April 2010 Archives
Thank Goodness Ryan And Patrick Were Born!
Toni getting herself prepared to pour Ryan Patrick Vineyard wines for me in the tasting room located in Leavenworth, Washgington.
By Phil Anderson
For many, many months we have been drinking a particular un-oaked Chardonnay, naked Chardonnay if you will. Each time we buy it we open it, drink it and say, “This is just really good wine!” The amazing thing is that this wine costs UNDER $8 a bottle AND you can find it in most stores in their wine section. Let me see…easy to find, easy on the pocket book and EASY to drink. Sounds like a great combination, yes?
Ryan Patrick Vineyards is doing it the way a winery should do it. They are single family and estate winery with three vineyards located in central Washington State near the banks of the Columbia River and is ideally located to assure the successful growth of top quality grapes. They grow Bordeaux varietals as well as their Chardonnay, naked and clothed (with oak). Terry Flanagan, and his wife Vivian, own the winery and vineyards and sons Ryan and Patrick serve as the inspiration for the company’s name. Terry says, “Our goal has always been to produce limited quantities of reserve quality wines at affordable prices.” Their first vintage was just 10 years ago, 1999.
I visited their tasting room recently and Toni, who was behind the bar, treated my like a V.I.P. It was a delightful time. Right next to their tasting room, located in Leavenworth, Washington, is a fine meat and cheese shop called Cured at Visconti’s (Visconti’s Ristorante is located right up the stairs) selling old world salami and market cured meats as well as fine cheeses. We sashayed over to pick up some samples of things that might go with their wine and came up with porcini, cacciatore, elk jerky and an assortment of different cheeses thanks to Randy Nichols, the helpful man behind the counter.
The first thing that touched my lips was my old friend, their 2008 Naked Chardonnay which is fermented totally in stainless steel tanks at cool temperatures. No oak touches this wine ever and it is so refreshing! This has literally turned into our house white wine in the past year. They made just under 4,000 cases of this vintage but have continued to increase producion over the years because of it’s popularity, and it will soon push to near 6,000 cases. My notes didn’t get too specific with this wine other than to say, “Still love it!” Crisp and clean–just delicious.
Ryan Patricks 2007 Estate Chardonnay was actually a nice surprise with a touch of oak that was not too overbearing. It had good balance and a little bite on the finish. Certainly a nice alternative to their Naked Chardonnay.
I tasted their 2006 Barbera, which was earthy and smokey with some pepper on the nose, their 2006 Syrah, their 2007 Rock Island Red and their 2008 Rose. I have to say, I really enjoyed the Rock Island Red, consisting of 50% Merlot, 39% Cabernet Sauvignon and 11% Cabernet Franc, but what surprised me was their Rose. It was absolutely delicious! Very floral on the nose as well as strawberries. Perfect for a nice summer afternoon that rolls into a nice summer evening. It is made with Syrah and it is sensational.
I didn’t get the opportunity to taste their 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve as it was basically sold out and they’re down to just about three cases left, just enough to stick in their library. I couldn’t quite get Toni to open a bottle. Can’t say I blame her for not opening one but I DID try…can’t hurt to try, right?
I know I’ve seen the Rock Island Red at the Costco in Coeur d’Alene. The Naked Chardonnay is everywhere around where I live. If you can’t track these down call Ryan Patrick Vineyards and have them send you a bottle of each. Don’t forget the Rose! Like I said, the Naked Chardonnay is under eight bucks, usually, and the Rose is $11 while the Rock Island Red will pull $18 from your money clip.
I really don’t care how you do it, just do it. These guys are trying to make a good wine for inexpensive and I, for one, am liking the results.
I want to thank all of the people who have become fans of wine on Facebook (or have now “liked” wine on Facebook). I can’t tell you how thankful I am that you take the time to read this simple little wine blog and have taken the energy to join wine on Facebook. I hope that you continue to enjoy my scribes here at General Wine Thoughts. I am toying with the idea of changing the name to something more catchy, more hip, more….more something I don’t really know.
Any suggestions? Any comments? Please don’t hesitate to click on “comments” at the bottom of this post. Until next time, keep it real, keep the beat and BOTTOMS UP!
Stemilt Fruit Growers Now Includes Grapes For Wine!
By Phil Anderson
My travels have recently brought me to Wenatchee, Washington. As has become habit, I’ve sought out wineries first instead of the work that originally brought me here. That’s ok, noboby has to know that! The first winery I happened upon was Stemilt Creek Winery.
Roni greeted me with a warm smile as I entered the tasting room in the heart of downtown Wenatchee. From the very start of the convesrsation she let me know of the history of the Mathison family and how they started growing quality fruit on their Stemilt Hill homestead just after the turn of the 20th century. They have now grown into one of the worlds largest producers of quality fruit including apples, pears, cherries, peaches, nectarines and blueberries.
