties at Taste Washington, I could have told you so. I told the gentleman who sat next to us at Taste, the restaurant at the Seattle Art Museum, how great they were. My friend Hermine and I noticed that this casually dressed guy was getting the royal treatment from my old friend Shannon, the new wine manager at Taste, so we struck up a conversation. It turns out that Taste has to keep him happy since he supplies all their oysters from the Taylor Oyster Company. Totten Oysters are Quilcenes raised in Totten Bay. Tottens and Quicenes are my faves, with the exception, of course, of Kumomotos and little teeny weeny Olympias. IMO, Washington state has the best oysters around. Even better than Belons from France.

What to drink with oysters? Dry, crisp whites! Classically, Sauvignon and Semillon based French whites such as Muscadet, Entre-Deux Mers, Bordeaux Blanc and Graves. Check out Albarino from Rias Xais in the northern Spanish province of Galatia. I particularly like Laxas Albarino.

Taylor Shellfish Farms holds an annual Pacific Coast Oyster Wine Competition to find west coast wines that match well with Oysters. The 2008 Pacific Coast Oyster Wine Competition " Oyster Award" Winners were:

2006 Amity Pinot Blanc

2006 Ch. Ste. Michelle Sauvignon Blanc

2006 Clayhouse Sauvignon Blanc

2006 Clos Du Bois Sauvignon Blan

2006 Covey Run Fume Blanc

2006 Dry Creek Fume Blanc

2006 Girard Sauvignon Blanc

2007 Kathryn Kennedy Sauvignon Blanc

2006 Robledo Suavignon Blanc

2006 Simi Sauvignon Blanc

2007 Van Duzer Pinot Gris

2007 Willamette Valley Vineyards Pinot Gris


A dozen winners for a dozen oysters. In the 2007 competition, 2005 Brassfield Sauvignon Blanc and 2005 King Estate Pinot Gris were, also, among the winners. I might add that "Luna" Pinot Gris and Santa Margherita Pinot Gris are also good "oyster wines", but the Santa Margherita is outrageously overpriced in the $20 plus range. Less expensive dry Italian whites such as Vernaccia di San Gimignano and Orvieto are also excellent oyster wines. Soave works, too. This is one of those rare instances where European wines are less expensive and better tasting than American wines.

What makes an oyster wine. Here are some comments from the wine judges:

White, white, white.
Dry as a bone, clean as a whistle.
Crisp, clean.

This reminds me. Another great source of oyster wines - New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc such as Whitehaven.

Refreshing.
Good backbone of acid.
Avoid big, buttery, oaky Chardonnay.
Same temperature as the oyster.
Airy freshness.
Lean, austere.
Let's the oyster be an oyster.
Steely.
Crisp, flinty.
Doesn't get in the way of the next oyster.

These descriptions reminded me of a whole other group of French wines - Chablis. Avoid the really expensive Grand Crus. For oysters, stick with Petite Chablis, Chablis or Premier Cru. The cheaper the better because it will be drier, crisper, and tart. If you are going to drink Chardonnay with oysters these tart, dry versions of Chablis are perfect.

Brisk and clean.
Not too fancy, no complications.
I like it cold.
Get away from vanilla and butter.
Don't like any residual sugar.
Light, fresh.
Citric or mineral undercurrent.
Clean , slicing finish.
Acid and chalk.
Dry, steely, chilled to a crisp.
Crisp, delicate but firm.
Sharp, fierce acidity.

Another Eurowine comes to mind - Moschofilero from Greece.

Searingly dry.
Makes you want to eat more oysters.
Dry, crisp, clean finishing.

Wow, my tongue and throat are seared, pickled, and cold. Perfect prep for the next oyster. You understand, of course, that we are talking here about raw oysters - the perfect aphrodisiac. No Oysters Rockefeller here. Oysters are an acquired taste. It is an easy acquisition, if they are freshly opened and not "milky." The rule of "R" months is generally a pretty good guide but not always accurate for all micro-climates. The next "R" month will be September. That's a long time to wait. Ask your waiter about "milkiness." If you gather oysters yourself during the Washington summer, beware of Red Tide - call the hotline.

Champagne also works with oysters, although it is a shame to waste good oysters on Champagne and good Champagne on oysters. In any event, make sure the Champagne is very dry and very cold. If you are one of those weirdos who don't like wine, raw oysters are great with ice cold Vodka or Gin and totally dry Martinis. Very light, very cold beer, such as Corona, works, too. Cheers! Thanks Bob, Kathy and Robin for passing this on to me.

Wine Notes

2006 Fetzer Chardonnay - Fairly light, dry, easy with a slightly citrus finish. Fetzer has been making reliable wines for decades. Great for summer drinking or with fish and seafood at a reasonable price (about $6 at supermarkets)

2006 Panilonco Reserve Merlot/Malbec - My friend Tom brought me this Four Buck Chuck from Chile! Great fruit flavors in a light style. Perfect picnic wine (about $4 at Trade.

2006 Panilonico Reserve 2006 - Carmenere for Four Bucks? Yep! Another Trader Joe's find. Carmenere has become the hallmark wine of Chile. Here is another light styled fruity picnic wine. Lighter than the Merlot/ Malbec.

2006 Alexander & Fitch Cabernet Sauvignon - A different Tom gave me this Alexander Valley Cab. It is the genuine article. A full-blooded North Coast California Cab with loads of upfront fruit, medium body and good balance. An amazing value for around $7 at Trader Joe's.

2005 Escudo Rojo - This blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenere, Syrah, and Cabernet Franc was made by Baron Phillipe De Rothschild in Maipo, Chile. This medium bodied beauty, totally HWP with great fruit, is another great value at about $10 at Costco.

2004 - Candado De Haza - This Tempranillo made by Alejandro Fernandez Pesquera de Duero is very serious wine full of gravidad. Made to age! I clearly committed infanticide here. This Ribera Del Duero red has a big, rich purplish color followed by lots of raspberry, cassis and truffle flavors, but it is definitely not jammy or in-your-face. Subdued like a great Bordeaux or a Spanish aristocrat, but not overwhelmed by the obvious tannins. This is truly one for cellar. It would be fun to see what this is like in ten years. I predict it will be at it's peak in 2024, but it is quite drinkable right know with steak, roasts and stew. Another phenomenal bargain at $15 from Costco.

2001 Chateau D'Escurac - This purplish red Medoc wine from Bordeaux is medium bodied with black fruit and some tannin and acid. A bit austere, it has good fruit and is reasonably priced for Bordeaux at about $15. Definitely a food wine.

Three Degrees of Separation?

