Walla Walla Winery II - Sleight Of Hand

Abracadabra, abracadabra, POOF! By sleight of hand, winemaker Trey Busch, former winemaker at Basel Cellars has tranformed into a new avatar of himself, so much so that when we stopped at Sleight of Hand to inquire about another winery I didn't even recognize him. The whole magic show led me to think that we had happened upon one of the typical tourist tasting rooms in downtown Walla Walla. I thought perhaps this shill was about to bring out a hook, but Trey was so helpful that we returned to taste his wines not realizing that it was the Great Wine Magician, himself, hiding under the cape. His first wine is a 2006 Gewurztraminer called, of all things, the Magician, with lots of interesting flavors and a surprising amount of body. His second wine is "The Spellbinder", a delicious 2005 Cab Franc blend that is both complex and easy at the same time. The third wine, The Archimage", is a big, significant, Bordeaux style blend with lots of nuanced flavor and plenty of backbone for ageing. Trey is one of the first winemakers to do the totally sane thing - put bottles for current drinking in screwcaps, and close wines for ageing with corks. One can't help but think that Trey has pulled off a Houdiniesque escape from some trap he was in, but, in any event he seems to be having a lot of fun and his tasting room is a lot of fun. There is a "sleight" disconnect at Sleight of Hand" as the wines in the fun bottles are really serious stuff and Trey, the Magician, is a really serious winemaker. I'm sure we can look forward to more magical potions from Trey.