Until 2002.
That is when they decided to add grapes to their repertoire. Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Merlot, to be specific. I had the pleasure of tasting all these with the exception of the Syrah.
What I found very interesting was that Stemilt Creek Winery didn’t produce a white wine. No Chardonnay. No Reisling. No Viognier. Only red, which would make my friend Les Sargeant very happy. What I also thought was interesting is that none of these wines had many tannins; at least no harsh tannins. They were all very ready to drink, very smooth, had personality, character and depth. I found the Merlot to be complex and very rich with a hint of plums on the nose. The Cabernet Franc also had a very rich nose and a hint of raisins on the palate. The Cabernet Franc runs $28, their Merlot $14, and the Syrah $20.
My favorite wine was their 2005 Stemilt Hill Red which consisted of 63% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Syrah. Winemaker Jan Mathison, with her husband Kyle keeping an eye on the vineyard, hit a home run with this blend. It was lovely with cherries on the nose and palate. I enjoyed this wine so much I asked how much it was, thinking it must be pushing $30. To my astonishment it was only $14! How could I NOT get a bottle? And since I had no answer to the just asked question, I had no choice but to purchase a bottle and now I look forward to tasting it with a luscious steak.
Roni went on to explain that their winery produces less than 1,400 cases of wine a year which qualifies them as a boutique winery. What that also means is that their wine is not so easy to find in your favorite wine store. What I would suggest is to visit them at their tasting room in Wenatchee or in their just opened tasting room in Leavenworth, Washington, which is a very cute Bavarian themed village.
If you can’t visit the winery then the next best thing is to become a Stemilt Creek Winery wine club member because that is likely the only way you’ll be able to taste the quality wine that the Mathison family has taken so much pride to produce.
Don’t forget, if you’re not yet a fan of wine on Facebook, it’s not too late to become one by clicking here. As of this writing I’m at about 90 fans so I need an additional 35 to become the official wine fan page of Facebook.
As always, thank you SO much for reading and remember, bottoms up!
With Their Collection of Quality Washington State Wines These Guys Have ‘Dunham’ Right!
To date, one of the best wine trips we’ve taken was the trip to Walla Walla last fall. On that trip there was a short list of wineries that I wanted to make sure we visited and Dunham Cellars was on that list.
Eric Dunham, the winemaker at Dunham Cellars, which is located in Walla Walla, WA, has been making wine for about 15 years and the buzz surrounding Dunham Cellars wines seem to always be, like wine in a glass, swirling.
I’ve had the opportunity to taste wines from Dunham Cellars periodically over the past years. Like I said, when we visited Walla Walla last November we made their tasting room a priority and didn’t regret it, having also bought a barrel top lazy susan from there that still sits on the island in our kitchen.
I was introduced to Trutina about a year ago when I had the pleasure of enjoying a juicy filet mignon at The Metropolitan Grill in Seattle and a friend of mine brought a 2005 Trutina from Dunham Cellars. Trutina is Dunhams Bordeaux style blend and their 2005 consisted of 41% Cabernet Sauvignon, 41% Merlot, 13% Syrah and 5% Cabernet Franc. It paired wonderfully with the steak and I will always remember that dinner with great friends, including Dunham Cellars’ Trutina.
Recently we had the luxury of tasting the newest vintage of Trutina, the 2006. The blend was a bit different this go around as it had 49% Cabernet Sauvignon, 48% Merlot and 3% Syrah. It has recieved high scores from wine reviewers everywhere which led me to buy this having high expectations.
We served this with rib eye steak, which Shelley prepares to perfection each time, and it paired wonderfully with it. There was rich raspberries on the nose and black pepper and plums on the taste.
This is a good spot to write about one of the things I enjoy most about tasting wine and that is the experience. When you purchase a wine that you are looking forward to drinking, THAT is when the experience begins for me. You make the conscious decision to choose a particular bottle of wine, in this case it was the Trutina, bring it home and set it on the counter. As the steaks are marinating you glance over to the bottle, wanting to open it, but withstanding the temptation.
FINALLY, you get to open it, but you still have to WAIT a bit before you pour. In this case, we let it stand for about a half hour and then poured a small amount in each of our glasses. That is when the experience really starts taking hold. We swirl the juice, looking at the color and consistency. THEN, we gently, albeit eagerly, put our nose in the glass to see what we smell (hmmm, that doesn’t sound right. We don’t ‘smell what we see’, why do we ‘see what we smell’? Just wonderin’…).
This can take anywhere from a minute to 3-4 minutes depending on what we’re getting on the nose and the conversation that takes place. FINALLY, after ALL of that, we get to actually taste the wine. We slowly taste the wine, swishing it around in our mouth, trying to make contact with each part of the tongue, bringing in air to mix and activate the tastes within the wine…..and swallow. All of that build-up for a swallow of wine!
