Book Review: Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book 2009

The Book: Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book 2009: 32nd Edition

The Price: $10.17 at Amazon.com

This is a great little book. It has a lot of good information in it, and it's very conveniently sized.

Since there's a lot of good about this book, I'll start with what I don't like.

First of all, the dust jacket gets in the way. The book has a chart inside the front cover that gives a snapshot of various wine vintages. The dust jacket covers them.

The book is fairly comprehensive, but it omits wineries from the midwest. There may not be a lot of wineries that are any good in the midwest, but I don't think they should be dismissed out of hand.

Okay, that was it for my complaints.

Now on to the good.

I like the size of the book. It will easily fit into a coat pocket or a purse. Lacking either of those, the book is small enough to be easily carried with you to the wine shop.

The book covers an amazing number of wineries given its small size. Granted, each winery only gets a couple of lines, but the information it gives is straightforward and useful.

The book is intelligently laid out. It is organized by country (and region, where needed). It also has indexing on the spine to delineate the country/region.

I did a little bit of spot checking to compare the book's impressions of wineries with my own observations. Of course, I had to start with Sokol Blosser. Johnson says, "superb wines throughout with an esp outstanding Pinot N..." Good to know he agrees with me. Oh, and he gave them 3-4 stars. I next looked at Viu Manent, which I recently reviewed. Johnson gave them 1-2 stars, which pretty much sums up my feelings for them.

I won't bore you with further details, but I found Johnson to concur with my assessment of every winery I looked at. That's either good for me, or bad for Johnson. Either way, I will be using this book as I shop for wines.

Besides providing information on wineries, the book also has a convenient section on wine/food pairings. This alone is worth the purchase price.

Whether you're a wine aficionado or a neophyte, I highly recommend this book.

Shop Review: Wine Cellar (Portland)

I was in Portland for Christmas. While there, I took a trip to The Wine Cellar.

The Wine Cellar is kind of out of the way, and is located in the back of a little strip mall. The location kind of dooms the shop. It's not going to pick up much foot traffic. People will only go there if they are actively looking for the shop.

Their selection leaves a lot to be desired. They do not carry a very broad variety of wines. Since they are located in Oregon I expected them to carry an abundance of Oregon wines. They really don't seem to carry a much wider selection of wines than Fred Meyer or Haggen. Sadly, none of the three stores carried any Sokol Blosser wines beyond Meditrina or Evolution, both of which I can find in my local stores in Seattle.

The store is rather spare. They rely heavily on wire racks and folding tables to display their wines. They don't seem to have a lot of any single wine on hand.

On the plus side, I hear that the owner, Erin Palmer, hosts phenomenal classes and is a ton of fun. Unfortunately, she was not working the day I visited the store (if she drops me a line, I will gladly give her a chance to state her case and correct anything I may have missed or misstated about her shop).

The prices in the wine shop did not strike me as being exceptionally attractive. Between the limited selection, the location and the lack of compelling prices I have a difficult time seeing any reason to select this shop over a well-stocked grocery store.

Again, Erin, if you see this review please drop me a line. I am a huge supporter of independent wine sellers, and would love to give you a chance to give your side of the story.

R Wines 2007 Bitch Grenache

The Winery: R Wines
The Wine: 2007 Bitch Grenache
The Price: $11.99 at The Wine Seller

This is another wine from my Thanksgiving Weekend trip to Port Townsend. I bought it solely for the name. After nearly a week of unseasonably cold weather and snow, reviewing Bitch just seemed a cathartic outlet.

Bitch is imported from Australia. I could not get a good photo of the back of the bottle, but it says, "Bitch, bitch, bitch...and bitch some more." A total of 76 occurrences of "bitch" on the back label. Fits my mood about the weather quite nicely.

The wine is a medium intensity red color. Lighter than a Merlot or Pinot Noir.

The wine has aromas of plums and vanilla with a slight hint of cinnamon.

This is a fairly light, fruity wine. It has cherry and berry flavors with a pepper finish. It's not a great wine, but it's drinkable. I see it as more of a novelty wine than a wine you'd buy to drink. And at $11.99 it's priced right for your favorite mother-in-law or ex-girlfriend. :-)

Cono Sur 2007 Pinot Noir

The Winery: Cono Sur
The Wine: 2007 Pinot Noir
The Price: $12.99 at The Wine Seller.

Cono Sur is a Chilean winery. This is the first Pinot Noir from Chile that I've ever seen. I didn't realize that there was any Pinot Noir production in Chile.

This wine is one of the wines offered by Cono Sur that uses sustainable agriculture practices in the production of their grapes. They say that they're using more natural methods of fertilizing and controlling pests and weeds.

The bottle is corked with a natural cork, topped with a fairly thick wax seal.

The wine looks fairly thin in the glass. It lets quite a bit more light through than other Pinot Noirs that I've encountered.

Despite the thin appearance of the wine, it is pretty aromatic. It has aromas of cherries, blackberries and prunes. It has the warm aromas typical of a good Pinot Noir.

As the thin appearance of the wine portends, this is a fairly thin Pinot Noir. It is too sweet and too thin. The predominant flavor of this wine is cherry, with a berry undertone. The flavor isn't bad, but it's just not very well developed. The wine seems watery and is lacking complexity. My recommendation is to pass on this particular wine. Chile produces many very good wines. But even at $12.99 I have a hard time recommending this as a Pinot Noir.

A Flashback

While on vacation in Tucson last week, I ran across a store that carried a couple of the Ditka wines. I picked up a bottle of the Chardonnay, which I previously reviewed.

I actually enjoyed the wine more than I remembered. It is the best Chardonnay that I've ever had. Granted, the list of Chardonnays that I've sampled is fairly short. This would be a great wine to serve during the holidays.

Viu Manent 2007 Malbec

The Winery: Viu Manent
The Wine: 2007 Malbec
The Price: $6.99 (I think!) at The Wine Seller

This is the first of the wines that I picked up over the Thanksgiving weekend.

I've had Malbec on my mind lately. I saw several publications recommend it as a good accompaniment to the traditional Thanksgiving dinner. I also sampled a couple recently at the Sips and Shoes charity event a few weeks back.

I've sampled several wines from Chile, but this is a new winery to me. This wine was surprisingly priced. The bottle has an embossed label, belying its sub-$10 price.

The bottle is, unfortunately, sealed with a synthetic cork. It wasn't a dense as some that I've encountered, so it didn't take TOO much effort to remove it from my Rabbit corkscrew.

In the glass, the wine appears appropriately colored for a Malbec. It's deep purple in color and has decent, if not spectacular, legs as I swirl it in my glass.

The wine has aromas of toast, cherries and blackberries. And it has a very slight but troubling odor of cat urine. I kid you not. Cat urine. That's one that I don't find on my wine aroma wheel.

This wine really doesn't have anything to recommend it. It's pretty bad. I has that crinkle-your-tongue quality of toothpaste with an OJ chaser. I'm trying to pick out flavors. I'm coming up blank. I've got nothing. It's just god-awful bad wine. With a nice label.