Is this Facebook or LinkedIn or what? Or is it just the real thing? Bethia pinged Jennie who poked Mark who befriended Gene and they are all on Diane's friends list. I met Mark when I was selling Washingon State wines in the Bay Area, that is, when I was bringing coals to Newcastle. At that time, Mark Wysling was the winemaker at Yakima Cellars and he made some amazing wines - a Late Harvest Viognier and Red Willow Sangiovese. The Viognier was gorgeous and tasted like a fine Sauternes. The 2002 Red Willow Sangiovese was the most elegant, refined, American Sangio I've tasted, better than most of the Super Tuscans I've tasted. Subsequently Mark went to work at Kana Winery. Now Mark is starting his own winery called Parejas, Spanish for partners. Parejas was just recently bonded and is now one of the newest wineries in the state.

On Friday, the four of us set off on the back roads of Arizona toward the mile high wine country near Elgin. We drove up and back past a fairly obvious winery sign trying to find Sonoita Vineyards. Maybe we were yakking too much. Founded by pioneer, Gordon Dutt. Sonoita produced some award winning wines back in the 1980s that were even served at the White House and made wine "Enthusiasts" happy. Now the emphasis is on the money makers - wines for the "Overwhelmed" - pleasant, easy wines to sip on the patio with a fair amount of sugar, say, at least 1.5% - among others the French Columbard, Angel's Wings and Arizona Sunset. Several of the so-called premium wines had off tastes and odors which Mark immediately diagnosed as Brett and VA, or volatile acidity. In, fact, many of the wines we tasted that day had similar problems. This is unusal these days as the fix is a simple matter of sanitation. We decided to skip Arizona Winery and the Village of Elgin as their wines are very similar in style.

Our next stop was at the new Kief Joshua winery which actually looks almost like a Napa Valley winery, certainly no mom and pop operation, although Kief Mannings parents are heavily involved in the winery. It was a pleasure to talk wine with young Kief who trained in Australia.
His wines were well made, but from sourced grapes as his vines are still too young to make wine. In fact, we only found one winery that made estate grown wine. We liked Kief's Cabernet Franc best and had it with our picnic of cold lamb, hummus, tortillas, olives, etc., It was great with the lamb. BTW, Mark's 2001 RWV Reserve Sangio was great with the lamb the night before. This Sangio tasted like a really good Chianti with lots of fruit and the hallmark tangy finish of a Chianti. After lunch we had fun "playing" with Kief's 140lb. Bloodhound named Dizzy Gillespie. This is a winery to watch! Ranho Rosso wines were made exclusively from their estate grown grapes and exhibited very good undrlying fruit, but, again, we detected problems with Brett and VA. Finally in the town of Sonoita we checked out Dos Cabezas winery. The only wine we really liked at Dos Cabezas was the 2005 "La Montana" Petit Sirah/Merlot which they were closing out. Again, we found a few problems. We were looking forward to to visiting with Kent Callaghan as the highlight of he trip, but alas, he was in Paso Robles and the winery was closed. Kent makes world class wines fom estate grown grapes, so we know it can be done.

My old friend from the pioneering days of the Northwest wine industry, Dick Erath, has moved to Arizona to escape the dreay clouds of the Northwest and since selling his winery to Ste. Michelle started planting vineyards to the east, near Willcox, Arizona. It seems a number of Arizona's two dozen odd wineries, could use some consultation from Dick

Six Kinds Of Wine Drinkers

Which kind of wine drinker are you? Or are you a hybrid? Tina Caputo recently wrote a piece in Wines & Vines about a study by Constellation Wines suggesting that there are six kinds of wine drinkers. It seems they discovered that 23% of wine drinkers are overwhelmed by wine. Duh, I could have told them that! Almost all of my neighbors and many of my students in wine classes are overwhelmed by the choices at the supermarket, by wine terminology, by wine names, by foreign wine names, by a lack of information and by the absence of someone to help them. Most people know when they like a wine but they don't have the language to describe it, so they are afraid they won't be able to communicate and will look and feel foolish. That's why I once called the wine blogger community solipsistic since we sometimes seem to write only for our own wine enthusiastic selves, forgetting that most people are overwhelmed, intimidated and mystified by wine. That's why I try to cover the whole range of wine from Two Buck Chuck to Chateau Petrus, from Safeway to the most sophisticated wine shops.

The study identified six kinds of drinkers:

1) Overwhelmed - 23% of consumers are overwhelmed by the sheer number of wines on the shelf. Needing advice, there often isn't any. This consumer tends to buy wine in a supermarket and is too intimidated to go into a wine shop where they are afraid they will have to pay too much and look foolish, even though they actually might get some good advice. Just tell the salesperson how much you want to spend, whether you like red or white, sweet or dry and what you are buying the wine for.

2) Satisfied Sippers - 14% of consumers don't know that much about wine, but they know what they like and typically buy the same brand. These are happy drinkers who buy large quantities of their favorite brand and drink wine every day.

3) Traditionalists - 16% of consumers enjoy wine from established wineries. They feel that wine makes an occasion more formal. They like to entertain at home. They, too, stick to the same brands.

4) Savvy Shoppers - 15% of consumers love to shop for the best buys. They look for the best deals, and love specials and discounts. Value is paramount for these wine drinkers. These consumers want a $7 bottle and a $5 glass pour.

5) Image Seekers -20% of consumers view wine as a status symbol. Like to be the first to try a new wine. Image seekers who have the millions have it easy since all they have to do is subscribe to Robert Parker and the Wine Spectator and buy only "100 point" wines. Wine by the numbers, buzz, exclusive mailing lists, "cult" wines. At any level this is really a game of logos, labels, status and prestige. Millennials and males tend to occupy this space. Designer jeans, designer wines!

6) Enthusiasts - 12% of consumers consider themselves knowledgeable about wine. These are the wine geeks. They tend to live in cosmopolitan centers and affluent suburbs, love to entertain at home, read wine publications and are also influenced by wine ratings.

So what's the deal? In my experience, Enthusiasts and Image Seekers are fine with wine. They shop online, in wine shops, order direct from the winery, belong to wine clubs and mailing lists and by and large are not mystified or intimidated by wine. For the most part, Traditionalists and Satisfied Sippers are happy campers. Savvy Shoppers love the chase. The rest of us are Overwhelmed. As Jose Fernandez, CEO of Constellation, says, "The fact that most who work in the wine industry are Enthusiasts may account for the industry's failure to understand Overwhelmed consumers."

