Murphy, R.I.P.

November 25, 2011 Wine Comments Off

This is a tribute to one of our favorite winery dogs, Murphy of Barrage Cellars, whom we were saddened to recently find out went to doggy heaven.

Murphy, a simply gorgeous chocolate lab, was always hanging around the tasting room to greet us with a big smile and a wagging tail. Winemaker Kevin Correll once said all Murphy wanted was love – and this absolutely wonderful dog got love by the barrel from Kevin and Rebecca.

Last April, Murphy shone in the “coffee table” book of photographs, Winery Dogs of Washington, and he even “signed” books for those who “pawchased” them. What a star! And oh so photogenic!

Around that time, Kevin released a new wine label in their dog’s honor. Underlining Murphy’s playfulness and surreptitiousness around the wine barrels, “Stealth,” a red blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Cab Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot, sold out almost immediately. On release day, word had it that Murphy signed bottles as well as books, but we were out of town and unfortunately had to miss that joyous occasion.

Earlier this month, Barrage Cellars was honored as the official winery partner of Taste of Tulalip, so Kevin and Rebecca renamed Stealth as ”Murphy’s Blend,” which was lovingly poured into engraved bottles that were featured at the wine and food extravaganza at Tulalip Resort.

After the photo shoot for the Winery Dogs of Washington book, Kevin and Rebecca took this photo of Murphy, saying he was all tired out and resting after all the posing and fanfare.

And now we know he is resting in peace in doggy heaven.

Kevin and Rebecca, our hearts hurt with yours. Murphy was your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You were his life, his love, his friend.

We miss you too, Murphy. And we hope, from the bottom of our hearts that our dogs Sam and Shadow met you on the bridge to doggy heaven and you’re romping around with them right now.

We raise a glass (or two) of our favorite Barrage Cellars wine to you! Murphy, R.I.P.

Happy Thanksgiving!

November 23, 2011 Washington wineries, Wine Comments Off

Happy Thanksgiving to family, friends and readers of this blog. Dave and I hope you have a wonderful holiday! We’re thankful for many, many things.

First, always is health and family, followed by good friends and good jobs. We’d also like to give thanks for any unknown blessings already on their way.

Dave and I also are thankful that we’ve had an opportunity to become friends with many people at Washington wineries including Jarrod and Ali, Vida and Ross, Matt, Kathie, Rachel and Shanah at Alexandria Nicole Cellars; Rod and Leslie, Marcus and Cheryl at William Church Winery; Brennon, Patrick, Angie and Kevin, Dan and Helen at Efeste; Kevin and Rebecca at Barrage Cellars; Bijal and Sinead and Jean Claude at The Woodhouse Wine Estates; Marie-Eve at Forgeron Cellars and Gilles at Long Shadows; Charlie, Jess and Cindy at Fidelitas Wines; Mike and Kate at Northwest Totem Cellars; Justin at Va Piano; Neil at Cooper Wine; John, Peggy and Paige at JM Cellars; Mike and Joanne at Dunham Cellars; Cole at Hestia Cellars, Sean and Anna at Gilbert Cellars; Tim and Nancy at Fall Line; Judy and Don at Hard Row to Hoe; Hope and Eric at Heaven’s Cave; Darby at Darby Winery; Trey at Sleight of Hand; new friend Jamie Brown at Waters and 21 Grams; Kathy at O Wines; Amber and Greg at Desert Wind; Bart at Bartholomew Wine; and Mike, Karen, John and Kelly Sauer of Red Willow Vineyard.

And a special shoutout to our Walla Walla gal-pals Jamie at L’Ecole 41; Muriel at Otis Kenyon; Shari at Woodward Canyon; and bestie Catie at Wild Walla Walla Wine Woman.

Of course there are dozens of fabulous friends and wine enthusiasts – too many to name — whom we’ve met on Twitter and Facebook, and we wish you all the best too.

Oh my -we hope we didn’t forget anyone! If so, please blame it on the fact that it’s Wine O’clock on the Wine Wednesday before Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! Cheers!