Excuse me while I go dump it down the drain.

Shop Review: The Wine Seller

I took a little jaunt across Puget Sound to Port Townsend over the long weekend. Among other things, I visited The Wine Seller. Given that Port Townsend is part tourist destination and part artist colony (okay - they have the very cool wooden boat school, a thriving boat industry, and host the annual Wooden Boat Festival each summer), I really expected to find a snobby, pretentious, over-priced wine shop. I was pleasantly surprised to the contrary. The wine shop is very well stocked with wines of all price ranges (I think I did see something in the $1200 price range). I walked away with five bottles of wine and a Vacu Vin Rapid Wine Cooler for a grand total of $88. Look for reviews of the wines and the cooler in upcoming weeks.

The gentleman working at the store was very attentive to all of the customers despite the fact that he was working alone and that there were about seven people in the store at the time.

The store was reasonably well laid out, but there were a few shelves that seemed to be a mishmash of seemingly unrelated wines. They also has some Reidel stemware that looked like it hadn't been dusted in months (to be fair, it was the top shelf that looked neglected, and at 6'6" that kind of thing jumps out at me where nobody else would likely notice it).

If you're in Port Townsend, I recommend paying them a visit.

Bridlewood 2004 Reserve Syrah

The Winery: Bridlewood
The Wine: 2004 Reserve Syrah
The Price: $15.99 at QFC (on sale - regularly priced at $24.99)

Bridlewood is a California winery located in Santa Barbara County. They have fours tiers of wines (Winner's Circle, Estate, Reserve and Central Coast).

The bottle for this wine is sealed with a natural cork, garnering points from the beginning. The wine is a dark ruby color.

The wine has aromas of black pepper, blackberries, tobacco and prunes.

The wine has a pronounced pepper flavor, with a hint of tobacco and a berry flavor on the finish. It is a fairly dry wine, and has less of a fruity flavor than I tend to look for in a wine.

This is a very interesting wine. Technically speaking, I think it's a very good, well-crafted wine. I'm torn between whether I actually like it, however. I take a sip and don't care for it. Then I take another sip and I like it. This wine is fairly bold, and would stand up well against strong foods, or even a mild cigar.

MacMurray Ranch 2006 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir

The Winery: MacMurray Ranch
The Wine: 2006 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir
The Price: $21.99 at QFC (on sale - regular price is $29.99)

Just when I notice a trend in corks, along comes MacMurray Ranch to be the exception. In my last review I commented that I noticed that wines from Spain tend to have corks that are less tight in the bottle than wines from the U.S., but the MacMurray cork was more like the wines from Spain than domestic wines.

It bears pointing out that MacMurray Ranch offers two 2006 Pinot Noirs - this one and the Central Coast. The Central Coast Pinot Noir was $8 less than the Sonoma Coast. So if you decide to try the MacMurray Ranch based on this review, make sure you get the correct wine.

The wine is a dark ruby color, which is pretty much how all of my Pinot Noir reviews start.

The wine has aromas of cherries, berries and a hint of vanilla. It has a very rich, smooth scent.
It has flavors of dried cherries, plums and blackberries with a very subtle vanilla finish.
This wine is absolutely delicious. MacMurray Ranch really did an excellent job with this wine. For the money, this wine is a great value, particularly while it's on sale.

Marqués de Riscal 2003 Reserva

The Winery: Marqués de Riscal
The Wine: 2003 Reserva
The Price: $16.99 on sale at QFC (regular price is $24.99).

The use of superlatives in the name of the wine means different things depending on the origin of the wine. This wine is from Spain where Reserva is a regulated term to indicate that the wine has been aged longer in the barrel and in the bottle before being released. The Reserva from Marqués de Riscal spends nearly two years in American Oak barrels before bottling.

This wine comes with a wire net around the bottle. So far as I can tell the net serves only to dress up the bottle. One thing that I've noticed about the wines that I've purchased from Spain is that the corks tend to be less snug in the bottle than American wines. They're not loose, but they don't have the same death-grip on the bottle like many American wines. I've been thinking a lot about how wine is capped, so if I can find some meaningful information, perhaps that would be in interesting topic for a future post.

On to the wine.

This wine is a dark ruby color. The predominant scent is prune followed by blackberry with a chocolate undertone.

The wine has a sweeter taste than I expected. It has prune and berry flavors with a bit of a bite. It's a good wine now, but I think that an additional few years of aging would improve it, bringing it from a good wine to a great wine. If I were serving it today, I would pair it with something fairly substantial that could hold up to its bold flavors - maybe spaghetti with a hearty sauce or maybe even chili (gasp...did the heathen just suggest wine with chili?).

I think this is a wine I'll stock up on to see how well it really does age. My expectation is that it will age very well.

Drinkology Wine: A Guide to the Grape

The Book: Drinkology Wine: A Guide to the Grape
The Author: James Waller
The Price: $18.00 at Amazon.com

This book is an excellent primer on whine. It has become my go-to wine reference. The book is written in a light, non-pretentious manner, and is easily understood by the newest of wine drinkers. The second chapter gives a very good exposure to the vocabulary of wine, quickly exposing the reader to the terminology of wine.

I can't think of a single wine-related topic that was left out of this book. It covers grape growing, harvesting, fermentation. There's a section on corkscrews and a section on winery tours. Even the most casual of wine drinkers will find this book to be fascinating and very educational. The writing style is easy to read and light-hearted.

I really appreciate the small size of this book - it's only ~6" X 4". It's small enough to tuck into a backpack or purse while on a winery tour or vacation or carry with you when you hit the wine store. For the cost of a decent bottle of wine, this book gives you a vast knowledge of wine.

The Wine Aroma Wheel

In a never-ending quest to improve my wine reviews, I recently ordered a Wine Aroma Wheel. The Wine Aroma Wheel is a tool to aid in describing the aromas associated with wines. There are three tiers to the wheel, moving from general (fruity, chemical, floral, etc) to specific (black pepper, walnut, bacon {and I SOOOOOOO want to find a bacon scented wine!}).

The obverse side of the wheel explains how to use the wheel and denotes the characteristics of common wine varietals. I'm hoping that the wheel will expand the adjectives I use to describe the wines that I review.

Here's the thing. I ordered a couple of extra wine wheels. I intend on giving them out as prizes for upcoming contests on the site. If anybody has any suggestions on compelling suggestions, I'd love to hear from you.

Gaetano D'Aquino 2004 Chianti Riserva

The Winery: Gaetano D'Aquino
The Winery: 2004 Chianti Riserva
The Price: $5.99 at Trader Joe's

I've been reviewing mostly wines from the U.S. lately, so it's high time for an Italian wine.

Chianti is not a wine I normally drink at home. I often drink it when I'm out for Italian food - particularly when I'm out someplace like Buca Di Beppo.

This Chianti is dark ruby in color. The wine has scents of blackberry and prunes.