So what is the solution? Is there a "wine culture" in the U.S.? Something definitely shifted in the 1980s. All of a sudden, you could get "Aribica " coffee, French cheese, Croissants and other European delights in many places across the U.S. There was a paradigm shift. Calvinism was out, and hedonism was in. The American wine industry took off, and much more international wine became available in the U.S. Wine drinking was no longer effete, decadent and sinful. More recently, wine has become an accepted part of our daily routine. The fourth wave of wine naming arrived (by place, by grape, "Meritage" by marketers, "fun" and "cool" by winemakers). Finally wine is becoming fun and enjoyable instead of intimidating and mysterious. Not only are there six kinds of wine drinkers ( how many kinds of teetotalers are there?), people of every age are drinking wine. The young are totally into wine because, OMG, it is totally awesome. Yet, so many still feel totally overwhelmed. The answer? Quick and easy wine education. You don't have to have tasted wine from the 600 wineries in Washington , 6000 wineries in California or the 600,000 wines around the world to know what you like and enjoy wine. I teach people enough in a two hour wine class so that they are confident, can describe what they like and are freed from the "I don't know anything about wine" syndrome. Instead of expecting themselves to learn some official cant about wine, "cassis" and all that, they come up with really fresh ways of describing their experience of wine - "dirt", "flowers", "mellow, but not shallow." Instead of a formalistic, ritualistic recital of what you should taste, think of wine as a person and describe that person's physique, personality, etc. Instead of all that romanticized marketing hype on the back label, how about some straightforward facts about 1) when to drink it, 2) how sweet it is on a scale from 1-10, and 3) what to eat with it.

What kind of drinker am I? I am a total hybrid. I find the supermarket shelf overwhelming, overwhelmingly bad for the most part, although, fortunately for me, I can usually find the gems among the faux. I can be satisfied with a few old standbys and I frequently feel that a meal is enhanced and more formal with a serious wine on the table. Like most of us, I love a bargain and a sale, and love to sniff around all kinds of sources of vino. Once in a while I get carried away by prestige and status and like to show off, and, as you all know, I am a totally enthusiastic wine geek.

What kind of drinker are you?

Woodinville Bests

For whatever reason this year the wines just didn't seem quite as exciting as last year with a few exceptions, of course. More and more Woodinville wineries were pouring barrel samples. The barrel samples were exciting! It seemed like half the pours at Washington Wine Company, for example, were barrel samples. The gang of three - Chris Gorman, Mark Ryan, and Chris Sparkman - started a trend in wine naming and many wannabes in the hood are trying to make up cool names, too. This year, I particularly liked Mark Ryan's 2006 The Dissident and Chris Sparkman's 2006 Wilderness Red blend which reminded me of blueberries.

Best Wine Names - The Dissident, Reckoning, Recession Red, Forbidden Red

Best Wine - Darby La Deuce

Best Winemaker - Erica Blue

Best New Winemaker - Michael LeMieux

Best Value - Alexandria Nicole Quarry Butte

Best New Winery - XSV

Best Winery - Adam's Bench

Best Puget Sound Chardonnay - Hollywood Hills

Best Sweet White - Northwest Totem

Best Chardonnay - Volterra

Best White Blend - Oriana

Best Rhone Style White Blend - Darby

Best Red Blend - Pomum

Best Cab - Januik

Best Syrah - XSV

Guy Noir Tastes Pinot

So I'm sitting here in the cafe in Lake Wobegon, thinking about the last doll I took out, or rather how she took me. It's depressing, so I turned to my other love - Pinot Noir!
"Hey, Guy, why didn't you tell me your last name was Noir."
"Listen Pinot, I have enough trouble as it is. "
"Yeah, you do! I hear you've been dating Merlot lately. Didn't you see that movie, "Sideways"? You can always drown your sorrows with me baby."
"Merlot really went for that Cab guy. She kinda led me on, then she drops me for King Cab."
"Don't worry honey, you can take your fill of me!"
"Mmm, your my only Pinot. The only Pinot I've ever really enjoyed. Those French Pinots are such sour pusses, they never turn me on and those California bombshells are so in-your-face."
"I came all the way from Oregon just for you baby. I am HWP, perfectly balanced with delicious fruit and a great aftertaste. Here I am in Lake Wobegon where all the women drink wine and all the wines are above average."

Woodinville Passport III

Hordes of people wandering around, with a wine glass in hand, in the cold, in the warehouse district west of 144th. Along the strip on the way in we visited William Church, Arlington Road, Page , Red Sky and others. William Church had a nice Cab Blend. Arlington poured two wines with regal names and prices. The Imperium ( too bad you can't walk around the Roman Art From The Louvres show at SAM with this) is a semisweet Riesling - kind the quintessential Riesling, but too sweet for my taste. The 2005 Monolith was a good Bordeaux blend , but a little pricey at $40 and too monolithic for me:). Cuillin and Des Voignes seem to have gotten a divorce or at least a legal separation. Both continue to produce good wines. The Des Voigne "Untitled" was quite good but won't be made in the future. Red Sky was mobbed and their best wine, Serendipity, had the highest price, $40 a throw for this Bordeaux style blend. Did the blend just come together serendipitously? At Edmonds Winery, the Slide Ridge Claret seemed a little too vegetative for my, taste, but the 2005 Cab/Merlot Blend was delicious and reasonably priced ( about $23). BTW, 10% of proceeds go to Food Lifeline. Anton Ville is a new winey in the patch along with XSV. The 2003 XSV Syrah from Horse Heaven Hills was smooth fruity and delicious. The XSV 2003 Chardonnay seemed overoaked to me. Baer wines continued their record of excellence. The Washington Wine Company poured lots of wonderful wine from the barrel. One of these pours had the completely appropriate name for 2008 - Recession Red. I hope the price is right or will it be priced like the other necessity at the pump. The 2004 Forbidden Red is a great buy at $17 and the 2006 Volterra Chardonnay is a even better value at $12. Washington Wine Company makes these "house wines" for Volterra Restaurant and the restaurant was serving food to match the wine. Across the way, Alexandria Nicole and Darby were pouring. The 2005 Quarry Butte from Alexandre Nicole is an outstanding Red Blend - smooth, soft, great fruit, very friendly and a great buy at $20. Darby English himself was pouring his '06 Syrah and his '07 La Deuce. The Syrah was smooth with a little hint of mocha and a hint of tanginess at the end, very good but not as wonderful as the '05. Once again, the Rousanne/Viognier blend bowled me over with it's rich smooth, buttery texture and great fruit. Wow! All in all, a great tasting experience, but the price inflation worries me. Don't they know we are in a recession. We may have to buy the two necessities at the same place -the gas station.

Ghost of Woodinville

The Evil Twin didn't have a ghost of a chance of stopping the Bully from making "Ghost of 413." Winemakers Chris Gorman and Mark Ryan collaborated to create this beauty. Chris has a unique way of ageing wine, never mind the oak barrels, just roll out the barrels and bring in the rock band Ska. After one day of great vibes, Chris decided that the wine really rocked, so he stopped the band and closed up shop on Sunday. Lots of people travelling on Woodinville Passports were disappointed, but it was worth it. The wine hadn't given up the ghost, in fact, it took on a beautifully mellow expression, and while it has lots of fruit upfront, it is not some shallow fruitbomb. While it is mellow, it's not shallow. Wow! The Syrah is totally awesome at the price. The Ghost rocks!

