Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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Winemaker Chris Dowsett has a personal passion for Gewürztraminer – not a grape that gets a whole lot of love from most drinkers. But here's the thing - a dry Gewürztraminer is a perfect Thanksgiving wine, and this fits the bill in every way. I loved it enough to include it on my Best of the Year post a couple of weeks ago, and Chris has actually lowered the price since then. The Celilo vineyard in the Columbia Gorge has long been a secret source for this grape for a handful of savvy win...
Soos Creek's Dave Larsen sources Cabernet from some of Washington's A+ vineyards, and his sturdy, dense wines are built to age. But with this King Cab, he's given a special gift to less patient wine lovers. It's a single vineyard Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet at a supermarket price. The blend includes 15% Merlot, which helps to soften the tannins. There's an interesting sweetness here – not from fruit or sugar, but more like the sweetness of fine tobacco. This is a classic Washington Cabernet w...
King Estate was founded specifically to grow and produce Pinot Gris. Now entirely biodynamic, the winery has grown to become one of Oregon's most diverse and influential. Pinot Gris remains a strong suit, with up to seven different versions in a single vintage – probably as much as the rest of Oregon combined. It's almost iconic, with full, fleshy pear fruit, buoyant acids, and a mouth-pleasing texture. Green apple, cucumber, and grapefruit highlights follow. This is the most widely available b...
I've been a Zin lover for decades, especially fond of those made from old vines. For Zinfandel, old vines, though unregulated, can mean the plants went into the ground anywhere from several decades to over a century ago. It's especially long-lived and productive and was one of the varieties favored by the Italian winemakers who built up the California wine industry before and after Prohibition. Family-owned (since 1968) Bogle Vineyards makes what is hands-down the best cheap old vine Zin in the...
This is a perennial ‘Best Buy’ from the big magazines, and for good reason. Priced around $15, it’s got big flavors that are hard to find in inexpensive Cabernets. Cedar shakes, toast and vanilla highlights complement brambly blackberry and black cherry fruit. Noble Vines puts a number on their various offerings; this 337 vine stock originated in Bordeaux, the home of classic Cabernets. On sale at Albertson’s and other area groceries. $12 – $15; 14.5%; Lodi https://tinyurl.co...
This Paso Robles winery makes an expansive lineup of ripe, fruity, value wines. The Wine Enthusiast annual Best Buy list has just been published, and this wine is Number One. It's still available but won't be for long. Generous aromas of berry pie, spice cake, and a lovely minerality add to a rich palate of cassis and boysenberry. Grab it while you can. 14%; $15 (Paso Robles)...
Longtime Washington wine drinkers surely know DeLille Cellars, one of the first and still one of the foremost small brands to make Woodinville its home. Now entering its fourth decade, DeLille has grown and those in charge have changed, but the quality remains. Métier began as a single wine under the DeLille label but has transformed into a sister label all its own. There are three wines currently on offer. This red is my favorite – a classic Washington blend of 55% Syrah, 32% Cabernet Sa...
Planet Oregon is the value brand from Soter Vineyards. This summertime sparkler is 100% Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, made by the carbonated method rather than the much more expensive methode champenoise. It's the color of pale strawberry flesh, quite delightfully fruity with berry and cherry, and underscored with grapefruity acids. Big, bold and penetrating, it's a fine value and a great sparkling wine for hot weather sipping. Great for cocktails and punches also. 3300 cases; 13%; $24...
Argyle was established 35 years ago with a mission to make Oregon sparkling wines. Mission accomplished – Oregon now has dozens of wineries making Champagne-style bubbly. Argyle next expanded into a full range of still wines, focusing on Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Riesling. Over the years I’ve found that the Chardonnays are always surefire delicious, and often fine values. Among several different offerings, this is the most affordable. Barrel fermented grapes from three of the winery’s four...
Pike Road 2022 Pinot Gris There's Pinot Grigio and Pinot Gris. The same grape from two quite different places. If Pinot Grigio conjures up notions of overpriced, underfruited, ubiquitous Italian plonk for you, as it does for me, don't give up on the grape. Oregon Pinot Gris is a different creature entirely. If you have never had a truly brilliant example, here's the one to try. Pike Road is the sister winery to Elk Cove. The fresh, ripe, lively fruit flavors in this new release showcase fresh...
Chris Dowsett’s winemaking resumé would occupy this entire page. Suffice it to say that the family brand is his most personal, and this often-overlooked grape his particular passion. This is a dry, full-bodied wine sourced from an old vine site in the Columbia Gorge. Such richness as you’ll find here is exceptional, and this is supported by tangy citrus and underlying wet stone minerality, while keeping the aggressive perfume character of Gewurz in check. A substantial, evocative wine, this...
I’m not generally a believer that gold medals mean a wine is any good. They’re given out like participation awards at dozens of for-profit wine competitions all over the country. But this medal-winner is an exception, because of where it’s won and how incredibly often it has come home with the top prize. Produced by Barnard Griffin, it’s a vibrant, refreshing rosé whose flavors deftly frame its watermelon and strawberry fruit with juicy acids. It continues developing nuances of sandalwo...
Though it was a major part of the original plantings back in the 1970s when this pioneering Oregon vineyard was first established, Riesling is now a minor player in the Hyland mix. This is the product of own-rooted (ungrafted) vines that are between 45 and 50 years old and bring the special density and detail that simply cannot be expressed in younger fruit. Tart, fresh, sassy citrus fruit flavors are streaked with veins of wet rock. The long, lip-licking finish brings subtle hints of...
