You had me at Walla…

Feb 28 2010

When my friend/roommate told me she had never been wine tasting, the ideas just kept running through my mind. Should we make a weekend of it? Where should we start? Just the two of us? Tri Cities, Woodinville or Walla Walla? I have a dear friend, Toni, that I haven’t seen for awhile so I decided on Walla Walla and when I got a Saturday off (which NEVER happens) I decided it was fate, and captured Miss Kendra.

On the road by 11am, ok 11:15, we put on John Mayer and hit the road. First stop – L’Ecole 41 right outside of Walla Walla. The story is fun and I’ll give you the basics: old schoolhouse transitioned to a winery in 1975-1980 and was most recently named Regional Winery of the Year in 2009 by Wine & Spirits Magazine. I figured it was a good place to introduce Kendra to wine tasting because it has a rich background, the staff has always been very friendly towards me and they have a wide selection of wines. She ended up buying their 2008 Columbia Valley Semillion ($13) and our tasting room attendant(s) were very helpful in pointing us in the right direction for food and wine, even drawing unknown locations on our map. Yes, we had a map. Yes, I felt very touristy.
We had planned on eating at Aloha Sushi, one of my favorites in Walla Walla, but since our next winery was only open until 2pm, we had to get there quickly so lunch was put on hold. Besides, who needs lunch when you have wine!?

With map in hand and wine on the mind, we headed out in the country to Rulo. Thank goodness for our drawn in map because this is a winery you do not want to miss! They have 3, almost 4, white wines (Viognier, two Chardonnays and a Sauvignon Blanc that isn’t quite finished) and 4 reds (Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrca – 70% Syrah 30% Cab, and Silo – which is another Syrah). These are wines you must try when you go to Walla Walla. The owners/winemakers/distributors/tasting room attendants Kurt & Lisa are wonderful and make you feel like you are a part of the process. The wine pairing they mention is fun also; their Viognier with “a spoonful of Jif extra-crunchy peanut butter- – no bread involved.” I got to taste their Sauvignon Blanc out of a beaker and wow, it is so interesting. Key word – interesting. It smells so beautiful and floral but then when you drink it, kind of kicks you in the ass. It has typical Sauvignon Blanc taste multiplied by 10. Very acidic, very lemon and very much a food wine. My favorite of theirs is most definitely the Syrca. I’m a huge fan of Syrah, and this is blended with Cabernet and just has such richness to it, I felt I was drinking 70% gold and %30 diamonds. Cheesy, yes. Delicious, yes.

After many thanks, and 4 more bottles to add to our case box, Kendra and I were sent down the road to Isenhower Cellars. I was happy right away, because I saw that they had Syrah and also a Roussanne/Viognier blend called Snapdragon. Roussanne is a varietal you don’t see too often, but is one I enjoy so I started there, with Kendra right behind me. It had a great aroma full of mandarin orange mixed with bright floral notes, and the taste was right there to match. Very smooth and we both really enjoyed it and went down the whole list, still on an empty stomach. The tasting room attendant, Dary (sp!?), was very sweet and if you go in there, I’m sure she will treat you right.

We found our way to meet up with Toni, where she was the lucky recipient of the Snapdragon and she sadly informed us that Aloha Sushi closes for a few hours on Saturday and we were in that few hour period. Disappointed but still hungry, and desperately needing wine we took her advice and headed to T. Maccarones for lunch. We had a beautiful cheese and meat plate, macaroni and cheese, and obviously wine, red for me, white for Kendra. Our server was great and compiled a list for us to hit in our last hour-ish before the dreaded 5pm when things shut down.

We went to one of our final destinations, a wine shop downtown, Walla Walla Wine Works. The great thing about this place is that you can taste from a bunch of wineries, without having to go to each of them. Their list changes regularly and it is organized very well, guiding you through your tasting. Our tasting room attendant was full of coffee and ready to help us drink; I mean taste, a bunch of wine. Since I was the driver and had already been to several wineries, I skipped the whites and went straight for the good stuff. We had a great Temperanillo and several yummy Syrahs before skipping to a tasting I’ve never even done before, sparkling wine. I’ve had sparkling wine before, but never done a tasting with it. I just buy and say “Hope it’s good!” The sparkling wine was from Covet, made in the Columbia Valley and they have a Riesling, Syrah and another wine that I cannot for the life of me remember but we walked away with 2 bottles of sparkling Riesling, and 1 sparkling Syrah. I also took home a bottle of 2008 Originals Syrah and Kendra picked up a 2008 Originals Riesling.