Tempis Fugit!

Time flies! The rest of Woodinville Passport is coming soon. Gene

"Wine Is A Living Thing"

My mentor, Fritzy Haskell was soooo right! Tonight we opened a bottle of 2001 Angludet Margaux. At first it seemed flat, old, and uninteresting. We thought it had already died a premature death. There was tannin, but not much else there. After ten or fifteen minutes in the glass it tasted like a totally different wine. Lots of delicious black fruit flavors emerged and by the time we started to pour it from the decanter it was in full bloom and went really great with duck breast. This wine changed more in less than half an hour than many wines change in ten or twenty years. As Fritzy used to say,"Wine is a living thing."

Wine Notes

Three guys from Davis - My new friend Danial tells me that the Golan Heights Winery was founded by three guys from Davis. It seems so. the 2006 Yarden Mount Hermon Bordeaux style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc has a beautiful smooth, balanced character with lots of great black fruit flavors - perfectly balanced.

The 2004 Fuentespina Granate from the Ribera Del Duero region in Spain is bigger and much more rustic than Israeli wine, but it has lots of character and would be perfect with a stew, a roast, or almost any Spanish red meat dish. The back label advertises this 100% Tempranillo as a BBQ wine which for a change is right on.

The 2006 Huntington Chardonnay is the quintessential California Chardonnay - creamy texture, floral notes, tropical fruit, but not a lot of oak - a great value.

The 2006 Dupond Chardonnay is an example of how the French can succeed in the global wine market. This Chard, from the Pays D'Oc, almost tastes like a Sauvignon Blanc. It is dry, slightly tart, but with good fruit and body - sort of the anti-thesis of the Huntington Chardonnay, the "Anti-California" Chard or the Chard for people who don't think they like Chardonnay another great value.

The 2006 Dupond Cabernet Sauvignon is full of delicious fruit - another bargain.

Tune in on Thursday or Friday for the continuation of Woodinville Passport.

Woodinville Passport II

A stop at Northwest Totem Cellars yields good reds and the lovely Late Harvest Viognier. On the way north we fight our way into the Matthews parking lot and taste the very good old standby Claret. Up to Efeste where the large space of the winery houses a madhouse of wine tasters. The same suspects as last year were all good, but not quite as exciting. Perhaps the newness has worn off. The lines to get into Covington and Stevens were so long on Saturday that we postponed a visit to Sunday when the crowds were smaller perhaps due to the return of cold, cloudy, rainy weather. These wineries are now totally surrounded by suburban tract housing. I guess they are in good company with the wineries in the southern Medoc, and Chateau Haut Brion, surrounded by apartments. Just because the other kids who sit in the front of the class get "A's" doesn't mean you will just by moving to the front of the class. The 2007 Covington Viognier was clean, fresh and spirited. the 2005 Sangiovese and the 2006 Starr Syrah were quite good. The 2006 Rough House Red was billed as "A Tribute to U. S. Armed Forces", an unusual blend of politics. patriotism and grapes. There was nothing "young and rowdy" about this wine. It seemed more of a soft peace loving wimp lacking body armor and a well protected MRWP (did I get this acronym right?). Somebody's baby sent to war, it was, in fact, delicious. The Tuscan Red was discounted to $75 a magnum, still overpriced IMO. The food pairings were interesting and probably appealing to the crowds, but frankly I found it a distraction from tasting the wine. Chatter Creek turned out all of the usual culprits. The Orange Muscat was light and floral. Very appealing, but, IMO, inappropriately served first. The Pinot Gris was "dry!" The Grenache was light and fruity, almost a "Nouveau" style. The Blend 105 was well balanced with good body and fruit. Javiar Alfonso, winemaker at Pomum Cellars, took my advice and this year had tasting notes ready for each of his wines. I really appreciate this as it helps me to scratch my own notes and remember the wine. I hope it helps you, too. Both the 2005 Syrah and the 2005 Shya Red were bigger this year. The Syrah is really big and needs some age. The Shya Red was still medium bodied with lots of fruit in the nose and and beautiful fruit in the mouth. This is a Bordeaux style blend with all five of the usual Bordeaux grapes and five great vineyards - a true classic. When will we see a Tempranillo? A pleasant surprise at Ross Andrew - my old publishing partner, Bill Getz, pouring wine for Ross. Seems they are both FOBS - friends of Bob, Bob Betz, that is. So few degrees of separation! The 2007 "Meadow", an Oregon white melange of Pinot Blanc, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris and Riesling had a huge panoply of aromas and flavors. Very dry, good with Asian food. The 2005 Red Table Wine was more to my gout. Beautiful, user friendly and dominated by Merlot fruitiness, despite the majority of Cab grapes, this beauty has a great pedigree from four outstanding Washington vineyards. This batch of wineries has become hard to find, buried as it is in the middle of housing. You feel like you will eventually get to a cul de sac, rather than a winery, as you follow the winding, quaintly named streets south. Eventually when to can go no farther you see the limos double parked and you know that you have arrived. To be continued...

Woodinville Passport - I

It was a beautiful sunny day (72 degrees) in Seattle as we drove over the floating bridge on Lake Washington toward the Eastside.We started the day at Columbia Winery where we picked up our "Passport." I had heard rumors that Columbia Winery wines have improved. The two glass pours for Woodinville Passport certainly didn't prove it. The 2003 Cab Franc was a pleasant wine with good fruit and a slightly acidic finish. The winery had one poor person pouring for a mob of people. The 2006 Riesling Ice wine was sweet and balanced, but not very interesting.

From Columbia we drove a short distance up Woodinville - Redmond Road to Novelty Hill Januik Winery. The new winery looks a bit like a concrete bunker on the outside and the arrangement of the tasting seem not very accessible for a handicapped person, although I suppose they must have met all the current codes. As many of you know, Mike Januik makes the wines for Novelty Hill, owned by the Alborg family of Stillwater Creek Vineyard, and he makes his own wines under his own label in a shared winemaking facility. The 2005 Stillwater Creek Viognier was pleasant enough, but not very interesting. The 2004 Stillwater Creek Cabernet Sauvignon was soft and balanced with a slightly tangy finish. the 2005 Sangiovese was full of good fruit, also with a tangy finish. In this case, it tasted totally like a good high end Chianti, perfectly balanced between American and Italian style. This would be great with Italian food. The Januik 2006 Elerding Vineyard Chardonnay was fresh, European in style, but with less body than the Cold Creek Chard and tending toward a hint of tartness. Definitely a food wine. The 2005 Syrah was good, but not particularly exciting. The 2005 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon was a beautiful standout wine - soft, medium bodied with great fruit. Really a blend of all the usual Bordeaux suspects, this one was a winner. It would have been interesting to taste some of Mike's other single vineyard wines such as Ciel Du Cheval, Champoux and Seven Hills Cab Sauv, Novelty Hill Stillwater Creek Roussanne, and Januik Cold Creek Chardonnay.

