Congratulations to the Washington State Wine Commission and Visit Seattle for another successful Taste Washington March 22-25, 2018. Thousands of people participated in the annual celebration of the excellent wine made in this state — at the Grand Tasting, educational seminars, lunches on local farms, and other events.
Every year, we hope that people did more than taste the fine wine of Washington. We hope they appreciated it, and the hard work by people in our state’s wine industry – from farmers to vineyard managers to those in the production facilities, winemakers, distributors, tasting room staff and more. In particular, we applaud the workers in the vineyards who toil over the grapes and the terroir; the winemakers who balance creativity and science in every barrel and bottle; and their families who support this extreme effort. We definitely appreciated every taste that was poured for us at the Grand Tasting. Our top 25 favorites are listed below. ((Note, some were “under the table” pours!) Continue reading →
Thousands of people participated in the annual celebration of the excellent juice made in this state — at the Grand Tasting, educational seminars, lunches on local farms, and at restaurants, wineries, hotels and retailers that offered special deals and promotions throughout the month.
But we hope that people did more than taste the fine wine of Washington. We hope they appreciated it, and the hard work by people in our state’s wine industry – from farmers to vineyard managers to those in the production facilities, winemakers, distributors, marketing specialists, tasting room staff and more.
In particular, we applaud the workers in the vineyard who toil over the grapes and the terroir, the winemakers who balance creativity and science in every barrel and bottle, and their families who support this extreme effort.
We definitely appreciated every taste that was poured for us at the Grand Tasting.
And there were some delicious bites too. Our favorite was these amazing Salted Caramel Fudge Brownies from Blazing Bagels. (Their bagels were mouth-watering too, of course!)
We also enjoyed seafood from Anthony’s Pier 66, Ivar’s, Ray’s Boathouse and The Crab Pot. We munched on a lot of crab cakes this year!
Here are some of our favorite wines, in alphabetical order:
Alexandria Nicole Cellars 2014 Quarry Butte Red Bordeaux Blend ($26)
Ambassador Wines of Washington 2013 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon ($38)
Andrew Will 2013 Champoux Vineyard Red Blend ($74)
Avennia 2015 Oliane Sauvignon Blanc ($28)
Barrage Cellars 2012 “Cease and Desist” Cabernet Franc ($35)
Barrister Winery 2013 Cabernet Franc ($31), pictured left with Petit Verdot & Barrister’s Block
Bartholomew Winery 2014 Tannat ($32)
Betz Family Winery 2013 Pere de Famille Cabernet Sauvignon ($75)
Boudreaux Cellars 2011 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon ($115); winemaker Rob Newsom and his daughter Keely are pictured below
Canvasback 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon, Red Mountain ($40)
Cooper Wine Company 2014 L’inizio Bordeaux Blend, Red Mountain ($55)
We’ve had many reasons to celebrate in recent weeks — birthdays, anniversaries and vacations. What better times to pull out a bottle of fine Washington state and/or California wine from our collection?
For example, on our anniversary we enjoyed two Washington state beauties, Obelisco 2012 Electrum Cabernet Sauvignon and Force Majeure 2010 Collaboration V, Estate Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon.
Yes, these are definitely special-occasion wines.
In the last few months, we also opened some good-value reds — how can you miss at $15?
So here are some of the wines in our glasses lately — at a wide range of prices, from $15-$70 — in alphabetical order. Some of these were small pours at wine events; others were glasses at restaurants or bottles shared with friends.
Note: Sometimes you can find lower prices at Costco, through wine apps or wine stores.
Eagle Eye 2007 Proprietary Red Limited Edition Heritage, $50
Efeste 2010 Big Papa Cabernet Sauvignon, $54
Force Majeure 2010 Estate Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon, $65
Guardian Cellars 2012 The Wanted, $37
Lauren Ashton 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon, $50
Mercer Estates 2011 Ode to Brothers GSM, $42
Michael David 2013 Petite Petit, $17
Oak Ridge 2013 OZV Zin, $14
Obelisco 2012 Electrum Cabernet Sauvignon, $70
Seghesio 2014 Sonoma Zinfandel, $26
Seven Falls 2013 Jones Vineyard Zinfandel, $40
Stags’ Leap 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon, $50
William Church Winery 2010 Bishop’s Blend, $22
The Woodhouse Wine Estates 2012 Darighe, $65
We hope you also have a chance to taste some of these delicious wines; if the above vintages are sold out, chances are the next ones are very drinkable too.
Special thanks to Lauren Ashton, Double Canyon and Oak Ridge for the samples to taste.
As the new year begins, we want to reflect on the wineries in Washington state that made our list of Top 60 Washington Wineries.
The way to get on our list is fairly simple; we only have two criteria: wineries must offer good juice and good people who provide an excellent wine experience. Perhaps we had fun or learned something in a tasting room or at a major wine event such as Taste Washington, Taste of Tulalip or Seattle Wine and Food Experience. Perhaps someone from the winery gave us a call, or sent us a personal note or samples. Or perhaps we were invited to an incredible winery party.
These people might be the winemakers or the winery owners; in some cases, they are the hard-working staff in a tasting room who went out of their way to make us feel welcome or the amazing workers in the vineyards where it all begins.
Why 60 wineries? The list grew to 60 from 50 last year, as we were introduced to new wineries or new wine experiences in 2015. We welcome the newcomers to the list, and thank you for the 2015 wine experiences you brought us — Andrew Will, B. Leighton, Cote Bonneville, Dynasty Cellars, Ensemble CellarsKiona,Leonetti, Passing Time, Reynvaan, Seven Fallsand Stottle Winery.
Write for Wine’s Top 60 Washington Wineries (in alphabetical order):
Alexandria Nicole Cellars
Andrew Will
Avennia
B. Leighton
Baer
Barrage Cellars
Barrister
Bartholomew
Betz Family
Boudreaux Cellars
Buty Winery
Chateau Ste. Michelle
Columbia Crest
Cooper Wine Company
Cote Bonneville
Darby
DiStefano
Double Canyon
Dunham Cellars
Dynasty Winery
Efeste
Ensemble Cellars
Fall Line
Fidelitas
Fielding Hills
Figgins
Force Majeure
Forgeron Cellars
Gard
Gorman Winery
Guardian Cellars
Hard Row to Hoe
JM Cellars
Kiona
L’Ecole 41
Lauren Ashton
Leonetti
Long Shadows
Maryhill
Mercer Estates
Northstar
Northwest Totem Cellars
Obelisco Estate
Otis Kenyon
Passing Time
Quilceda Creek
Reynvaan
Ross Andrew
Sleight of Hand
Seven Falls Cellars
Sinclair Estate
Sparkman Cellars
Stottle Winery
Va Piano
Vin du Lac
Walla Walla Vintners
William Church
Windy Point
Woodward Canyon
Woodhouse Wine Estates
To these people, we thank you; we support you. Cheers to Washington state wine!
Happy new year! Margot and Dave Write for Wine — it’s Wine O’clock Somewhere!