In the month of June “Taste Washington” has taken on an entirely new meaning for me.  To start, on June 6th I completed the Hat Trick of pouring at the White Out Table at Taste Washington! Spokane for the third year which is held at the Davenport Hotel in Spokane, Washington.  This year we had double the white wines to pour.  These are all supposed to be wines that pair well with seafood, which is good because our White Out Table was immediately following the Anthony’s Seafood bar which boasted muscles, clams and oysters (oh, my!).  With their plates full of fresh seafood, people continued on to us hoping to find a great wine to pair with their delicious seafood.

Phil Anderson (that's ME!) pouring at the White Out Table at Taste Washington! Spokane!

The past two years we poured between 20-25 white wines but this year we were around 40-45 ranging from your standard whites that pair well with seafood to a Rose or two and even a sparkler.  There was a Terra Blanca Chardonnay that was quite delicious; of course, the Ryan Patrick Naked Chardonnay, as well.  Gifford Hirlinger brought a Pinot Gris for us to pour so that was kind of cool, because that was one of our favorite stops in Walla Walla last November.

One thing that was interesting was just the Friday before I had stopped in the tasting room at Jones of Washington in Quincy, Washington, to taste some of their wines on my way back home from Wenatchee.  We actually enjoyed their Chardonnay and a Rose of Syrah that Friday night, with the Rose of Syrah REALLY standing out and hitting the spot with outstanding mouth feel.  And come Sunday, there was that same Chardonnay from Jones of Washington so we could really add some insight for people when they had questions about that wine, since we weren’t given ANY tasting notes this year.

Yvonne Swanberg, General Manager of San Juan Vineyards (left) and Vivian Flanagan, co-owner of Ryan Patrick Vineyards.

A highlight of the evening was when I got to venture out among the masses to taste and visit and I went directly to Ryan Patrick Vineyards’ booth to introduce myself to Vivian Flanagan (and it turned out Terry Flanagan, as well) and it turned out they were right next to San Juan Vineyards’ booth!  You might remember Yvonne and San Juan Vineyards from the previous two years when I went on and on about their Madeleine Angevine.  We poured that again as well as their Siegerrebe, which I STILL cannot pronounce to save my life!  I tasted a Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon from Ryan Patrick that was wonderful and a Cabernet Franc from San Juan Vineyards that would stand up great with a juicy steak.

It’s always a pleasure to see Jill from Townshend Cellars and I said, “hello” to her and Marlene from Woodward Canyon told me she reads this blog all the time, which I am very grateful for.  Now, if I can only find the time to write more than once a month!  (Remember, last year I was a complet failure at this point of the year.  I vow not to let that happen again!)

Some other reds that stood out during the evening were Five Star Cellars Super Tuscan Red, a Tempranillo from Kana Winery, Hedges Family Estate Red Bordeaux Blend, Robert Karl Claret and Forgeron Cellars Syrah.  You just can’t taste every wine at the event but every year I give it my best go!

This year we stayed at the hotel which was wonderful.  The room was extremely comfortable and it was such a luxury not to pack everything in the car and then drive an hour back home after tasting wine for four hours and then helping to break down for another two.  Personally, I think we’ll do that every year from now on.  Click here to watch a short video of Taste Washington! Spokane and look for me pouring at the white out table in the upper left hand corner (bald dude!) at about the 2:08 mark and at the end!

As for the rest of the “Taste Washington” scenerio, I will be partaking in the North American Wine Bloggers Conference in Walla Walla this weekend, preceded by the WBC or Bust Road to Walla Walla tour, sponsored by Wine Chatr, that I won a seat on because of this very blog.  It starts Wednesday and we will arrive in Walla Walla on Thursday night.  I am going to do my very best to blog about each of the days’ activities, but there are no guarantees!  I can’t begin to tell you all of the things that are lined up for the journey to Walla Walla and then the conference once we get there.

And lastly, I have just entered TWO (count ‘em, TWO) contests with a blog that ALSO won a seat on the WBC or Bust trip, Another Wine Blog and at Andrea Wine.  The first one is for a set of The One wine glasses developed by Master Sommelier Andrea Immer Robinson and the second contest is by that same Master Sommelier that developed The One wine glasses as she is giving away a trip to Napa Valley!  If you are going to enter those two contests, as well, I wish you luck! 

Remember, if you really DO like drinking wine you should absolutely show your passion by “liking” drinking wine on Facebook (it’s kind of like becoming a fan but then they changed it!).  Everyday you’ll find a little tid bit about wine and you can share your OWN general wine thoughts, as well!