Last year we couldn't even find Brian Carter winery. This year we parked in the Tully's lot, hiked past Purple Cafe, the Chamber of Commerce, etc., and finally lighted upon the winery. The first wine we tasted was the 2005 Oriana, a blend of Viognier, Riesling, and Roussanne. A huge aromatic nose leads to a full-bodied wine that would go well with Asian or fusion cuisine. The 2005 Abracadabra Magical Red Blend is a witch's brew of seven varietals from three different vineyards. Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble! Poof! Brian Carter pulls a real beauty from a hat and at a reasonable price. It's a shame they weren't pouring the L'Etalon which is one of my favorite
wines

Once again, the day of Reckoning was here for winemakers and owners of Adams Bench, Erica and Tim Blue. Like last year, they were pouring two pre-release wines(2006 Reckoning and 2006 Reserve Cab "V"), and one available for immediate purchase(2005 Horse Heaven Hills Red). The wines can be purchased at their website: http://www.adamsbench.com/ These three wines were amazing. My notes include "awesome", "yum", purple, beautiful, chocolate, mushroom and black fruit. This year Tim told me five of their secrets: 1) Erica switched from medicine to winemaking and thus, from bringing human babies into the world, to bringing wine into the world. I've often contended that raising vines and wines is very similar to raising children; 2) they studied enology at U.C. Davis and thus have a thorough understanding of the chemistry of wine; 3) they have a great winemaking consultant - Chris Carmada over at Andrew Will; 4) they look for physiological ripeness in the grapes; 5) Tim seemed to imply that they are covert, or maybe overt, Robert Parker fans. We brought a bottle the 2005 Horse Heaven Hills Red home for dinner. It was followed by a 1991 Phillip Togni Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Carol loved the the Adams Bench, Diane loved the Phillip Togni. I liked them both. They are made in entirely different styles. The Adams Bench , while not jammy, was very fruit forward, exploding in your mouth with a hint of sweet feel at the end. The Togni was more linear and serious, kind of like Phillip himself. Different strokes for different folks. In any event, if Tim and Erica sent their wines off to Robert Parker, I have no doubt that he would rate them in the "90s". It would be a mutual admiration society.


Across the road from Adams Bench, at Hollywood Hill Vineyard, Steve Snyder, makes wine in the opposite style. His 2007 Hollywood Hill Vineyards Estate Grown Chardonnay is made from what may be the only patch of Chardonnay grapes grown in the Puget Sound AVA. Light, tart and fresh, it is totally reminiscent of Sancerre make in the Loire Valley of France, except, of course, it doesn't have the grapefruit and grass aroma associated with the Sauvignon Blanc grape from which the Sancerre is made. Substitute lemon for grapefruit and apple for grass and you've got it! Steve is truly a garagiste! To be continued...

Best of Taste Washingon

Here's your favorite part. My faves. Was this the best Taste Washington? Maybe so! Here are my nominations for "Bests" at the show in no particular order.

Best Food - Kumomoto Oysters from Elliot Bay

Best Winery Name - Wawawai Canyon & Flying Trout

Best Wine Name - Deluge

Best Gang of Four - SSAW: South Seattle Artisan Wineries

Best Winery Architecture - Tertulia

Best Overall Quality - Note Bene

Best New Puget Sound Winery - Palouse

Best New Woodinville Winery - Darby & Pomum

Best New Yakima Winery - Airfield and Gilbert

Best New Columbia Cascades Winery - Stemilt

Best New Columbia Gorge Winery - Domaine Pierre Noire

Best New Walla Walla Winery - Adamant

Best Riesling - Isenhauer

Best Chardonnay - Buty

Best Red Blend - Fall Line

Best Syrah - Walter Dacon

Best of Show - Spring Valley Uriah

Taste Washington - III

Every year Washington's perfect climate produces a new crop of wineries. They are almost always interesting and a labor of love. This year, the wines from these babies, were pretty much all very good. I don't think I tasted a bad wine in the bunch at Taste Washington and this has not always been the case. Not all of these wineries are brand new. Some of them have been around for a couple of years, but they are new to me and probably to you, too. Wineries whose wines I tasted have an asterisk. They are listed in alphabetical order. Sorry if I left anyone out. Just send me a comment and I will add you to the list, unless you are clearly an oldster.

• 428*


• Adamant*


• Airfield Estates*


• Caderetta


• Charles Smith


• Darby*


• Domaine Pierre Noire*


• Efeste*


• Flying Trout*


• Gilbert Cellars*


• Graves Cellars*


• Hence Cellars


• Hestia Cellars


• Kyra Wines*
• Lake Crest*
• NxNW Winery*


• Palouse*


• Pomum*


• Revelry


• Soos Creek*


• Stemilt Creek*


• Tertulia*


• Trust*


• Wawawai Canyon
• Whitestone

Taste Washingon - II

Two hundred fifteen wineries, 850 wines, 3500 attendees, 1700 lemongrass satays, 700 papaya salads, 3000 wicked shrimp, 3500 top sirloin crostinis, 5000 oysters, 250 lbs of flat iron steak, 3500 Riedel glasses, one Maserati and a partridge in a pear tree. I like to think I made a significant dent in the 5000 oysters. But 850 wines get blurred. Here's my lowdown on the wineries in attendance by region. I skipped all Woodinville wineries as Woodinville Passport is coming up this weekend. Of Yakima wineries, I only got to Airfield Estates, Apex, Gilbert, Kana and Milbrandt Vineyards. Chinook, Desert Wind (check out the Ruah), Kestrel, McKinley Springs and Sheridan are almost always good bets. Kyra Wines is neighbors with the De Hart clan at Moses Lake. Saint Laurent made interesting reds this year and I tasted Stemelt wines for the first time. Latah Creek and Townsend Cellars in Spokane made some good wines, while Gordon Bros, Goose Ridge and Barnard Griffin produce some of the best Washington values in The Tri-Cities area. Somehow I missed all the Red Mountain wineries present. Hightower and Terra Blanca can usually be counted on the produce excellent wines. I concentrated on Walla Walla wineries because my grandson's birthday fell on the same day as Taste Walla Walla in Seattle this year, so I missed it. Brett Isenhauer was producing at his usual high level of quality again this year. His Riesling was in that very dry style I like so much. Alsace, move over! L'Ecole and Reininger seem to have regained their old quality after a bad patch last year. Seven Hills wines were good. Amaurice, Buty and Five Star continue their stellar performances. Long Shadows continues to make great wine. Tertulia and Trust continue in the style to which they become accustomed. Old Walla Walla favorites I missed include Amavi, Buty, Cougar Crest, Canoe Ridge, Dusted Valley, Forgeron, Gifford Hirlinger, Pepper Bridge, Nelms Road, Nicholas Cole, Northstar, Saviah, SYZYGY, and Yellow Hawk. New wineries in Walla Walla that I didn't have a chance to check out included Caderetta, Charles Smith and Hence. Next time, I will list new wineries, tasted and not.

