What’s in our glasses in January? We enjoyed some fine wine lately, and subsequently posted about these great seven bottles on social media. However, in case you missed our posts, you can catch up here. In addition, we welcome you to follow Write for Wine on Instagram, Facebook, and Threads. Read on to find out details about what’s been in our glasses this month.
Category Archives: Grenache
Sagebreaker Wines
Sagebreaker wines are named after George Smith, who broke sagebrush from the ground in the Horse Heaven Hills a century ago. Today, his descendants – the Andrews family – carry that legacy forward at Andrews Family Vineyards, with groundbreaking Sagebreaker and Trothe wines. As winemaker of the impressive team, Ray McKee crafted these three noteworthy Sagebreaker wines. These wines show the same structure and finesse as Trothe’s luxury lineup, but feature more integrated oak. In a recent chat, Ray told us that he lovingly makes Sagebreaker like Trothe. However, he described Sagebreaker as “wines of yumminess meant to be enjoyed by anyone and everyone with food anytime. Sagebreaker helps people light up their mouths and progress on their wine journey.” Read on for details.
Bubbles
We love bubbles. Bubbles on the deck. Sparkling wine before dinner, during dinner, or after. Sparklers to celebrate. Bubbles, just because. So, when Vineyard Brands sent us four bottles of sparkling wine, we could not wait to open them. All four are NV and wallet-friendly ($15-$19). Marqués de Cáceres Cava Brut, Miguel Torres Chile Estelado Brut Pais, La Vieille Ferme Sparkling Blanc, and La Vieille Ferme Sparkling Rosé. Continue reading
L’Ecole Spring Releases
What an abundance of riches! L’Ecole Spring Releases include five appealing reds from the 2022 vintage, a consistently excellent 2024 Rosé, and the second vintage of their classic 2024 Sauvignon Blanc. Not surprisingly, the 2024 white and rosé are stellar, and somehow even better than previous vintages. Meanwhile, talented winemaker Marcus Rafanelli told us recently that the 2022 vintage in Washington is exceptional, and these L’Ecole reds demonstrate it.
- 2022 Merlot Estate, Walla Walla Valley
- 2022 Syrah, Estate Seven Hills Vineyard, Walla Walla Valley
- 2022 Cabernet Franc / Merlot, Estate, Walla Walla Valley
- 2022 Malbec, Walla Walla Valley
- 2022 GSM, Estate Seven Hills Vineyard, Walla Walla Valley