So, until Wednesday night, ciao for now and remember, bottoms UP!

Now, I understand that this post won’t be highly relevant but it’s important for me to document this event as it was even better than the previous years that we’ve volunteered.  One reason is that we have more knowledge about wine than we did a few years back.  With that comes confidence which cannot be overstated.

I HAVE been trying to write about this for about three months.  There are so many things to say I start getting overwhelmed and then just “put it off” for another day.  Well, as the song goes, “that day has come” (if it’s not a song, it should be).

Like last year, we worked the White Out Bar, which boasts about 20-25 white wines that go very well with seafood and shell fish.  The Taste Washington organizers placed the White Out Bar right next to an oyster bar ran by Anthony’s At Spokane Falls, a top of the line Seafood Restaurant, one of the finest in the state.  Making it to the oyster bar is high on the list of most of the people who go to Taste Washington so we are naturally the next stop for them, giving us many opportunities to meet people.

I can’t mention ALL of the wines we tasted, as it was well over 20 for me and about 10-15 for Shelley.  I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this but I don’t often spit when tasting wine.  Shelley will at times but not me.  I just can’t bring myself to do it. 

We noticed none of the Sauvignon Blancs that were poured at the White Out Bar had grassy notes like you find in the Australian and New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs.  That was interesting.  Ahead are some highlights of the wine that ambled past my lips and down my throat at Taste Washington Spokane.

I found a 2007 Chardonnay from Saint Laurent Estate Winery that was very good.  It had subtle oak notes on the nose and a caramel finish on the back of the tongue.  Very tasty.  My Taste Washington program states you can get this Chardonnay for about $15 which is a great value, in my opinion.

Our old friend from San Juan Vineyards made our acquaintance once again, Madeleine Angevine.  As we try to be objective while pouring at the White Out Bar unless asked of our opinion, I still found myself pushing this somewhat unknown white wine.  Virutually everyone that tried it enjoyed it.  After doing some research on that varietal I found that it is from the Loire Valley in France and is found in Germany, the United Kingdom and (how ironic) Washington State, where it is developing a cult following. 

I also tasted a Merlot from San Juan Vineyards that was delicious with chocolate cake on the nose and a boatload of personality.  (I’m writing this in the afternoon but I find that I really would like a glass of that San Juan Vineyards Merlot right now!)  The Madeleine Angevine runs about 17 bucks a bottle and you can expect to pay around $23 for the Merlot.

Another one that stood out was a 2005 Matthews Estate Red Wine from the Columbia Valley, which was a Bordeaux Blend.  It went perfect with the chocolate fondue I was pairing with it.  Another red that caught my attention, also from the Columbia Valley, was from William Church Winery, their 2006 Bishops Blend.  At $19, a true bargain!  Barrister Winery poured a 2007 Cabernet Franc, ALSO from the Columbia Valley, that was delicious.  It had a wonderuful nose, quite peppery, and their were certainly some tannins as well.

I could go on about wines that I tasted from Dunham Cellars, Coyote Canyon, Barnard Griffin, DiSteffano Winery, Basel Cellars Estate Winery, Vin Du Lac, Whitman Cellars and so on but it would be much of the same thing:  Great, great, great! 

Suffice it to say, this is something we hope to do every year in June as it is absolutely one of the highlights to our year.  We don’t pay the $75.00 admission fee, work for 2-3 hours pouring wines that pair well with seafood and then get to talk to aLOT of people who make wine, love wine and are wine.  It’s so much fun.  Oh yeah, we help break down for an hour or so afterwards.

So, if you are around the Spokane area June 6th or the Seattle area March 27th and 28th of this year, make a point of dropping the cash and see for yourself the quality of wine being made in Washington State. 

Until next time, bottoms up and thanks for reading!

Izzie (with the ball, on the left) and Phoebe dutifully returning for more ball throwing.

After many, many months of seeing nothing but white outside (in the form of snow) we’ve finally seen the light.  I know I’ve heard of this thing called the sun and there it was in all its glory warming our world.  THIS called for a sunshine wine!  (or two)

Shelley's father, Lloyd, shows one of the Komomoto Oysters we had with the 2007 Whidbey Island Madeleine Angevine.

 So, before I left Seattle after visiting my daughter on Spring Break, I made two obligatory stops: 

1-      The Metropolitan Grill for their carrot cake that Shelley loves so much, and,

2-      The Pike Place Fish Market to pick up some Kumomoto Oysters for grilling when I got back home.