Taste Washingon - I

This year Taste Washington was spectacular! The food was excellent. There were over two hundred wineries and, for whatever reason, the crowds were less densely packed. My first stop after a sip of Quilceda Creek Red was Palouse Winery. George and Linda were pouring at their first ever Taste Washington and as usual the pours were spectacular. The semi-sweet 2007 Riesling was "full flavored." The 2007 Viognier was exceptionally aromatic. The 2005 "Dineen" Cab Sauv was "awesome." The 2004 Eclipse eclipsed everything else except the Cab and the Syrah. I promised Linda and George I would remember my reactions to their wines and I did! After that, everything is a blur except the Kumomoto and Totten Bay oysters from Elliot Bay, but it was such a long trip to the Buty booth to get some beautiful Chard to go with the oysters. I will just share some random thoughts and impressions to be followed by a regional breakdown and a list of new wineries. Vashon Island is definitely worth a day trip to visit Palouse and Vashon winery. Try to schedule it when Andrew Will is having a release weekend. Ron Irvine's wines this year seem like some of his best. These are wines to be sought out. I noticed more of a trend toward established vineyards making at least some of their own wines, instead of selling all of their grapes to other winemakers. In addition to Goose Ridge, and Stillwater Creek, Milbrandt Vineyards has started making their own wine. I also saw a trend toward more women winemakers and owners such as Ashley Trout at Flying Trout and Juliet Pouilon at Domaine Pierre Noire.

I only managed to taste wines from two of the South Park gang of four, aka SSAW. Tim Sorenson was up to his usual speed although his Horse Heaven Hills wine this year is in an entirely different style. Tim Narby at Note Bene once again shows a consistently high level of quality. Unfortunately, I missed "OS" and Cadence. Dave Larson at Soos Creek is making wine in a similar vein. I missed John Bell's wines which are definitely in the same class. I ran into Brian Carter but didn't have a chance to taste his wines. Brian is an excellent winemaker. BTW, Harry Alhadeff sold Apex Cellars, and Matt Wysman is no longer winemaker at Kana Cellars. Glacial Lake Missoula is making their usual overwhelming "Deluge." I had a chance to meet Lloyd Andersen whose Walter Dacon Syrahs where excellent as usual. Latah Creek over in Spokane made what may be the state's second Petit Verdot which, while not quite as big as Mike Januik's, was quite tasty. BTW, Januik's Petit Verdot has turned from a well-behaved beautiful child into a huge strapping teenager. What will it be like in adulthood? Townsend Cellar in Spokane is also turning out some good wines. Winemaker Serge Lavillle was pouring Spring Valley Vineyard's wines and once again Uriah was a standout. Five Star was stellar as usual. The new Amaurice wines are excellent. Trey Busch at Sleight of Hand continues his usual magic. He very cleverly bottles his "everyday" wines in screwcaps, and his "age-ers" in corks. Saint Laurent had several good new reds to taste, though I missed their outstandingly dry Riesling. Balsomroot continues to make good wines and Nefarious wines were totally wicked. Devin Stinger at Adamant was adamentine in his approach to some new reds. He is definitely a guy to watch. So many wines, so little time. Next we will review our impressions by region and finally we will list new wineries.

Crushed At The Crush pARTy

Did you try to crash the Crush or did you get crushed in the Crush. The Crush pARTy for the Tucson Art Museum was a big success. Lots of great food, good wine and lots of people. New York, Massachusetts, Nebraska - everybody was there. Plan to attend next year. Outstanding hors d'oeuvres were provided by some of the best restaurants in Tucson - great prawns from Vivace, excellent pate from Elle, escargots in miniature pastry cups from Bistro Phillip, great fruit and chocolate from Barrio and so much more. Wines were all provided by Alliance Beverage and they must have put out their entire book - lots of old standbys such as Robert Mondavi, Rodney Strong, Rancho Zabaco, Louis Martini, etc,. The Sonoma Cutrer Chard was good but not as good as past vintages. The Caymus was delicious, the Duckhorn Merlot ordinary, the Robert Craig Affinity fabulous. The Ruffino Pinot Grigio was both lively and full bodied, the Glen Carlou Cab was the best South African wine I've tasted. Migration, a Pinot Noir by Duckhorn was topnotch competing with the best Pinots from France and Oregon. Emiliana, a blend from the Chilean winery, Coyam was delicious, but it is a little pricey. The Robert Hall winery from Paso Robles had several excellent wines, especially the Rhones De Robles a great blend of Rhone varietals (more about them next month when I will report direct from the winery). The highlight for me was meeting the handsome Oscar Renteria and his beautiful wife. Oscar was the featured winemaker and his wines were outstandingly good. The story of the Renteria family is the ultimate migrant success story which I will relate in a future post. My favorite Renteria wines were the Pinot Noir Carneros, Knittle Ranch and the Cabernet Sauvignon SLD. Next year escape the cold gray north and come to Tucson for great wine, food, and SUN. BTW, best winery name? "Naughty!" Best wine name? "Freakout" from Luna.

Go Down Moses - Dry Falls Winery

We last left Moses on Mount Sinai posing for an Andy Warhol print. Thanks to modern technology, Moses recently arrived at his namesake right smack in the middle of Washington state, Moses Lake. Moses went down to the lake, and saw that it was good, but then he thought,"No Wine!" And so he said, "Let there be wine!" And, yea, verily, before our very eyes there appeared a winery. And Moses chose a family to shepherd the vines and make the wine and verily there were three generations. And the DeHart family was filled with love and joy and they named their winery after Moses' little known, but greatest feat (even greater than the parting of the Red Sea): stopping the Missoula Flood and creating Dry Falls. And they named the winery Dry Falls Winery. And Gene, another wanderer in the desert, happened upon the De Hart encampment, and in the true spirit of desert hospitality was offered something to drink, and surely it was a deep rich red wine that cried out for lamb. And so Gene sacrificed a lamb and it was great with the 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon from Horse Heaven Hills.

Right now, mostly whites are available, but there are two Tempranillo reds with many more reds to come. My one sample of the De Hart art - the 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon from Horse Heaven Hills was an"amateur" wine sample with no label, made, I believe, before the winery was bonded. Big, at 14.5% alcohol, it presents with lots of black fruit flavors followed by the tang of acid at the end. Not as velvety as the 2004 Anglim Cabernet Sauvignon from Paso Robles, nor as elegant as the 2004 Fall Line Horse Heaven Hills Red, it tastes like a wine from the Southwest of France which is exactly what the winemaker says he was shooting for. Why he is trying to make wine in that style when, French winemakers are trying to make fruitier wines more agreeable to the global palate is not clear, but then winemakers are an eccentric bunch and frequently see other vineyards as greener. Among the whites available are a Semillon, White Riesling, "Old Vine Traditional" Chardonnay, Chardonnay " Old Vines Late Harvest", and "Old Vines Sweet" Chardonnay.