The wine primarily has a cherry flavor with a subtle berry undertone and a slight peppery bite on the finish.

This is a true bargain wine. At $5.99 for a bottle, you can't go wrong. I'll definitely be buying more of this. The wine compares quite favorably with wines costing 2-3 times as much.

La Crema 2006 Chardonay

The Winery: La Crema
The Wine: 2006 Chardonay
The Price: $18.99 at Safeway

This review was suggested by Tina. It took me several weeks to get around to this one, but here it is, Tina.

La Crema is a Sonoma County winery. I've never sampled La Crema before, and don't know much about them.

The wine is light yellow, and is very clear in the glass. It has scents of citrus fruit and berries.

The wine has a very smooth, velvety taste. It has flavors of pears, grapefruit, honey and a slight hint of vanilla. Chardonay is not normally a wine that I gravitate towards, but this one is very good. I'll definitely be picking up a few bottles next time I'm stocking up my supply of wine.

Erath 2006 Pinot Noir

The Winery: Erath
The Wine: 2006 Pinot Noir
The Price: $16.99 on sale at QFC (Regular price $22.99)

Erath has been around for over 35 years. I always knew them at Knudsen Erath, an name I have a hard time letting go of. I don't know what precipitated the name change, and the very brief internet search didn't yield any insight.

Erath has switched from natural cork to synthetic cork to screw tops. On their website they claim that the screw top is the best method for ensuring the quality of wine is retained over the years. But I'm a traditionalist (I sometimes write with a fountain pen, I often wear cufflinks, and I open doors for women), so I have a hard time dealing with the switch to screw tops. Perhaps one day I'll research the subject and post my findings here. I'll even try to keep an open mind.

In the glass this wine looks fairly light in color. The legs are also not terribly well developed.

The wine has scents of prunes and cherries with just a hint of a smokey smell.

This wine tastes pretty thin. The flavors are not well developed, and lacks the full velvety flavor that I've come to expect from Northwest Pinot Noirs. No single flavor really jumps out. There are hints of berries or cherries and a slight carmel flavor. It has a bit of a pepper bite at the finish. All in all, I'm not a fan of this wine. It's not a very good example of a Northwest Pinot Noir, especially in the $20 price range.

Columbia Winery 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon

The Winery: Columbia Winery
The Wine: 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon
The Price: $21.99 (marked down from $27.99).

I have a very busy week, so I'm getting this week's review done a couple days early.

Tonight's wine is another selection from Columbia Winery. This is from their David Lake signature wine series. When I opened the bottle there was a lot of sediment on and around the cork. This wine is 18% Merlot, 82% Cabernet Sauvignon.

The wine is dark ruby in color and has odors of cherries, plums and oak.

This is a very smooth, well developed wine. It has a slightly sweet flavor, with notes of cherry and berry with a very slight pepper finish. The wine is very, very well balanced. The flavor is unexpectedly sweet, but in a very good way.

This wine is best wine I've sampled from Columbia Winery. They've really outdone themselves with this one. I highly recommend this wine.

Chateaux La Prade 2005 Bordeaux

The Winery: Chateaux La Prade
The Wine: 2005 Bordeaux
The Price: $23.99 at Fine Wine and Cigars.

This review was inpired by an article in one of my local papers that I intended to bookmark, but I forgot. Anyway, the article was saying that the 2005 Bordeauxs were very good and many of them are now ready for drinking. So I went out and bought a bottle at my local wineshop. Not knowing one Bordeaux from another, I went for a mid-priced bottle.

I have not been able to locate much meaningful information on this wine or the winery. It is a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cab Franc.

The wine is a very dark wine, owed to its Merlot/Cab Franc roots.

The wine has scents of cherries and blackberries. It predominantly has a cherry flavor with a mossy undertone. The wine has a fair amount of tannins present, and would due well to age another few years. Once properly aged, this has the potential to be a very excellent wine.

Lumos 2005 Pinot Noir - 5 Blocks

The Winery: Lumos Wine
The Wine: 2005 Pinot Noir - 5 Blocks
The Price: $24.99 at Fine Wine and Cigars

From what I see on the bottle and on the website, Lumos seems like a cool, family run winery. There's not much information about the history of the winery. This is the type of winery that piques my interest, so I'd like to have seen more information about them on their website - how they got started, how long they've been interested in winemaking, what they like about their business. The human interest side of the business.

The wine is a deep burgandy color, typical for a Pinot Noir.

The wine has a rich, well developed scent. It has scents of berries and plums.

The wine has an unexpectedly light and bright flavor, in a good way. It's not thin or underdeveloped, but is lighter tasting than many other Pinot Noirs that I've sampled. The wine has flavors of cherries and blackberries, with a very slight and mild pepper finish.

This is a very good wine, and is quite drinkable now.

Sokol Blosser Cellar Club Member Happy Hour

Tonight Sokol Blosser had a Happy Hour for Cellar Club members in the Seattle area. The event was held at Palisade Restaurant, which has a great view of Puget Sound.

I know that I tend to gush about Sokol Blosser, but they never cease to amaze me. First, that they would spend the time and money to throw this event for their Cellar Club members shows how much they care for their members. It wasn't something that I expected them to do. It's a little extra that they threw in for their Seattle members. I think it was very gracious of them to go out of their way for us.

The event itself was fantastic. They had four of their people at the event. I met three of them. They were all the same great, helpful and friendly people that I've become accustomed to encountering at Sokol Blosser. They have a winning team and a great formula for success.

They were pouring Evolution and Meditrina at the event. Both are fine wines, so I won't go into detail about them again.

The Sokol Blosser staff did a good job of mixing with the crowd and making everybody feel welcome. Jeff, in particular, was very visible and did a fantastic job of being the host of the party. I also met Kitri, with whom I have exchanged several emails over the last year. It's great to be able to put a face with a name.

In addition to the wine, they also had a fantastic looking spread of food. Being mindful of my waistline, I chose to bypass the food and stick with the wine. But from those that I spoke with who did sample the food, the reports were all very good. They had vegetarian options, which is pretty crucial in Seattle. They also had some very tasty looking meat options.

What could they have done better? Not much. My only suggestions for the future would be that they introduce all of the Sokol Blosser folks to the crowd. Also, Jeff was the only person with a name tag. I'd like to see all of the SB folks wearing name tags so the patrons will know who to thank. Finally, I'd have liked to see them bring a some wine to sell on the spot. I knew that I could order wine for them to bring up for me, but my last couple of weeks have been rather crazy, and I never managed to phone in an order. Barring that, perhaps they could set up an online order system for those of us who have crazy days, but can manage to put in an order at night online.

In addition to the great people from Sokol Blosser, I met a several other very cool other people at the event.

All in all this was a very great evening. Many thanks to the fine folks at Sokol Blosser for throwing this little party. I hope it's the first of many such events.

My thanks to all of the people at Sokol Blosser who made this event possible. It was a very enjoyable and memorable event.

