We tasted nine Canvasback wines in June, when we visited the winery‘s rustic yet elegant tasting room for the first time. What a lovely Walla Walla location to experience Canvasback’s extensive wine portfolio. From sophisticated to hedonistic, polished to luscious, and refreshing to captivating, Canvasback has it all. Duckhorn pioneers Dan and Margaret Duckhorn founded the winery in 2012, and named it after the Canvasback duck, native to the Pacific Flyway.
Category Archives: Marsanne
Avennia Red Mountain
Superb winemaker Chris Peterson’s style remains consistent over the years, as we witnessed during our first time at Avennia Red Mountain estate winery last month. And we go back more than a decade. In 2012, we stopped by Avennia, then one of Woodinville’s newest wineries, and became immediate fans of Chris and managing partner Marty Taucher. At the time, we wrote that Avennia wines were “classic, complex, balanced, structured, true to varietal, and a showcase of the beauty of Washington grapes.” They still are. Read on for details of our visit and the wines we tasted.
Holiday Wines
Above all, make your season fabulous with stellar holiday wines. To help you out, 20 sparkling, rosé and white wines, plus 20 red wines, comprise our top 40 recommendations of wine for the holidays. Certainly, many of these holiday wines are special because of their high quality (and high price point). On the other hand, others are simply special good-value wines. Moreover, their prices range from an unbelievable $11 to $162. Most importantly, we suggest opening them during a quiet evening at home, pouring them for dinner guests, taking them to small holiday parties, or giving them as gifts. To sum up, read on for details. Continue reading
Moon Curser
Moon Curser Vineyards is one of the most highly regarded wineries in B.C.’s Okanagan Valley, both for its impressive wines and its number of “firsts.” At least half the wineries on our fall tour lauded Moon Curser for being the first winery to grow Tannat in the valley, the only one to plant Arneis and Touriga Nacional, and the only winery in Canada to blend all six permitted Bordeaux grapes in its Border Vines wine. Its flagship Syrah-Tannat blend, Dead of Night, is also one of a kind (and our favorite). Named after moonlight-evading gold rush smugglers, Moon Curser has a unique story to share. Read on for details.