I predict that very soon other families will encamp near Moses Lake and that soon there will be a new "Go Down", "Dry Falls" or "Moses Lake" AVA. One of Washington's newest wineries, Dry Falls is definitely a winery to watch. BTW, would I ever write such a post about the Prophet Mohammed? Never!

Rush To The Crush pARTy in Tucson

Don't get crushed by the rush to the Tucson Crush Wine Festival, Friday, April 4th to Saturday, April 5th, at 6:00 p.m. both nights. This will be the first annual Wine Auction to raise funds for the Tucson Art Museum and the largest outdoor wine festival in Arizona. The venue is an amazing outdoor plaza and the temperatures promise to be in the 70s and 80s, perhaps cooling down to the 60s. Tired of the cold, wet, dark of the North? Fly to Tucson for sun , wine, art, and a great break. If you are from Seattle (auction capital of the world), for instance, you could pay for your airfare with the difference between a Poncho Auction ticket at $600 and a Crush Classic Fine Art And Rare Wine Auction Dinner at the bargain price of $200. People have already flown in from all over the country and around the world for the first of the special Pre-Crush Seminars: The Importance of Shape by Maximillian Riedel. For only $150 per person, you got a great experience plus a set of Riedel Vitis wine glasses.

Don't miss the pARTy! Friday's pARTy will include a silent auction - original art by regional artists, wine, art classes, restaurant gift certificates, jewelry, and many other items. The whole spectrum of auction items and prices will be represented, so that any of us peasants can find something affordable. The price is $60 in advance or $75 at the door. The Crush Classic will be a full blown gala dinner - black tie optional. With black tie optional, I'm not sure whether you could wear your Paul Bond custom-made "Las Vegas" alligator cowboy boots, but at $5000 a throw, you could probably get away with it. More likely, you would be the life of the party! Maybe next year, I'll get me some boots made with wine glasses on the sides. Then I'll be able to join Garrison Keillor's cowboy sidekicks Rusty and Dusty for a gourmet dinner. The Classic will feature a wine paired gourmet dinner, "quick-draw" plein-air paintings, rare wine and cigar bar, and, of course, a live auction of fine art and rare wine including Bordeaux, followed by music and dancing. All this, ladies and gentlemen, for only $200.

The Museum is in historic downtown Tucson close to major hotels at 140 N. Main Avenue. Check out the website at: www. tucsonmuseumofart.org. Call 520-624- 2333, ext.111 for tickets. Sounds like it's going to be a gem of a show!

U.C, Davis Wrings Last Chemical From The Grape

U.C. Davis must have wrung the last chemical from the grape, because it seem to be looking for virgin territory. According to Laura Kastenbaum, AP writer, Davis is opening an olive oil center right next to the Enology and Viticulture building. My olive oil center is the Olive Pit in Corning, California. It is one of my favorite stops on the trip from Seattle to San Francisco. The Olive Pit is a fun place almost like a Disney theme park for foodies. There are dozens and dozens of varieties of olives - some for munching, some for Martinis, some from exotic places like Morocco. The dried cured black olives from Morocco are an all time bargain. There are other goodies such as nuts and dried fruit, pickled veggies such as Okra and Green Beans and an olive oil tasting bar. Ah, there's the rub. Not enough California olive oil, says Davis. They want to foster increased production of olive oil in California. More power to them, but let's hope that they don't encourage the production of an oily liquid , so chemically manipulated, that it is only suitable for bio-diesel.

Heavenly Wine From 2004 Fall Line Horse Heaven Hills

OMG, Tim, what a heavenly wine you have wrought in the 2004 Horse Heaven Hills Red at your Fall Line winery. These Destiny Ridge grapes were destined for greatness in your hands. Full of grace, balance and exquisite flavor. This is the most delicious wine I have had in years - Human Heaven Hills. We tasted it in a class I taught on Washington State wines. We tasted fourteen wines including 2004 Fall Line Horse Heaven Hills, 2004 Fall Line Red Mountain, 2004 Cadence Ciel Du Cheval, 2004 Cadence Klipsun. 2004 Cadence Tapteil and 2002 Pepper Bridge Walla Walla Merlot all of which were excellent. Awesome wine! If you have any left save a bottle for me. It seems to be at it's peak right now. Thanks, Gene

Will Tibetan Wine Free Tibet?

Over half the countries in the world produce wine. A while back I wrote about Thai wine. Tonight I had some Pinot Grigio from Roumania with my Corned Beef and Cabbage. Wine is ubiquitous, but what's it got to do with freedom. Well, first there is the freedom to drink wine, then there is the freeing of the tongue and mind that can come with drinking wine, finally, horror of horrors, wine can be enslaving for some people. Anyway, it's a good excuse to write about an old passion of mine - Tibet.

Tibetans have been drinking Chang or Qiang for many years. Made from barley, it is a central part of Tibetan culture to say nothing of providing central heating for the body in a, ahem, cold climate. Barley wine is a major beverage made from barley grown on the highlands. Barley wine is light yellow, mild and sweet and sour. It is low in alcohol and varies in taste depending on the brewing method and duration of fermentation. Sounds more like beer to me or mead. Look what Mead did for Beowulf.

Barley wine is an integral part of Tibetan culture and thus a potential antidote to " cultural genocide." Barley wine is a common gift and a requirement at any Tibetan Wedding. Barley wine is used to welcome guests and symbolizes connection to sky, earth and Buddha. Based in Lhasa, Tibet ZangYuan Brewing Company was founded in 2000 and produces a variety of barley wines ( http://www.qingkejiu.com.cn/ ).

Someone on the net described the current protests as the Tibetan Intifada. In fact, Tibetans have become the new Jews of Asia (The Jew in the Lotus - Rodger Kamenetz). Let us hope they will not have to wait two thousand years to regain their homeland. I once heard the Dalai Lama speak at a health conference. When he came to the Tibetan word for compassion he consulted his interpreter and chose the term "good - heart." The Tibetans surely could use some good heartedness right now. Will wine free Tibet? Wine freed the Persian poet and mystic Rumi. Perhaps it will help free Tibet. Oh, BTW, Happy Saint Patrick's Day. Green wine, anyone?

