Write for Wine: It's Wine O'Clock Somewhere!

Matthews Cellars‘ tasting room in Woodinville has a winning combination — robust Bordeaux-style wines and the friendliest tasting room people around. Whenever I drop by, I experience some fine wines and learn the latest news in Woodinville wine country. In addition to pouring some ridiculously good reds over the last few years, the friendly folks at Matthews Cellars told us to be sure to visit Brian Carter Cellars, JM Cellars, Page Cellars and William Church Winery, to name a few. Now that’s Woodinville wine country spirit!

I recently visited Matthews Cellars’ tasting room with my nephew Mathew (only one “t” in his name), and they didn’t even mind that his cute little dog Edie trotted in behind us. Everybody in the tasting room fell in love with Edie, and Mathew and I both fell head-over-heels with Matthews’ 2001 Columbia Valley Red Wine.

This library wine is a premium Bordeaux-style red blend of 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot, 13% Cab Franc, 4% Malbec and 4% Petit Verdot. Winemaker Matthew Loso sourced fruit from “only the most prestigious vineyards in the Columbia Valley and Red Mountain appellations.” And it shows. My tasting notes were very brief: “Elegant. Rich. Velvety. Love it!” (I was too busy sipping, chatting, enjoying the fuss over Edie, my cool nephew and the fun conversation to write more elaborate notes.)

The 2001 Columbia Valley Red Wine is drinkable now through 2016. I know because one of the coolest things that Matthews Cellars’ Web site offers is a Library page that lists all the library wines and their years of drinkability. I wish all winery Web sites offered that feature. (Transparent plug: Trust me when I give Web site advice. My business, Write for Wine, creates Web site content for wineries, wine bars, distributors and other organizations in the wine industry. I’ve been working in interactive media since 1994.)

Back to Matthews Cellars — I also give very high marks to Matthews Cellars 2003 Conner Lee Cabernet Franc–a deep ruby 100% Cab Franc that is only available in a 3-bottle wooden box (3-750 ml. bottles) for $330.00.  This wine is both sensuous and elegant, and a must-have for Cab Franc lovers. It will be high on my holiday gift wish list!

Cheers!

Woodinville winery JM Cellars has the best Saturday tastings in the area. It must be true because I heard that declaration at an event at a different winery last weekend! Unfortunately, we have had no luck in getting to the JM Cellars tastings ourselves. But it’s not for lack of trying.

My nephew Mathew (who has an excellent palate) and I stopped by JM Cellars a few Saturdays ago, but sadly, we arrived late and the official tasting was over. With a special shout-out to assistant winemaker Tim Drake, we did try a 2005 Merlot, which had depth in its Red Mountain flavors bursting with cherries. (JM Cellars’ 2003 Merlot was named one of the top twelve Merlots in America by Wine and Spirits magazine.)

But we didn’t get a chance to taste JM’s red blends — and regular readers of this blog know that my palate is all about red blends. I love the names of some of JM Cellars wines, too: Their flagship wine Tre Fanciulli (tray-fan-CHEW-lee) and Bramble Bump Red. We can’t wait to finally get to a tasting (on time!) to try them.

But Saturdays are tough for us to go wine tasting; we typically go on Sundays. So we were looking forward to stopping by JM Cellars during St. Nick’s weekend next month in Woodinville. Again, no such luck. The winery won’t be represented there. So, hopefully, we’ll be able to attend the YWCA Childcare Endowment Fund Benefit on Nov. 16 at Wright Exhibition Space in Seattle. They’ll definitely be pouring there, along with others. And it’s for a good cause. For more details, check out my What’s Going On posts on Thursdays.

Have you gone to Saturday tastings at JM Cellars? Write a comment and tell me what I’ve been missing!

Cheers!

We discovered Alexandria Nicole Cellars when the winery opened a Woodinville tasting room a few months ago. On our next trip to eastern Washington, we stopped by the Prosser tasting room; spent some time in the beautiful “Members Only” room; tasted some great new releases; and better yet, met winemaker Jarrod and his wife Alexandria, for whom the fine wines are named.

A couple of weeks ago, my nephew Mathew–an excellent wine tasting companion–came from Vancouver (B.C., my hometown) to visit, so we decided to tour our favorite tasting rooms in Woodinville. Of course, we stopped by to visit the good folks at Alexandria Nicole again.

During those three trips in two months, we tasted many of Jarrod’s wines. And of course, we brought some home to the dinner table. So, it stands to reason that the wine with dinner (WWD) recently was Alexandria Nicole’s 2004 Quarry Butte–a blend from Destiny Ridge Vineyards and Horse Heaven Hills.

The winery’s estate vineyard, Destiny Ridge, used to be called Quarry Butte. It’s located on the bluffs of Horse Heaven Hills and was slated to become a rock quarry. I, for one, am glad those plans were derailed.

2004 Quarry Butte is a Bordeaux-style blend of 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 6% Cab Franc, 6% Syrah and 1% Malbec. It is smooth and rich, with berry flavors and a balanced structure. We had it with dinner the night before our second trip to the Woodinville tasting room, where we found out that it is now sold out!

The 2005 Quarry Butte was just released on the day of our visit–it’s a different blend of 48% Cab, 38% Merlot, 7% Malbec, 4% Syrah and 3% Cab Franc. We preferred the 2004 vintage, but you can’t go wrong with the 2005 Quarry Butte either.

This time, we took home something different–Alexandria Nicole Cellars 2004 Estate Cabernet. It is loaded with flavors and when we have it with dinner, I’ll tell you more.

Cheers!