Margot and Dave

Tweets from Taste of Tulalip

November 13, 2011 Bordeaux Blend, Cab Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah, Wine Comments Off

We had an exceptional time at Taste of Tulalip, where we were guests of the Tulalip Resort. In the next couple of weeks, I plan to write a full blog post about our two days there – from the Celebratory dinner to the Magnum Party of elite wines and the Grand Tasting. Until then, here is a sample of some of my tweets live from Taste of Tulalip.

Friday Night Celebratory Dinner

Saturday Magnum Party

Grand Tasting

As you can see, there was an explosion of tastes and flavors at Taste of Tulalip. The resort is beautiful and the staff superb. Special thanks to Allan, Norma, Cheryl Kyle, Chef Perry Mascitti and his fabulous team, Sommelier Tommy Thompson, and Lisa Severn.

We will be back!

Cheers!

 

Time for Taste of Tulalip!

November 11, 2011 Events, Wine Comments Off

It’s here, the Taste of Tulalip weekend wine and food spectacular at Tulalip Resort Casino! See my previous posts, listed below, for information about activities, times, locations and ticket information.

I will be there for many of the seminars, tastings and parties – you can follow me over the weekend on Twitter @writeforwine and you can also follow many wine tweeps and foodies on the Twitter stream at #tasteoftulalip

Previous Posts:

Hope to see you there!

Cheers!

Still Tickets Left for Taste of Tulalip

November 9, 2011 Events, Wine 2 Comments

You’re in luck – there are still tickets left for the Grand Tasting and All-Access Pass on Saturday at Taste of Tulalip, held each year at Tulalip Resort Casino, and recognized as one of the top Northwest foodie “happenings.”

This is one of our favorite events of the year. For the Grand Tasting, Executive Chef Perry Mascitti and his fabulous team, and Sommelier Tommy Thompson go all out for guests with an array of mouthwatering bites, and pours from 65 Washington wineries, 20+ from Napa and more than 20 from Italy.

The All-Access Pass includes this exciting lineup:

  • 12:00 PM – VIP Seminar featuring Carla Hall, who will “wow” you as she performs a cooking demonstration, table talk and a question and answer session with Executive Chef Perry Mascitti and Sommelier Tommy Thompson.
  • Private Magnum Party in mpulse lounge hosted by “Liquid Kitchen” star Kathy Casey. You’ll be treated to some of the most elite wines from around the world, selected by Sommelier Tommy Thompson and sample some of Kathy Casey’s tasty appetizers. (We can’t wait for this event!)
  • 1:30 PM – Early entrance into the Grand Taste
  • 3:30 PM – Rock-n-Roll Cooking Challenge judged by “Thirsty Girl” Leslie Sbrocco and Carla Hall

You can purchase tickets right now!

And of course, if you don’t feel like driving home after such a wonderful day, the Tulalip Resort has a beautiful hotel to relax in.

We hope to see you at the 2011 Taste of Tulalip! You can follow me on Twitter @writeforwine and you can follow the Twitter stream at #tasteoftulalip

Cheers!

Want to Take Wine on Your Holiday Travels?

November 5, 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon, Wine Comments Off

I’ve been traveling a lot lately, mainly by plane and car, for both work and play. And with a crazy work schedule continuing in the next couple of months, there will be even more travel in my future – and with the holidays just weeks away, most likely in your future, too.

Well, there is a way to take that bottle or two of amazing Washington wine with you to share with friends and colleagues in other states, provinces and countries. You can also buy local wine on a trip or take a gift home.

How can that be? Airport security restrictions require us to pack wine bottles in our checked suitcases. I used to worry that my clothes and other items would be wrecked if a bottle broke en route and a mess was made. In the past, I tried wineskins and other containers for my precious cargo. They offered some protection, but occasionally stuff happens, right?

Then I heard about the Jet Bag, which promises to protect your wine, even if your checked suitcase is thrown onto luggage belts or tossed around an airport. So I packed a special bottle of Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon from Goosecross Cellars in a Jet Bag and placed it in my checked luggage, so we could toast Dave’s birthday while we were on vacation last month. It worked!