Back To Paso Robles

I'll start with a disappointment and end with a bang - two wines that changed radically in the course of just a few months. The 2004 Turley Ueberroth Zin was a smooth, balanced medium sized beauty with great fruit at the winery. Now we get lots black fruit, but also vegetal, eucalyptus smells and flavors. While technically maybe not a defect, for my palate it is a turn off. What happened? Is it just bottle variation or something else? On the other hand, while the 2004 Tablas Creek Tannat was dark, inky and good at the winery, it has turned into a mind-blowing fruit filled monster - big, inky, purple, spectacularly fruity, but not jammy. Tablas Creek, a collaboration of the American Haas Family and the French Perrin family, was a pioneer in the Rhone Ranger movement in the U.S. and, in fact, many of the starts for Rhone vines in California and Washington came from Tablas Creek. Tannat is not a Rhone variety, but someone in France couldn't help themselves and shipped it anyway. Let us be grateful. Tannat is the main grape in the Irouleguy appellation in the Basque country and in the Madiran appellation of Southwest France. For many years, Madiran was created a black monster, kind of the Grendel of wine, that only mellowed with many years of ageing. When we were at Daguin's Hotel de France restaurant in Auch some years ago, he strongly recommended against Madiran with duck breast as he felt the wine would overwhelm the duck. In recent years, some Madiran and Irouleguy winemakers have softened up as traditional Madiran and Irouleguy are so against the current global taste in wine. The winemaker at Tablas Creek has achieved the perfect balance between Old World tradition and New World fruit. This wine cries out for duck. This wine is loaded with fruit and loaded with tannin. Which will win? The Tablas Creek website says it is "surprisingly approachable", will benefit from three to five years of ageing, and will last for ten years. It certainly has a enough tannin to age, but how will the fruit change? As mentor, Fritsy Haskell used to say, "wine is a living thing!"

1997 Whitehall Lane Leonardini Merlot

Another California wine that has aged well. This wine was great, perhaps at its peak, five years ago, but like a beautiful woman, it is still beautiful five years later with perhaps a subtle touch of refinement. Healthily red blooded with no more youthful purple blush, but full of refined flavors of raspberry and chocolate in a subdued subtle way, not as great as a 20 year old Bordeaux, but a pleasure to drink nevertheless. Who says American wines don't age well? Me! Except that some of them do pretty well. Unfortunately this is hard to guess at, although reserve wines and wines from specific vineyards generally age better as do many so-called cult wines, although this is not always true. What a shame that winemakers seem more and more reluctant to reveal their intentiona and best guess about when a wine achieve maturity and how long it will last. Matt Kramer recently wrote about his experinece of floundering around without a list of tips and without the ease he experienced as a professional wine writer offered free sample all the time - kind of like the first President Bush not knowing about a bar code scanner in a supemarket.

1997 Robert Craig Affinity

I definitely have an affinity for this Bordeaux-style beauty. Someone on the internet called it spectacular and they are right. Not all American wines fade early. This one, at ten years of age, seems to be only about halfway through to full maturity. Deep rich brick red in color, the nose is full of black fruit notes especially and truly cassis followed by meat, tobacco, tar - almost like a traditional Barolo. Big and youngish tasting, reminiscent of a big Washington state Syrah. Not a fruitbomb but somewhat jammy and in the Robert Parker style -raspberry, cherry, blueberry and chocolate. This would be great with a Valentine's Day dinner of steak followed by a chocolate dessert. Robert Craig is kind of a super-second in the cult world of Napa wines - that is delicious, but not outrageously expensive and more available than, say, Screaming Eagle.

First 2005 Bordeaux

I just picked up a bottle of 2005 Chateau Tour St. Bonnet, Medoc Cru Bourgeois at Costco for ten bucks. Beyond all the hype surrounding this Bordeaux vintage, this is a real value. If it is a harbinger of what's to come, look out! Loaded with raspberry fruit upfront, it follows through with a medium dose of tannin and acid. It will benefit from ageing for a few years. Not complex, but interesting enough for the price. Buy a case and start drinking it in a year. For some of us , this could be our everyday wine. For the rest a great splurge. Might be at it's best in 2011. In the bad old days it might have rated a 75, which was not bad, but now we must give it an 84. If the French could produce this level of quality at these prices consistently, they might actually succeed in the global market. Here the French finally have the raw material for Ten Buck Charles.

Widely Available Washington Wines

Even though there are five hundred some odd wineries in Washington, approximately half of the production comes from just a few wineries mostly owned by Chateau Ste. Michelle. Chateau Ste. Michelle, Domaine Ste. Michelle, Columbia Crest and Red Diamond are distributed in most American markets. Hogue, owned by Canadian wine conglomerate Vincor, is also widely distributed as are Columbia Winery and the much smaller Fourteen Hands. If you hunt and peck ( try Costco or Trader Joe's) you may find Gordon Bros, Barnard Griffin, Waterbrook or Apex. If you are really lucky, you may turn up K Vintner, L'Ecole, Seven Hills or even Novelty Hill. You may even turn up the much vaunted Andrew Will,Leonetti, Quilceda Creek or Cayuse. Although it is unfortunate not to be able to taste such Washington wonders as Brian Carter, Januik, Cadence, Fall Line, OS, Note Bene, or Amaurice, there are some remarkably user- friendly values available from the big producers. Here are a few recently tasted:

1) 2003 Red Diamond Cabernet Sauvignon - I've been drinking the Merlot for so long, I seem to have forgotten that Red Diamond makes a Cab. This was a pleasant surprise -lots of user-friendly fruit followed by some gentle tannin. Made me want to have a steak. Available in supermarket for about $9 ( $7 or $8 on sale.).

2) 2005 Hogue Chardonnay - Good basic Chardonnay with the usual green apple flavors. Fairly dry for an American wine. Good with food. A good value at about $8.

3) 2004 Columbia Crest "Two Vines" Chardonnay - Widely available (try any gas station in Washington), this wine is actually smoother and fruitier than the Hogue. Easy, great on it's own. About $7.

4) 2004 Columbia Crest "Grand Estates" Chardonnay - Drier than the "Two Vines", it is designed to go with food. I actually prefer to "Two Vines." About $8-$11.

5) 2003 Columbia Crest Merlot - Nicely balanced with lots of friendly berry fruit. Excellent value at about $7.

6) 2005 Waterbrook Chardonnay - Tart green apples, good with food. Is it worth the price difference? About $11.

7) 2006 Gordon Bros. - Jeff Gordon does it again! Not as smooth as the award-winning 2003, this one just need to age to surpass its ancestor. Beautiful, complex black berry fruit followed by a dollop of tannin. Almost European in it's structure, this wine deserves kudos and should be great in, say, 2010. This is definitely one for Ryan's cellar. About $18.

8) 2003 14 Hands Merlot - To this day, my original post on 14 Hands gets more hits than any other. Something about the name really struck a chord - perhaps a nostalgic longing for a simpler, more civil America. The wine is good, too, although this bottle doesn't seem as robust as previous bottles. Still, it's fruity, and light to medium bodied with mild cherry vanilla flavors. About $12.

Thai Wine

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