March 2010 Archives
Arbor Crest Is A Little Slice Of Heaven
I’ve had the opportunity to visit Arbor Crest Wine Cellars, in Spokane, Washington, three times now and each time it is worth remembering the visit. Built in 1924 by Royal Newton Riblet, the three-story Florentine house is surrounded by an arched gatekeeper’s house, sunken rose garden, open-air pagoda, terraced flower and herb gardens, and a life-sized checkerboard. Arbor Crest Wine Cellars purchased the National Historic Landmark in 1985. Kristina Mielke-van Loben Sels is the winemaker and is the second generation of the Mielke family to oversee Arbor Crest. She came from Ferrari-Carano Vineyards and Winery in Napa and Sonoma, California, one of my favorite wineries from California. She is married to experienced viticulturist James van Loben Sels, which makes them quite the tandem at Arbor Crest.
During my past visits I’ve experienced music on a sweltering afternoon at Arbor Crest, where they hold live music events each Sunday in the summer, sipping on their Sauvignon Blanc and swing dancing to great music. I’ve also took out-of-town family members up for a taste of Eastern Washington’s summer and Eastern Washington’s wine. This last time I went up all by my lonesome to taste some of Arbor Crest Wine Cellars newer vintages.
This time I was the only one in the tasting room and Shelby greeted me with a friendly hello followed by a warm smile. The one thing I have noticed about the wine industry, with very few expceptions, is that everybody is just so nice. Oh, sure, I’ve occasionally ran into snobs or people that just don’t want to be doing what they’re doing, but not very many. This stop was no exception. Shelby was knowledgable about the wine she was pouring and very easy to talk with.
I tasted six of their wines this day. Among them, their Sauvignon Blanc from Bacchus Vineyard, Sangiovese from Wahluke Slope Vineyard, Cabernet Franc from Conner Lee Vineyard, Petite Sirah from Wahluke Slope Vineyard, Malbec from Wahluke Slope Vineyard and Dionysus Meritage Red blend. Arbor Crest does not grow their own grapes or have their own vineyard other than what you see when you drive in, which is used, according to Shelby, only for their sparklers.
A couple of the wines prompt extra mention. Their Sangiovese was very warm with an extra zing on the end. There were rich aromas of plum. I am not normally a fan of Sangiovese because of the lack of nose and just a bland taste. I have tasted some $100 a bottle Chianti’s that are 100% Sanviovese that I just didn’t really like until they started blending them with Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon. The Sangiovese’s that Washington is producing seem to have a much more defining nose, I’ve noticed. In fact, we just tried a Maryhill Sangiovese that was very similar.
The Arbor Crest Sangiovese sells for $18 a bottle which makes this a great value.
One that sells for a bit more ($45 a bottle) but I STILL consider a great value is their Meritage Blend Dionysus. I rated this VERY GOOD. It consists of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 5% Malbec. This wine packs a punch and has good depth with many personalities. There were tannins in this wine, to be sure, but not too tongue ripping.
Next time you’re in Spokane and want a unique experience head on up to the crest of Spokane and visit Arbor Crest Wine Cellars and enjoy the breathtaking view to go with your choice of wine. And when you do, write me to tell me what you thought of it!
Until next time, thanks so much for reading and bottoms up!
Knipprath Cellars Is Doing It Right
I recently had the pleasure of visiting one of Spokane, Washington’s most unique wineries, Knipprath Cellars. The winery is located in an old schoolhouse. It’s very quaint, though a bit chilly the day I visited. I was greeted at the top of the stairs by Sinay, who was manning (or in this case, womanning) the tasting room this particular day.
I knew very little about Knipprath Cellars except that there WAS one, so I asked many questions and Sinay answered them one by one. I found out that Knipprath Cellars is a family owned winery that just celebrated ten years of being a full time winery. All in all I tasted 13 different wines including Roussanne, Syrah, Tempranillo, Merlot and a whole slew of dessert wines, which seems to be their niche.
Of the typical wines I really liked the 2007 Tempranillo and the 2006 Merlot.
The Tempranillo was very good with some prune on the back of the tongue. They combined fruit from both the Lodi (California) and Columbia Valley (Washington) Appelations, which I find very interesting.
The Merlot was also very good, with peppery notes. I have found pepper to be a mainstay of wines I really like. This would REALLY pair well with smoked cheeses! Yum!
Although I DID enjoy their Pink, which is a Rose of Merlot (it was very swishy, not that I even know what that means!), the 2003 Matrix Port, which had black licorice flavors with a hint of nuttiness, and the NV Positron Port, which was very rich, I liked the LaV (pronounced, “La Vee”) Dessert Wine and Au Chocolat! the most.
The LaV Dessert Wine is fabulous! My notes say, “Wow!” I could have written, “Pow” as well. Full on vanilla in this dessert wine that is absolutely wonderful. I bought a half bottle of this to surprise Shelley and had it waiting for her with a bath I ran for her one night.
The other is a perfect fit with the LaV Dessert Wine, Au Chocolat! Obviously, THIS one is heavy on the chocolate. As I tasted this it got better and better as it opened up in my glass. I would recommend either of these two if you like after dinner dessert wines at all. I’ve only recently began to enjoy these wines and the more I try ‘em the more I like ‘em.
It would be worthy to note that I tried their Coffee Port even though I really am NOT a coffee drinker (I have never even had a cup of coffee in my life!). It had a wonderful nose but not such a good taste. Then Sinay did something interesting: She added a small amount of the LaV Dessert Wine to the Coffee port and that REALLY softened it up to where I liked it better. It is probably still something I wouldn’t drink if I had the choice, not because it’s not good, but because I just don’t like the taste of coffee. I know, what’s wrong with me? If you asked my daughters they would tell you the list is long!
Knipprath Cellars will be one of the featured wines at the 6th Annual Poverty Bay Wine Festival in Des Moines, Washington this weekend, March 5, 6 and 7. I certainly wish I could attend this gala event but since I will be heading into that area the following weekend for my Dad’s 70th birthday celebration I don’t think it’s going to happen.
But that doesn’t mean YOU shouldn’t go and taste some Knipprath wine. Or, when you’re next in Spokane, cozy up to the tasting room bar in the old schoolhouse and try some very warm, soothing dessert wines from Knipprath Cellars as well as their other wines. You’ll be glad you did.
Thank you again for reading and bottoms up!