What makes this travel solution better than others is the same reason why the Jet Bag used to be described as a “wine diaper” — it’s lined with the same absorbent materials found in baby diapers. So if by chance a bottle does break, the Jet Bag rapidly absorbs the spill and keeps the messy liquid away from your clothing and other important articles that you packed in your suitcase.

This handy, biodegradable carrier is 18 inches tall, weighs only a third of an ounce and can easily hold a 750 mL bottle of wine within its protective padding. With a re-sealable closure, you also can use it over and over – as long as a bottle doesn’t break in it. Ours didn’t.

It’s reasonably priced, too – so it’s perfect to give as a gift or to share with friends and family who are traveling with you. The company’s official Web site offers a three-pack of Jet Bags for $15.

Of course, you can also use the Jet Bag in the car or on a boat; and you can carry other liquids, from water bottles to liquor, in it, too.

Note: I was given a free sample of a JetBag, which I took on our recent trip.

Safe travels, and happy times!

Cheers!

A Slice of Heaven (Heaven’s Cave)

October 30, 2011 Barbera, Bordeaux Blend, Wine Comments Off

We tasted a slice of heaven this weekend – two very different but noteworthy wines from Heaven’s Cave Cellars in Prosser: 2009 Two Degrees Barbera and 2005 Angel’s Blend.

Both of us appreciated both wines, but my preference was the Angel’s Blend, and Dave’s was the Barbera. Regular readers of this blog won’t be surprised at that – my palate adores Bordeaux blends, while Dave searches high and low for a solid Barbera – not as easy to find in Washington state.

The 2005 Angel’s Blend combines 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Merlot, 12% Malbec, 3% Cab Franc and just a touch of Petit Verdot to round things off. This robust, full-bodied red stands beautifully on its own, but also pairs well with hamburgers, steaks, lamb and teriyaki beef. The grapes are sourced from Destiny Ridge Estate Vineyard, owned by Jarrod and Ali Boyle of Alexandria Nicole Cellars.

The 2009 Two Degrees Barbera was sourced from vines at Alder Ridge. Unlike its light-bodied Italian counterparts, this 100% Barbera is a warm, earthy, well-balanced wine that is also rich and smooth. Again, it’s good enough to drink on its own, but it pairs very well with pizza, pasta and chicken parmesan, or even lamb or turkey.

In addition, 100% of the profit from the sale of Two Degrees Barbera goes to the Make The DASH Count Foundation, dedicated to delevoping the next generation of community leaders and benefitting at-risk youth. The foundation was created in 2003 by Hope Moore, proprietor of Heaven’s Cave.

“The DASH refers to the little horizontal line on our gravestones; the one between the date we are born and the date we pass away. The DASH represents everything in between and how we chose to live it.”

As fall sets in and the weather turns colder, sipping on either one of these reds in front of a toasty fire is a great way to spend the evening.

Cheers!

Lachini – A Taste of OR in Woodinville

October 26, 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Wine 2 Comments

We discovered Lachini Vineyards’ new tasting room in Woodinville quite by accident, when we recently visited one of our favorites, William Church Winery, which is now open in the Hollywood Schoolhouse District, next to Purple Cafe. Lachini is right next door, and we encourage you to stop by and check it out.

In addition to some fabulous big Washington reds and Bordeaux-inspired wines, Lachini offers a taste of the Willamette Valley right in our backyard. We enjoyed every one of them – from Oregon Pinot Noirs to Washington La Bestia.

Let’s start with a Washington wine from Red Mountain. La Bestia (the Beast) is sourced from Klipsun’s oldest block of Cabernet Sauvignon and was aged in barrel for two years. No wonder why it’s described as a “high-octane red” that received mid-90s scores. Wow! We weren’t surprised to discover that Lachini’s rows are adjacent to the vines of Quilceda Creek.

If you’re a lover of Pinot Noir, look no further. Lachini’s Estate Vineyard is located on the backdrop of the Chehalum Mountain in the North Willamette Valley. Lachini offers a number of Pinots for every palate – and in every price range, from $17 for a 2010 Rose of Pinot Noir to $140 for a magnum of 2007 Cuvee Giselle. In between, you can find ruby-red Pinots that are elegant, aromatic and rich for $35-$65.

