We can’t say enough good things about the Columbia Winery Cellar Club. The people who work for the club and in the tasting room are friendly and helpful; the wine is consistently good; the discounts are big (30% off reorders of each release); and there’s a host of events to attend throughout the year. (Shout out to Michele, Diana and Suzanne!)
In addition, our club releases are accompanied by an interesting and informative newsletter. (No, I don’t write it, although–shameless plug–my company, Write for Wine, does exactly that–creates newsletters, e-newsletters and Web content for wineries and others in the wine industry.)
For example, next to Columbia Winery’s tasting notes and technical data about each bottle in the August release is a pairing recipe. So our newsletter tells us about 2002 Covey Run Reserve Merlot–“a powerful wine packed with classic cherry, raspberry and dark fruit flavors overlain with leather and dusty notes. Its intensely dark, red-purple color and youthful structure show great potential for cellaring.” (Oops, we already drank our bottle!) And it also gives us a mouth-watering recipe for fresh figs with manchego cheese, balsemic vinegar and pine nuts. And if the recipe alone didn’t get the taste buds’ attention, we are treated to these words of wisdom from Andrea Immer, author of Everyday Dining with Wine: “The cheese softens the tannins of the Merlot, the fig flavor mirrors their fruit, and the toasted nuts echo their oakiness.” Yum!
The Columbia Winery newsletter also tells us that the 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon from Otis Vineyard has “aromatics of cedar, toasty oak and earth on the nose. Supple tannins deliver a clean finish.” This time the food pairing is linguine with walnuts, arugula and olives. “This vegetarian dish echoes the earthy, slightly herbaceious notes that Washington Cabs are known for. The toasted walnuts highlight the toastiness of oak in the wine, while the olives and arugula pick up on the cedar notes.”
Now if only Andrea Immer could do the cooking while we drink!
Cheers!