After the initial taste we usually dish up and enjoy the meal with the wine. The sadness comes with the last sip of the wine. As I swirl the last sip, usually about ten minutes or more, I smell it often, seeing if I can tell any changes to the nose of the wine since I first opened it. I finally, slowly, take the last sip, let it rest in my mouth until the last possible moment and then……I swallow it. Reality sets in as I realize the wine is now gone. It is truly a sad moment. The only consolation is knowing I will once again be able to enjoy another bottle of wine, probably the next night.
With the Trutina, this was the case as I was very sad when it was all over. I will wait with frustrating patience until I once again get to go through the process of tasting a bottle of wine.
That is what wine lovers “get” to go through when tasting wines. Not all wines carry this long experience with them, but the ones that do are so fun because of that. I hope you’ll get the opportunity to visit Dunham Cellars in Walla Walla. If you can’t go THERE then bring them to you by purchasing a bottle of their wine. You won’t be disappointed!
One more thing to note about Eric Dunham is he has collaborated with Kyle MacLachlan to produced a Cabernet Sauvignon under the Pursued By Bear label. There are two vintages for sale, the 2005 and 2006, which both earned a 91 point rating from Wine Spectator. If you don’t recognize the name, Kyle MacLachlan, perhaps you will better recognize the name, Orson Hodge, as the character he plays on Desperate Housewives. Both those wines will run you about $65 a bottle.
You might have noticed that I’ve been writing about Washington Wines a lot recently, which is true. I’ve been leaning heavy on Washington Wines because:
A) They’re SO good and SO close and SO good. And…
B) …I’m trying to win a seat on the the road to Walla Walla to attend the annual Wine Bloggers Conference in June. You’ll notice a badge at the top of the column on the left, just below where you sign up to be a member of General Wine Thoughts (which, why haven’t you done THAT already?) that is for the WBC or Bust contest. It is sponsored by WineCHATr.com and I really want to win a seat on that trip because they will be stopping at all sorts of wineries from Seattle to Walla Walla and it will be a great opportunity to meet and talk with people in and around the world of wine.
And lastly, before I go, I want to ask you, “Are you a fan of wine?” If you answered ‘yes’ to that then are you a fan of wine on Facebook? If NOT, then just click here and you TOO can become one! Thank you!
Until next time, bottoms up and thank you SO much for reading this!
Townshend Cellar Revisited
As I’m writing this it is, in my opinion, a national holiday–April Fools Day! This morning in the Coeur d’Alene Press, on the front page, there was an article that reported that President Obama had just passed another bill, to help in the ease of American’s stress. It reported that Obama, on April 15, 2010, from 6am-4pm will replace ALL of the water in ALL of the faucets of America with wine! Click here to read the article. I had quite a laugh! Especially when I saw that the reporter was named April Fuhl!
Sooooo, with that setting the table for another post about wine, here we go!
Nearly a year ago I wrote a post that described our visit to the Townshend Cellar tasting room. I recently was able to visit Townshend again to see what they were pouring and, once again, Jill Rider was at the ready.
I was able to taste a number of different wines this time. Among them:
2007 Sauvignon Blanc, 2008 Viognier, 2005 Syrah, 2002 Merlot, 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006 Lemberger, 2007 Malbec, Tempranillo and their non vintage T3 Rose, Red Table Wine, Pink Table Wine and their Vortex. The Tempranillo consisted of both the 2005 and 2006 vintages, which I purchased to taste more in depth at home.
I am seeing a trend in what I like the most from Townshend Cellar. Their Viognier is always good and this time was no exception. I purchased a bottle to have before dinner that particular night. Nectarine and floral notes in the nose gave way to a very fulfilling and refreshing taste. Delicious! This is a perfect wine to start the evening with, especially in the summer or on a warm day.
Another trend I’ve found is their Syrah. It was a favorite of mine in the past and this time didn’t disappoint as well, with dark cherries on the palate. I bought a bottle of this as well and we are still waiting to open it. It will likely be paired with a steak which, now that I’m writing this, am hoping will be this evening!
Lastly, I bought a bottle of their Pink Table Wine. This pretty little pink blush is delicately sweet with aromas of strawberry and cherry and flavors of strawberry, apricot and peach. Shelley enjoys a good rose from time to time and this one was very satisfying.
Townshend Cellar has just made their T3, which is their non vintage Bordeaux blend, available in stores, as it used to only be available for purchase at the winery or at a restaurant. It sells for under $20 which is a bargain for what you get.
If you’re ever around the Green Bluff area of Spokane, I would encourage you to take time to say hello to Jill in the Townshend Cellar tasting room. And tell her Phil says, “hi”.
Until next time, bottoms up!