Columbia Crest 2007 Two Vines Vineyard 10 Rosé

The Winery: Columbia Crest
The Wine: 2007 Two Vines Vineyard 10 Rosé
The Price: $7.99 at QFC

I've said it before, and I'll repeat myself here tonight. Today's Rosé is not the same possum drool that was made (un)popular by Ernest and Julio Gallo. It's really not. Be adventurous and give it a try, but try one of the higher quality Rosés that is made from quality grapes.

The Columbia Crest Rosé is made from Syrah grapes. The wine has a deeper red color than many Rosés. This wine has scents of strawberries and cherries. It has a very light, crisp flavor, with tastes of cherries, strawberries and honeydew melon.

This isn't a bad Rosé, certainly far better than old-school Rosés. But if you're looking for a premium Rosé this isn't it. It's decent, and certainly drinkable. But the flavor isn't highly developed and leaves me wanting more.

Estancia 2006 Pinot Noir

The Winery: Estancia
The Wine: 2006 Pinot Noir
The Price: On sale for $10.99 at QFC. The regular price is $14.99.

Estancia Winery is located in Monterey County, California. The winery was built on a former Paul Mason property.

The 2006 Pinot Noir is a deep red color, typical of Pinot Noir. This wine has scents of plums and currants. The wine is okay. It's not great. It's not bad. Mostly it is bland and unimpressive. The flavor is poorly developed and lacks character. The wine has flavors of plum and cherry, with a very mild pepper finish. This wine reminds me of why I try to avoid finding bargain Pinot Noirs. It is so rare to find a very good sub-$20 Pinot Noir.

Chateau Ste Michelle 2005 Semillon

The Winery: Chateau Ste Michelle
The Wine: 2005 Semillon
The Price: On sale for $6.99 at QFC, regular price is $9.99

I don't often drink Semillon. In fact, I don't ever recall buying a bottle. So I really have no preconceived notion about what this wine should taste like.

The actual wine bottle has more of a green cast than is shown in the photo.

The wine is a very pale straw color. The wine does not have very substantial legs, not nearly as pronounced as in a Riesling. The wine has a fruity, cantaloupe smell to it, with maybe a hint of apple.

The wine is fairly dry. It has a dry, cantaloupe flavor with a peppery finish.

This is a very good wine. It is a wine that would be great on a clear autumn evening, maybe enjoyed while sitting around a bonfire. There's something about the dryness of this wine that makes me think it's more of an autumn wine than a summer wine. At $9.99 it's a good buy, and at $6.99 it's a steal!

Seattle Metropolitan Sept 2008 Top 100 Northwest Wines

Okay, I've read the full article, and digested it for a few days. Clearly this is an article for the Medina crowd. I still think that they missed some great wines that belong on the list. But the long and short of it is that Seattle Metropolitan was not creating a wine list for the average Seattle resident.

In response, I am creating my own list of top Northwest Wines. I'll probably stick with 10-15 wines, some of which I've reviewed here, and some of which are wines that I like, but have not gotten around to reviewing. Thanks to Kitri at Sokol Blosser for the suggestion.

If anybody would like to suggest a wine that should be on the list, drop me a line. Also, if you have any suggestions for parameters for the wine, I'd like to hear your ideas. At this point I'm thinking that for a wine to be on my list, it must be available for purchase either in stores, online or at the winery (ruling out the ultra snobby wineries that limit their sales to the exclusive few who are on their list). I am also considering a $50/bottle maximum price, but will probably focus mostly on wines in the sub $30 range.

Marchesi Alfieri 2005 La Tota

The Winery: Marchesi Alfieri
The Wine: 2005 La Tota
The Price: $20 at McCarthy and Schiering

Tonight's wine is from Italy. This wine is made from the Barbera grapes, which are the dominant grapes in the region in which this wine is produced. The name La Tota means Young Lady. The wine is thus named because the wine is not aged as long as this winery's other wines and is made to be drinkable early on. The vintner suggests that this wine will age for as long as 5 years.

The wine is fairly dark, and appears much like a Pinot Noir. The wine is not overly fragrant, but does have scents of plums and vanilla, with a slight floral undertone.

This is not a particularly flavorful wine. It is fairly dry and unremarkable. If forced to discern any flavors, I suppose there is a slight plum flavor, but it is overrun by the alcohol taste. It reminds me of a house Chianti like you would get at Buca di Beppo. For $20, I would expect a lot more of a bottle of wine. They call it the Young Lady, but it tastes like it was wrung from the socks of an old man. My recommendation is to pass on this one, and spend your $20 on a wine that is worth the money.

Eola Hills 2007 Pinot Noir

The Winery: Eola Hills
The Wine: 2007 Pinot Noir
The Price: $13.95 at QFC

I have heard of Eola Hills winery, but I don't believe I've ever sampled any of their wines before. They are located in Rickreall, Oregon. I only point this out because I like the name Rickreall.

The color of this wine is a shade lighter than many Pinot Noirs, and is more of a plum color. It has a very smooth, rich smell to it. It has scents of prune and berry. The wine has flavors of prune, cherry, blackberry and vanilla. The wine is not as rich and velvety smooth as a lot of Pinot Noirs, but at $14/bottle, this is a true bargain. At 1/2-1/4 the price of a lot of wines of this quality, this wine is a true steal. I know a few bottles of this this wine will find their way to my stash.

Seattle Metropolitan Sept 2008 Top 100 Northwest Wines

The September edition of Seattle Metropolitan Magazine has an article identifying what it considers to be the top 100 Northwest Wines. I have not yet had time to read the article in full, but I do have two complaints about the article. First, there are not any Sokol Blosser wines on the list. Second, they do include Quilceda Creek Cab-Sauv. This wine is simply not available to most people. They have a waiting list to sign up for the privilege of buying their wine. When a wine is so unavailable, how can they even be counted on a list of the Top 100 Northwest Wines? I suppose I am just being too pedestrian and narrow minded. The focus of BrianOnWine has been on wines that are relatively affordable and available, so seeing Seattle Metropolitan's list including wine that I cannot get (I've tried) rubs me the wrong way.

After I've read the article in it's entirety, I may post a more in-depth review of the article.

Twelve 2006 Pinot Noir

The Winery: Twelve
The Wine: 2006 Pinot Noir
The Price: $29 at McCarthy & Schiering

Twelve is another Oregon Winery. They are located near Carlton in the heart of Oregon's Willamette Valley Wine Country. Their website says that they are a family owned winery, and that their home is on the same land as the vineyard. In my experience, that often equates to a quality wine.

The wine is a deep red, the color of a well-ripened plum. It's not as dark as some Pinot Noirs, but definitely has a deep, rich color to it.

The wine has scents of plum and black cherry.

The wine has a very complex flavor, with flavors of black pepper, black cherry and plum. It has a very full fruit flavor juxtaposed against the pepper flavor, which makes for a very interesting wine. It is a very good Pinot Noir, although some people might find the pepper flavor to be a little strong. I like this wine a lot, and think that it fits nicely in the $30 price range. I think it would probably age very well, and the pepper flavor would mellow with time.