Among this Oregon winery's many pioneering achievements was the introduction of this classic Spanish white wine to the Pacific Northwest. If you've ever been to Spain (and you kinda like the music), you know that this is the go-to crisp white wine for all kinds of fried seafood and Spanish cheeses. This New World version is a spicy, peppery, vivacious wine that deftly stacks bright fruit flavors of apple, pear, and white peach with skin flavors and crisp acids. There's also a finishing hint of...
Since the bag-in-box method of wine packaging first arrived in this country about 15 years ago, the range and quality of offerings have steadily improved while prices have remained stable. One of the most reliable brands is Black Box, and you'll find a wealth of options at most local groceries. I'm singling out this Sauv Blanc because it is from Chile, which has carved out a nice niche with this newly-popular grape, and because it's being steeply discounted. A three-liter box is equivalent to...
Underwood 2021 Rosé With hot weather here, a nice, chilled bottle of rosé is the perfect choice for your porch party, backyard BBQ, or poolside picnic. Underwood is a value brand offering reliably good wines. The Underwood Rosé is a 2021 (most current releases are 2022s), which may account for the steeply discounted price. Spotted on a Walla Walla grocery shelf this week, it sold for $14, with a further ten percent discount when buying a six-pack. Fruity with peaches, scented with pretty fl...
Lisette Hrapmann is the Assistant Winemaker at Day Wines as well as the owner/winemaker of Fizzy Lizzy wines. Her ancestral method bubbly, called Swampwater, is a fine example of the rising interest among young winemakers in this type of wine. To make a pét nat, you take fermenting wine, chill it to halt fermentation, bottle it with a screwcap, and let the fermentation finish in the bottle, releasing enough CO2 to provide the fizz. This thoroughly delicious bottle is mostly Chardonnay blended...
Walla Walla winemaker Kelsey Itämeri makes an interesting pair of Sémillons, this one fermented and aged in stainless, the other in neutral wood. Both wines are 100% varietal from the same block at Les Collines. The '1 of 2' is effusively juicy and fruity with luscious lime and pineapple. That opening burst of flavor is framed with a refreshing mineral note, and the nicely balanced phenolics add further details to the finish. Sémillon remains a bit of a rarity in Walla Walla (and throughout th...
There are bargain wines and value wines, sometimes but not always the same. A bargain is a cheap bottle, generally under $10, often less. Value wines, on the other hand, can cost more, but it's what they give you in terms of flavor that determines if they rise to the top of their price peer group. This Poet's Leap is one of those. Hand-picked and whole cluster pressed, it strikes a generously juicy balance between acid and sugar, fruit and phenolics. Grape sources for this vintage include...
My brother is on a rafting trip in SE Oregon and was bemoaning the fact that no glass is allowed, so no wine could be brought. Not true, I told him. What you want is wine in a can. Of which there are quite a few from which to choose. The Joe To Go brand offers Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir and Rosé in cans, which are perfect for camping, rafting, hiking, biking, boating and just about any other outdoor activity. If you're near a river or lake this time of year the water is nice and cold, so chilling...
Lone Birch is the low-cost brand from Airfield Estates (Airfield’s Dauntless red wine was featured last week). Lone Birch is another of their brands worth seeking out, especially for this estate-grown Syrah. It’s amazing that Washington Syrah this good can be found at this price. The stacked flavors are true to varietal character, true to place, and made to be enjoyed immediately while also built for longer-term aging. You’d have to pay at least double to find something comparable. Purch...
Wine grapes were first planted at what is now Airfield Estates back in 1967! Today the family farm includes 830 acres of wine grapes. Airfield Estates Winery was established in 2005 and produces some of Washington’s finest estate-grown yet affordable wines. This classy right-bank Bordeaux-style blend comes from estate grapes and offers value at a more than fair price. It is a fine companion to the equally excellent Merlot. It’s nicely blended, seamless, and balanced throughout. Black che...
The Velvet Devil 2019/2020 Merlot The Velvet Devil is one of several low-cost and high-quality brands that Charles Smith rolled out as he began building his wine empire. The distinctive names and catchy black and white labels were all part of the brilliant packaging, but it was the overall quality of the wines that proved most impressive. Smith's website is way out of date, so these current releases have no reviews, but the track record suggests you won't go wrong. National advertisers have...
Portlandia Vintners has just released a pair of non-vintage bubblies. I particularly like this Syrah-based rosé. It’s not expensive for a traditional (Champagne) method sparkler – that is not a cheap process. NV means it’s comprised of juice from more than one vintage. Lovely to look at – a fading sunset hue – it is one of a handful of sparkling Syrahs in my experience. This one avoids unnecessary tannins or earthy funk and might easily be mistaken for a sparkling Pinot Noir, which is a good...
This popular southern French blend is a great introduction to a style that is the basis for many more expensive Walla Walla wines. The grapes used are some combination of Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre (often labeled as GSM) with perhaps a splash of Carignon or Cinsault. This is a tangy, salty and brambly red, with palate-coating berry flavors that seem perfect for that first grilled spring lamb. Both 2020 and 2021 are current releases both are good – this brand is consistent so either one wo...