Last place, Otis Kenyon. If you love history, wine, and good stories, this is the place for you. Otis Kenyon, the man, burnt down a dental office, had his family abandon him, and generations later, his grandkids found him living on the Oregon coast, reunited and now his great granddaughter, Muriel, runs the tasting room. They give out matchboxes instead of business cards, and their red blend is called Matchless Red. They have some delicious wines, in fact, I’m drinking the Matchless Red right now and it is full of dark cherry, with a nice structure and some light tannin in the back jaw area.
Heading home at around 630pm, we had bought 11 bottles of wine and were ready to fill our wine rack. On the drive home, I thought about all the stereotypes of Walla Walla, and how I find them mostly false. The wine ranged in price from $15-$40 and hardly anyone had their nose in the air. Maybe it’s the places I chose to go but Walla Walla is a great place for any wine drinker, beginning or old.

As always, remember to enjoy every glass and every taste, because the bottle empties quicker than you think.

Cheers!

Maryhill Columbia Valley Pinot Gris 07

Sep 2 2009

Excuse me. My palate has been a bit off. I’m not sure if I’m the only who goes though this – but every wine I’ve been tasting (red and white) has had the odd scent of baking bread. Yes. Baking bread. People who know more about wine than me: go for it! Explain it. I certainly can’t. I mean, I do love the smell of baking bread (who doesn’t), but not when I’m drinking my wine.

So, I’m pleased to say that the Maryhill 2007 Columbia Valley Pinot Gris broke my “bread-smelling” streak. On the nose, this wine gives off a citrus aroma with a little hint of melon. The taste is much stronger, but still very fruity. It’s an intense wine (for being a white). If I said “fruit explosion” I wouldn’t be exaggerating. Mostly, I taste the peach carrying through from the nose, but others have tasted pears and even honey. The finish lingers with more bitter notes – although I honestly couldn’t exactly place the subtleties. Oddly, one of the things I liked most about this wine was the golden, rich color. Be-ooo-ti-ful! Not that I think color really matters (sticking to my anti-snobbery) but, hey, I’m a chick. I like pretty colors.

Throughout the summer, I’ve had the pleasure of tasting a number of pinot gris – locally, regionally, and internationally grown (they’re FROM outside the country, not that I was tasting them internationally. Unless you want me to. If so please send plane tickets and hotel reservations to PalateBomb.Com *smile* *wink* *nudge*). This wine was one of my favorites.

Someone who is just getting past the riesling phase (come on, we’ve all been there) might want to try this as it’s not too dry and is plenty fruity. On the flipside, more experienced drinkers won’t be overwhelmed by sweetness (it’s crisp!).

Have you tried this wine? Let me know what you think. What’s your favorite pinot gris?

Looking for Spice? Ravenswood Zinfandel (NV)

Aug 20 2009

Summer’s over. School’s starting. Time to get excited about leaves changing, football games, school work and fuzzy sweaters. While summer asked us to drink chilled, crisp, light wines, fall requires something bolder.

What wine?

I tried a glass of Ravenswood Zinfandel (NV). The deep, dark red wine promised some level of complexity and the zinfandel did not disappoint.

The taste was of round, ripe lush fruit with hints of spice. The fullness of the fruit begged to be paired with a thick, juicy rare steak. Unfortunately, I paired it with a sushi plate of white tuna, salmon, whitefish and shrimp. For my meal, a cold, unfiltered sake would have been the better pairing.

I would prefer to pop the cork on a bottle of Ravenswood Zinfandel on a cool, crisp fall evening and enjoy it solo. With mid notes of berry and plum before a spicy finish with vanilla to balance throughout the experience, a glass of Ravenswood Zinfandel is strong enough to stand alone.

Though I enjoyed my glass of Ravenswood Zinfandel on a private patio in downtown Boulder, my poor pairing choice triggered a “wish I were in the South” moment, if only for the to-go cups.

An drank the Ravenswood Zinfandel ($7.00/glass) at Japango, on Pearl Street Mall. For taste, color, scent, experience and complexity, An gives the Ravenswood Zinfandel at Japango a 3.5 out of 5.