Chateau Val Joanis 2005 Cotes du Luberon

The Winery: Chateau Val Joanis
The Wine: 2005 Cotes du Luberon
The Price: $14.00 at McCarthy & Schiering

This winery is located in France. Duh. I suppose it is what they would classify as a young wine. It is aged for three months in oak, then six more months in the bottle before going to market.

The wine is a deep red in color, looking much like a Pinot Noir or Shiraz here in the states.

The wine has scents that remind me of a good Pinot Noir - a rich plum/prune scent combined with cherry.

This is a fruitier tasting wine than the color and scent would portend. It has a strong black cherry flavor with a plum finish. It's a fantastic wine, especially at the $14.00 price point. I would highly recommend this wine. It's a great wine at a great price. It would compete squarely with domestic wines in the $20-35 range.

Chateau Ste Michelle 2006 Columbia Valley Dry Riesling

The Winery: Chateau Ste Michelle
The Wine: 2006 Columbia Valley Dry Riesling
The Price: $8.99 on sale at my local Safeway (their regular price is $11.99)

I believe I've mentioned this before, but Chateau Ste Michelle is one of my favorite wineries. Besides making good wine, they also have a great outdoor concert venue. They seem to be expanding their wine offernings, and this wine is one that I've never had before.

I like the bottle that the wine comes in. The brown bottle with the yellow-orange label and bronze top create an autumnal feeling.

The wine is more yellow in color than a typical Riesling. It has scents of citrus fruit, apple and melon.

Being a dry Riesling, it is not nearly as sweet as a typical Riesling. It is predominantly a dry wine, with subtle hints of sweetness. The wine has flavors of apples and oranges (but that's like comparing apples to oranges...sorry, bad joke). And the wine snobs (not to mention the winery) will throw fits about this one, but I get the occasional flavor of...wait for it...watermelon Jolly Rancher candy. I swear. And I never thought I'd use that flavor in a wine review. All in all, this is a very good wine. It is so good that I will probably pick up a few bottles of it while it's on sale.

Dellatorri 2007 Pinot Grigio

The Winery: Dellatorri
The Wine: 2007 Pinot Grigio
The Price: Unfortunately I neglected to note the price. I believe it was $9, but I'm really not certain.

Dellatorri is an Italian winery that is located on the cliffs along the ocean. Other than that, I was unable to find much information about the winery.

The wine is light golden straw in color, with a very slight red tinge to it. It has a light, citrusy smell with a bit of a mineral scent to it, as well.

The wine has a fresh, light, citrus flavor. It also has a very subtle pear/apple flavor. It's not a terribly sweet wine, nor is it dry. It's one of those wines that doesn't commit one way or the other. It's not good and it's not bad. It's not sweet and it's not dry. I'm much more taken by the cobalt bottle than I am by the wine. In fact, now that I think about it, why did they waste such a bold bottle on such a non-committal wine?

Irony 2005 Pinot Noir

The Winery: Irony
The Wine: 2005 Pinot Noir
The Price: On sale for $13.99 at QFC.

I selected this wine based solely on the name. I have a love for irony, so the name of the wine drew me in. Sold under the Irony name, the wine is vinted by Life's Strange Twists Wine Company, which I find to be quite amusing.

The wine is dark red in color, typical of a classic Pinot Noir. It has scents of plums, cherries and berries.

The wine has a slightly thin feel to it. The flavor is also fairly thin. It has a fruity flavor - cherries and raspberries - with a pepper finish. After a couple of sips, flavors of current and coffee start to develop. It is not as rich and velvety as I have come to expect from Pinot Noir. It's not a bad wine by any means. But it just does not knock my socks off. For the price, it's a decent wine. For my money, though, I'd rather cough up another $5 or so and get a nicer Pinot Noir.

Duck Pond Cellars 2006 Pinot Noir

The Winery: Duck Pond Cellars
The Wine: 2006 Pinot Noir
The Price: $19.99 at QFC

Duck Pond Cellars is located in Oregon's Willamette Valley. I've always liked their labels. Each wine has a picture of a duck on it. The Pinot Noir has a picture of a Bufflehead landing in water.

The wine is dark red, but perhaps a little lighter in color than other Pinot Noirs that I have sampled lately.

The Duck Pond Pinot Noir has scents of chocolate, blackberry and plum.
The wine has a fairly fruity flavor, and is less complex and full-bodied than I would expect. It has flavors of raspberries, blackberries and strawberries, with a fairly aggressive pepper finish. The wine is not as silky rich as I have come to expect from Willamette Valley Pinot Noirs. It's fairly thin and under-developed.

While not a bad wine, it's also not a great wine. For $20, there are plenty of other wines I would buy before this one. But if you prefer a fruity Pinot Noir with a peppery finish, this could be the wine for you.

Syncline 2006 Syrah

The Winery: Syncline
The Wine: 2006 Syrah
The Price: $24.99 at Seattle Cellars

This is another wine from Syncline that has the glass stopper. I really like these stoppers a lot. I hope they catch on. They are a great alternative to twist-tops and fake corks. They don't require a corkscrew to open, and they seem kind of classy. Besides that, you can toss them in the recycling bin when you're done. I did a little bit of digging, and found some information on them. They are called Vino-Lok Stoppers, and are made by Alcoa in Germany. The gasket that seals between the bottle and the Vino-Lok Stopper is a product of DuPont called Elvax.

The 2006 Syncline Syrah is a deep, dark red wine. It has scents of blackberry, chocolate and black pepper. The wine has flavors of coffee, blackberry and pepper, with a chocolatey undertone. This wine has a lot of black pepper flavor to it, but it's not harsh. It just makes its presence known. The flavor of the wine is a bit chaotic, but in a good way. There are a lot of flavors going on, and my tongue is on overload trying to discern them. That said, this is a very good wine. It may not be for everyone. Given the complexity of the wine, I would like to see what it tastes like once it has aged for a few years.

Marqués de Cáceres 2001 Reserva Rioja

The Winery: Marqués de Cáceres
The Wine: 2001 Reserva Rioja
The Price: $17.99 at Costco

This review was requested several months ago by my friend and colleague, Tina. She says that this is one of her favorite wines.

Unlike in the United States, wines of Spain are named for the region rather than the varietal. Rioja is in northern Spain. The Rioja wines tend to be stronger and have a higher content of tannins. The Reserva designation signifies the barrel aging time. A wine labeled Crianza will be a younger wine, and a Gran Reserva will have been barrel aged longer.

This wine is a deep, dark red color, and has very well-formed legs. The wine has scents of plum and blackberry. This is a very smooth, velvety wine. The flavor is good, but less fully developed than the smell foretold. The wine has flavors of plum, blackberry and cherry. It is a very good wine, and a great value at the $17.99 that I paid.