Here are tasting notes for the full lineup and here are reviews and awards from Wine Spectator and The Wine Advocate.

We’ll be going back – and we hope to see you there.

Cheers!

Do Not Miss Taste of Tulalip!

October 17, 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon, Events, Wine Comments Off

You might not know this but Taste of Tulalip, held each year at Tulalip Resort Casino, has been recognized as one of the top Northwest foodie “happenings.”

It doesn’t surprise us, considering the wonderful food, wine & hospitality experience we had there in May.

The resort’s superb reputation was underlined again last week at a tweetup, when its food and wine maestros — Chef Perry Mascitti and his fabulous team of chefs, and Sommelier Tommy Thompson — treated a few of us to a sneak peak of Taste of Tulalip.

Once more, we encountered an explosion of flavors and aromas — the food, wine and hospitality merged into a premium, five-star experience. We were also delighted to discover the well-deserved honor given to Barrage Cellars, which was named the official 2011 winery parter of Taste of Tulalip.

Don’t just take our word for why you should attend Taste of Tulalip - below are some of the tweets that were posted during our preview event. Read them, and then get your tickets – Nov. 11 & 12 – at the Tulalip website.

At Taste of Tulalip, you’ll find 65 Washington wineries, more than 20 from Napa and more than 20 Italian wineries, along with mouthwatering food and a Magnum party with exclusive tastes from world-renowned wineries.

These are the wines we sampled:

  • 2002 Louis Roederer “Cristal” Champagne
  • 2008 Domaine Leflaive Batard Montrachet Burgundy
  • 2006 Leonetti Cellars Reserve red blend
  • ZD Abacus Cabernet Sauvignon XII

Here is just a sample of tweets from our sneak preview of the scrumptious food and wine at Tulalip:

Are you convinced now? Mark your calendars for Nov. 11 & 12, and get your tickets here. See you there!

Cheers!

It’s a Perfect Time to Visit Swiftwater Cellars

October 12, 2011 Bordeaux Blend, Cab Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Events, Merlot, Syrah, Wine Comments Off

The summer tourists have gone home and the skiiers are waiting for the season to kick off, so now is the time to visit Swiftwater Cellars, a destination within a destination at Suncadia Resort - a one-hour drive from Seattle in the heart of the Cascade Mountains.

We visited a couple of months ago, and it was gorgeous – mountain views, a 360-degree bar, a two-story stone fireplace, a shop with unique gifts and collectibles, and Swiftwater Cellars premium wine – what’s not to like? If you’re lucky, owners Don and Lori Watts, both consummate storytellers, will regale you with anecdotes about their lives and about the former Roslyn Coal Mine No. 9 that the winery sits atop.

And let’s not forget the wine! Veteran winemakers Tony Rynders and Linda Trotta create a number of outstanding wines with fruit sourced from a selection of vineyards in Washington and Oregon. The Watts family also owns Zephyr Ridge in Horse Heaven Hills.

Not surprisingly to regular readers of this blog, my favorite was Swiftwater’s Proprietary Red – a beautiful Bordeaux blend of 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Cab Franc, 16% Merlot, 12% Petit Verdot and 10% Syrah. But full props also go to Swiftwater’s Syrah and Pinot Noir (sourced from Willamette Valley).

We also enjoyed some white wines from their second label, Number 9, naturally named after the coal mine. At the moment, Switfwater Cellars produces a total of 2,500 cases of wine, with plans to double that in the future.

But Swiftwater Cellars is more than fine wine – the Fireside Lounge offers an all-day menu and The Hoist House dinner menu has many mouth-watering choices.

And there are frequent events; for example, this weekend you’ll find live music and “Experience the Crush.”

Did I mention this destination winery would also be an awesome location for a wedding or holiday party?

Whether you’re looking for a day-trip, a wonderful weekend or a unique place to hold an event, we recommend checking out Swiftwater Cellars. We plan on going back!

Cheers!

« Previous Entries Next Entries »