Syncline 2006 Mourvedre

The Winery: Syncline
The Wine: 2006 Mourvedre
The Price: $27.99 at Seattle Cellars

This review is a result of an email I received from Martha in Portland who stumbled upon my reviews. So, Martha, this one is for you.

What drew me to this wine is the gadget-lover in me. The bottle has a glass stopper instead of a cork. I've seen beer with glass (or ceramic) stoppers, but never wine. So I had to round up a bottle.

I don't recall ever having a wine that was strictly a Mourvedre. I've had it in blends, but not as a varietal. So I really had no idea what to expect from the wine.

The Mourvedre is a very deep red, and has very well-developed legs. The wine has a rich, velvety appearance.

The wine has a very full-bodied smell. It is very rich, with scents of prune and cherry. Based on the look and smell of the wine, I expected it to taste a lot like a Pinot Noir. It doesn't. The initial flavor is sweeter than I would expect. It hits me like a cherry cordial, then it mellows to a rich, velvety plum taste. It is very, very good. I would go so far as to call it excellent. The wine definitely delivers on the quality I would expect in the $28 price range. A great wine with a cool stopper. You can't go wrong with that combination.

Barnard Griffin 2007 Rosé of Sangiovese

The Winery: Barnard Griffin
The Wine: 2007 Rosé of Sangiovese
The Price: $10.99 at Whole Foods

This past week I attended a wine tasting event through Seattle Uncorked, which featured Rosés. I have reviewed one or two Rosés in the past, and was surprised at how good they can be. Before you turn up your nose, think beyond Ernest and Julio Gallo. Or to put it in Corporate-Speak, think outside the box (boxed wine, that is).

Unlike the low-quality Rosés that you may have been served by your aunt along with her dry turkey and can-shaped cranberries, good Rosés are made with quality grapes, and get their light color by minimizing contact with the grape skins once the grapes have been pressed.

The Barnard Griffin Rosé is a clear red in color. It looks a lot like Ocean Spray cranberry juice. In the glass, it looks like it should be served at Christmas or on Valentine's day. The color is very festive.

The wine has a very bright and crisp scent. It smells of strawberries, with a floral undertone.

This wine has a crisp apple and strawberry flavor. It is fairly dry, and has a creamy quality to it. It's very good and refreshing. At $10.99 it is very fairly priced, and could probably be found for a buck or two less at a more mainstream grocer or wine shop.

I would serve this wine with a light summer dinner - perhaps a light grilled fish with a mixed greens and apple salad.

Sokol Blosser 2006 Dundee Hills Cuvee Pinot Gris

The Winery: Sokol Blosser
The Wine: 2006 Dundee Hills Cuvee Pinto Gris
The Price: This wine is sold out. I got it in the latest shipment from the Cellar Club.

Sunny weather has finally arrived in Seattle, so I am welcoming it with a bottle of Pinot Gris.

The Sokol Blosser Pinot Gris is fairly light yellow wine. The wine has aromas of apples and citrus, with a subtle honey scent. The wine has flavors of apple and peach, with a bit of a spicy finish. The wine has a fairly complex and well-developed taste. It is a little dry compared to other Pinot Gris I've sampled recently. As I've come to expect from Sokol Blosser, this is another great wine. I'm sorry to learn that it's sold out. I would have liked to have snatched up a few more bottles for my collection.

French Rabbit 2006 Pinot Noir

The Winery: French Rabbit
The Wine: 2006 Pinot Noir
The Price: $9.99 at my local QFC

This wine review is for my sister, Julie. She sent me an email that said, "Yeah, I'd like you to check out the boxed wine!!! They're awesome!!!"

I know, of course, that she was not serious. But there are now some boxed wines that are supposed to be better than the Gallo or Almaden that most people associate with boxed wine.

This wine box is sized and shaped much like a regular bottle of wine, which means that it fits in my wine rack. The box is sealed by a plastic lid. When pouring, I found that it splashed quite a bit if I poured very quickly.

The wine is a dark red color, as you would expect from a Pinot Noir. The wine has scents of cherries, prunes and berries. The wine smells well balanced. The wine has primarily a cherry flavor, with a hint of prune and a mildly peppery finish.

Overall, the wine is pretty good for a $10.00 Pinot Noir. It isn't a premium Pinot Noir, and is probably slightly below average. But it's a boxed wine. And this definitely isn't your mother's boxed wine. While I probably wouldn't serve this to guests with a nice meal, it definitely has it's place. I can see myself buying this for trips to the beach, picnics, or for any other occasion where a light, non-breakable container would be convenient.

Cloudline 2006 Pinot Noir

The Winery: Cloudline Cellars
The Wine: 2006 Pinot Noir
The Price: $14.99 at my local Costco.

This is a winery that I'm not familiar with. They are apparently owned by a wine seller from New York (Dreyfus, Ashby and Company).

Upon opening the bottle, I was disappointed to find not only a composite cork, but one that was printed to look like a real cork. Tacky. Regular readers know that I'm not a fan of the plastic corks to begin with, but then to print a cork pattern on the cork raises my disdain to a new level. Grrr.

In the glass, the wine appears to be a little thin. The color is good - a dark red, but the legs are poorly developed and quickly run off.

The wine has scents of cherry and berry, neither of which is very strong. There is also a bit more of an alcohol odor than is typical. The wine tastes very thin and underdeveloped. The little flavor there is to the wine tastes of cherry and prune, with an overly-strong pepper finish. The wine lacks character, flavor and body. Call it the Linda Tripp of Pinot Noirs. This is not a $15 bottle of wine. On their web page the list the price as $19.99, which is even more out of line. I'd rather have a glass of Two-Buck Chuck than the Cloudline Pinot Noir. I really had high hopes for this wine - I'm a big fan of Oregon Pinots, and thought this would be another great Oregon wine. Sadly, I was let down. If you want a good representation of an Oregon Pinot Noir, try Sokol Blosser or August Cellars - but not the Cloudline.

By the way - the image on this page is from their website. Note to the winery - have your photos professionally done. This photo is as bad as the wine.

Mike Ditka 2005 Chardonay

The Winery: Mike Ditka Wines (produced by Mendocino Wine Company)
The Wine: 2005 Chardonnay
The Price: Available online for $17.99

This is the last of the Mike Ditka Wines that I have to review. I've been putting off this particular wine because, frankly, I'm not a big fan of Chardonnay. I'm much more of a red wine drinker, and when I do have white it's usually a sweeter wine and I have to really be in the right mood for it. Usually when I have Chardonnay it's either at a wine tasting at a winery, or at a dinner where it happens to be what the host(ess) has selected. I never have Chardonnay in my personal collection. That said, I am reviewing this wine based on the merits of the wine, and trying to be open minded to a varietal that is not one of my favorites.

This wine has a much more pleasant aroma than I've experienced with other Chardonnays. It has an apple aroma, with a hint of melon.

The wine is actually quite good, which is a tremendous compliment given that I usually don't care for Chardonnays. The wine has a crisp apply flavor with subdued melon, vanilla, and floral flavors. The wine has a very bright taste, with a very slight tang to it. Most of the Chardonnays I have sampled have kind of a heavy taste to them that I didn't care for. This wine isn't like that. This is a Chardonnay that I could actually see myself buying and serving to guests. I'd probably pair it with fish or cheese and crackers. I may have to reconsider Chardonnays. I am highly impressed.

I have greatly enjoyed the Mike Ditka wines, and reviewing them has been a lot of fun. I know that early on I scoffed, and thought that they may just be nothing more than a novelty. I was dead wrong. The Mike Ditka wines have far surpassed my expectations. I hope that they catch on and work their way to the mainstream. I am very pleased that Mike Ditka put his name on a quality wine. The wines may be a bit more than the average football fan is used to paying, but they are very much worth the asking price. I will be buying a few bottles for my collection.

Mike Ditka 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon

The Winery: Mike Ditka Wines (produced by Mendocino Wine Company)
The Wine: 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon
The Price: Available online for $19.99

This is the second of three Mike Ditka wines I will be reviewing. Given how good the Mike Ditka 2005 Kick Ass Red was, I had very high expectations for the 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, despite the fact that this wine is less than half the cost of the Kick Ass Red.

This wine has a fruity smell, with plum being the predominant scent. The wine is dark red in color. This is a very rich, velvety wine. As projected by the aroma, the wine has a plum flavor, with a hint of currant. This is a very good wine, and is priced very appropriated.

If the Kick Ass Red is the Super Bowl Champion of wines, then the 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon NFC Division Champion of wines.

I like football a lot. Usually I serve beer with my games. I think that this year, I will serve some Mike Ditka wines during a game. Maybe for the August 16 preseason game between my Seahawks and Da Bears. I have one Ditka Wine left to review - the Chardonay. Look for that review in the next week or so.

Metrokane Velvet Champagne Sealer

My Metrokane Rabbit corkscrew came packaged with a few tools - a wax-seal tool (which I've never used), a foil cutter (which I use regularly), a drip catcher (again, never used - I spin the bottle as I finish the pour so drips are not a problem for me). Then there's the Velvet Champagne Sealer. I never would have purchased this tool, but since it was included with the Rabbit, I figured it was worth trying out. The sealer consists of a cylinder-shaped body with a cap that twists. Inside the cylinder is a pliable rubber stopper that is compressed when the cap is twisted, causing the rubber stopper to expand in diameter. This creates a very tight seal, thus keeping the carbonation in the bottle. I've now used the sealer twice. Once for a bottle of Champagne, and now that I'm temporarily on the wagon, for a bottle of Izze sparkling juice. The Champagne held beautifully for three days, with very little degradation. I just finished storing a half bottle of Izze for a eight days with the Champagne Sealer. When I removed the sealer, there was a whooshing sound, just like when the original bottle cap was removed. While the juice was a tad flatter than when first opened, it retained approximately 85% of the original carbonation. For the few bucks that this tool costs, it is well worth it for storing Champagne for a day or two. I probably wouldn't risk a high-dollar bottle of Champagne for longer than a week, but if you have a partial bottle, this tool is just the thing to give you a couple of days to get around to finishing it.

I'm dry for the next two weeks

I will not be reviewing any wines for the next couple of weeks. I'm on an antibiotic that my physician and pharmacist assure me will make me violently ill if I have even a very small amount of alcohol. I'm trusting their years of training and experience.

Since I will not be able to review any new wines, I'm hoping to review a book or two or find some other wine-related products to review.

I would also love to have a guest review or two. If anybody is interested, drop me a line. I ask only that you be unbiased and not a professional reviewer. Oh, and you must be of legal drinking age. :)

Mike Ditka 2005 Kick Ass Red - Da Review

The Winery: Mike Ditka Wines (Produced by Mendocino Wine Company)
The Wine: 2005 Kick Ass Red

The Price: The retail price is $49.99

This is a wine review that I expected to take a long time to come together because the wine has not yet made it to my local wine shops, and I was a bit reluctant to spend the $50 on a bottle of what I thought may just be a novelty wine. Tim, from Mendocino Wine Company, was kind enough to get a bottle of the Kick Ass Red along with a bottle of the Mike Ditka 2005 Chardonay and the 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon (look for reviews of the Chardonay and Cabernet Sauvignon soon). I am greatly appreciative of his efforts!

As a long time football fan, I have the utmost respect and fondness for Mike Ditka. He embodies the spirit of the Man's Man. A guy who is nicknamed Iron Mike is just damned tough! So I was a bit taken aback by the Mike Ditka line of wines. I would expect Mike Ditka cigars or Mike Ditka Single-Malt Scotch long before I would think of Mike Ditka wines. As a result, I really expected the wine to be little more than a novelty - something fun to bring out on game day, but not a "real" wine. Was I ever wrong! I was delightfully surprised by the quality of this wine. It is great wine, well worth the retail price, and very much a wine to enjoy now and buy a few extra bottles to cellar away for several years. This wine is game-winning-touchdown-pass good! It's the Chicago Bears Winning Superbowl XX good! It is Iron Mike good. And that's saying a lot.

The wine label is very nicely done (see top right of this review). In an age where labels are so often polluted with pictures of trucks, old ladies and dogs, the label on this wine is a very dignified looking monogram with a small caricature of Mike Ditka below the initials. It is very classy and dignified. The border, text and drawing on the label are gold, set on a black background.

The wine is a very rich, deep, dark red. The deepness of color portends the complexity and developed character of the wine. It has a fruity scent of cherry with a blackberry undertone. The wine has a very well developed, complex flavor. It has a predominately blackberry flavor with a subtle vanilla flavor and a mild pepper finish. With every sip, I like this wine more and more. It has a very silky, pleasant mouth feel. The folks at Mendocino really did a fantastic job in creating this wine, and I look forward to sampling more of their wines in the future.

One of the most memorable moments of Mike Ditka's career, for me personally, was when he was released from his coaching duties by the Chicago Bears. In the nearly-tearful press conference, he ended by saying, "Mike Ditka will survive." That statement really stuck with me through the years, I have thought about those words when I've been in difficult situations. Why I bring this up now is that it strikes me that the one time great NFL player and coach has changed gears and worked to create a great wine. Indeed, Mike Ditka has survived. And flourished.

Da Wine

Wow. I just discovered that there is now a line of Mike Ditka wines. I'm torn. I really, really want to review it. But I really, really don't want to pay $50 for a novelty wine. But I want to review it so very, very much. And I hope it's awful. A good Ditka wine would be much harder to review. A bad one would be a blast. I can see it now:

"This wine tastes like it was squeezed from William 'The Refrigerator' Perry's jockstrap. It is so bad that only a guy as tough as Mike Ditka could drink it. I think this wine is what Ditka uses to color his hair. The only thing that Ditka has done that is worse than this wine is the Bears 1969 1-13 season."

It could go on and on.

Of course, good or bad, the Bear/Ditka/Football analogies would be plentiful. And I promise, if I get a bottle of the stuff, I will be as unbiased as always.

You know I'm going to order a bottle eventually. It'd be a crime not to. But I'm having a hard time swallowing the $50 price tag (plus shipping!).

Mike - if you're reading this, send me a bottle! Please!

Oh, and did anybody notice that I figured out how to imbed pictures in the posts? Nice, huh?

Sokol Blosser 2004 Estate Cuvee Pinot Noir

The Winery: Sokol Blosser
The Wine: 2004 Estate Cuvée Pinot Noir
The Price: I have no idea - it's from my personal stash.

I'm doing this review tonight for two reasons. First, I haven't reviewed anything from Sokol Blosser recently. Second, I really wanted a nice wine tonight.

This wine has a very smooth aroma of berry and plum. It is aging very nicely. It has flavors of plum, blackberry and cherry, with a very mild pepper finish. It is an excellent wine, and is suitable for serving to your A-list guests. Unfortunately, Sokol Blosser does not appear to have any of this wine left for sale on their website. If you can manage to find a bottle or two, I would highly recommend buying it. It is fantastic!

Estancia 2006 Pinot Grigio

The Winery: Estancia
The Wine: 2006 Pinot Grigio
The Price: $8.99, on sale at QFC. Regular price is $14.99.

Estancia is a new winery to me. They are located in Monterey, California.

The wine is a very pale yellow. The wine has a crisp, citrusy smell to it. The aroma is invigorating and lively. The flavor is mild and refreshing. It has apple and pear flavors. The wine makes me think of sitting on the back porch on a warm summer evening (but we had snow here, in Seattle, yesterday so maybe I'm just anxious for some warmer weather).

I like this wine as an every-day kind of wine. For what it is, though, this wine seems a bit pricey (had I purchased it at the regular price). I don't see this as being a $15 bottle of wine. I think it fits in the $8-$10 price range much better. But as I said, I like it, and would like to sample more of the offerings from Estancia. I would especially be interested in sampling some of their Reserve wines, particularly the Pinot Noir.

Chateau Ste Michelle 2007 Pinot Gris

The Winery: Chateau Ste Michelle
The Wine: 2007 Pinot Gris
The Price: $6.99 at my local Safeway.

This is yet another in my series of Pinot Gris reviews. This review is a reward for me. I have spent the last three days packing, moving, and I'm trying to get unpacked. After a very long day of hard work, I didn't feel like doing any unpacking. So I made a deal with myself: unpack 10 boxes, then write a review (okay, my mind heard it as "Drink Wine", so the review is superfluous in my mind's view).

Chateau Ste Michelle is just a couple of miles from the place I just moved out of. The grounds are very nicely groomed, and as a decent sized amphitheatre. They have a concert series every summer, which attracts some big-name stars. Last year I saw Diana Krall there, and ran into her hubby at the concert.

This wine is a pale yellow. It has a very refreshing fruity flavor to it. Although, with all the work I've done the last few days, the same may be said for battery acid. Still, I think this is a very nice wine. It has flavors of apple and pear, with a very light honey taste.

I like Chateau Ste Michelle a lot. I was surprised when I looked back through the reviews and found that I hadn't reviewed any of their wines yet. They make very good wines, and sell them at a very reasonable price.

Truth Wines 2005 Lindsey's Cuvee

The Winery: Truth Wines
The Wine: 2005 Lindsey's Cuvee
The Price: $17.95 at my local wine shop

I'm not able to find all that much information on this winery. What I have been able to dig up is that it was made by Axios Wines. Their website does not have information about their wines, nor does it appear to be very often updated (their latest addition to the press page was in 2006). Being a software geek, I find myself skeptical of any company that does not have a decent web presence. I would expect these guys to have a web site for Truth Wines, and for the URL to be printed on the label.

The wine bottle has a black and white drawing that is an adaptation of M.C. Escher's Hand With Globe, but instead of a globe, the bottle has a wine glass reflecting the man holding the glass.

The wine has a very strong, alcohol smell to it, with a subtle fruit scent blended in.

The wine has a strong berry and prune flavor to it, with a mildly peppery finish. I am also detecting a cinnamon flavor with a hint of vanilla. The wine initially has a dry, chalky mouth feel which seems to dissipate with each sip. I did not care for the wine after the first sip, but several sips into it, I like it quite a lot.

If you can manage to find this wine, and you don't mind paying $17.95, I recommend giving this one a taste.

And if anyone has any further information on the winery, I'd love to learn more about them.

Silvan Ridge 2006 Pinot Gris

The Winery: Silvan Ridge
The Wine: 2006 Pinot Gris
The Price: Unknown.

This is a fairly bland, underdeveloped wine. I hope it didn't cost more than $5.00, because it tastes like it belongs in that range. The wine is yellow in color, and looks similar in color to the typical Pinot Gris. It has tastes of pear, with an astringent/rubbing alcohol finish.

This is a wine which I will not purchase again. It's bad.

Columbia Winery 2006 Pinot Gris

The Winery: Columbia Winery
The Wine: 2006 Pinot Gris
The Price: $8.99 on sale at my local QFC.

I've been on a Pinot Gris kick lately. I don't know why, but I'll run with it. Generally, I prefer red wines, so when I am actually in the mood for any of the white wines, I'll try to get reviews done for them.

Columbia Winery is located in Woodinville, Washington (which is a suburb of Seattle). The winery was started by a group of ten friends, six of whom were professors at the University of Washington. I can derive one of two possibilities from this. The first possibility is that drinking this wine will make you smarter. The second possibility is that being a college professor is a job that drives you to drink. I suppose one could take the second possibility a step further and derive that public education does not pay well enough, forcing these guys to make their own wine since there is no way that they could afford to drink quality wine on the salary of a public educator. But I digress.

Interestingly (or maybe not), there is another winery in the area with a very similar name - Columbia Crest. I don't know whether the similarity in name was intentional or not, but several friends of mine have been confused by the similarity of the names. My personal feeling is that Columbia Winery is lost in the shadows of Columbia Crest. They have a simpler label and their wines seem to run a dollar or two less per bottle for a given wine.

This wine is a very pale yellow. It has a citrus smell to it. The wine is bright and refreshing with flavors of pear and apple, and maybe some honey thrown in for good measure. It has a slight spice finish. This wine was nearly half the cost of the Willamette Valley Pinot Gris that I reviewed last week, and compares quite favorably with it. Since I'm not sampling them together, I can't say for certain which one I prefer. But given the price difference, I'd be more likely to pick up the Columbia Pinot Gris rather than the Willamette Valley.

Oh, I do have one complaint about this wine. The bottle was corked with one of those plastic (or whatever they are made of) corks. My Rabbit Corkscrew had a very difficult time with the cork, both in removing the cork from the bottle, and in expelling the cork from the corkscrew. It was so difficult that I was concerned that the Rabbit would die for the effort. I've had this problem with other openers before, and only with the plastic corks.