Remember when I wrote about Madeleine Angevine from San Juan Vineyards back in mid March of this year?  Well, I found another producer of this unique varietal, Whidbey Island Winery, located, ironically, on Whidbey Island.  Whidbey Island is within Puget Sound American Viticultural Area (appellation) which was approved by the federal government in 1995.  I paid only about $13 for this one and we thought we would have it with the oysters.  We put those Kumomoto Oysters on the grill and after no more than five minutes the shells had popped open, ready to eat. 

With the addition of a little Tabasco Sauce, melted butter and lemon we enjoyed the oysters with the 2007 Madeleine Angevine and it was absolutely wonderful!  Shelley’s father Lloyd (pictured above, slightly right) continues to talk about it day in and day out, which leads me to believe I’ll be making another trip over the mountains to Seattle sometime soon.  This Madeleine Angevine was much drier than the one from San Juan Vineyards but it went perfectly with the oysters.  Now, I’m not much of a seafood guy and I especially don’t particularly enjoy raw oysters but this combination was, and is, sensational.

The next night (well, actually late afternoon) we made it outside to throw the ball to the dogs (see picture at top left) for the first time this spring and so we opened up another wine from Whidbey Island Winery, Siegerrebe.  I’ve never heard of this German varietal before I bought this wine.  It was much sweeter than the Madeleine Angevine with hints of peaches and honey.  It reminded me of a Viognier or even a Reisling.  I look forward to trying more of this grape and I continue to be fascinated by how many different grape varietals there are.

As you can see, in the pictures above (with the dogs), and below, there is still snow in our backyard.  Last year it didn’t leave until May 6.  We’ve got three weeks to go to break that record.  I’ll keep you posted.

Last time I promised you I would write about corked wine (cork taint), what it is and how it comes to be and I will live up to that promise now. 

This is the official definition from Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine:  “Corked is the pejorative tasting term for a wine spoiled by a cork stopper contaminated with cork taint. This is one of the most serious wine faults as in most cases it irrevocably imbues the wine with such a powerfully off-putting smell that it cannot be drunk with any enjoyment.”  (Sounds like a perfect description of the Yellowtail Chardonnay I tried once.)

One of the resources I use is cellarnotes.net (I’ve added a link under the blogroll in the left column) and their description is:  “A ‘Corked’ wine is a wine that has been bottled with a cork that is contaminated with TCA (2,4,6-Trichloroanisole). TCA contamination usually comes from corks but can also come from barrels, other cooperage or even, apparently, from wood within the cellar including walls or beams. The term ‘corked wine’ is applied to all wines with TCA contamination because corks are the souce of most of the problems. The wine industry estimates that as many as 3% to 7% of all wines have TCA contamination at levels that can be detected by consumers. Because most people are not trained to recognize the smell and taste of TCA, only a very small fraction of these bad bottles are ever returned to stores or sent back at a restaurant.”

One would think with the increase of man made stoppers and screw caps that “corked wine” should be on the decrease.  Time will tell.  Shelley and I still like real corks so that we can pitch them in our cork catcher after we’ve finished another great bottle of wine, but that’s just us.

Thanks for visiting and, until next time, bottoms up!

Shelley and Lloyd toast the snow leaving (FINALLY!) with a 2007 Whidbey Island Siegerrebe. Take note of the snow still in the background.

…LAST year we were allowed to work right next to the seafood bar pouring 20 different white wines that were specifically paired for the seafood.  The beautiful thing about this is that we “have” to “work” for two hours and then get the rest of the time to sample the wines and food of the event.  So hard, ya know?

So while we were studying the different whites we were to pour one completely jumped out at us:  Madeleine Angevine.  Let me write this again, Madeleine Angevine.  This is a variety we’ve never heard of  (have you??) and when we were done with our shift of pouring (it’s against Washington law to taste when you are a designated pourer) it was our first taste. 

What a TREAT!  Floral, effervescent, fruity but not sweet at all.  Just very refreshing and crisp.  How have we not have heard of this wine?  The winery that made this luscious treat was San Juan Vineyards, 2007 vintage.  San Juan Vineyards is located in Friday Harbor, Washington and this Madeleine Angevine was Estate Grown.

One interesting thing we noticed was the bottle didn’t hold 750 ML of wine but more like 710 ML.  The label never stated there was 750 ML of wine in the bottle but the bottle itself had  750 ML imbedded right in the glass.  We didn’t necessarily think it was a big deal, just somewhat odd, and I wanted to make a note of that here.

We paid $18.00 for this bottle which is also is not too bad a price.  We would recommend you give this a go as soon as possible.  The only bad news is that was the only bottle we have and now, sadly, we have no more Madeleine Angevine.  We’ll need to fix this problem quickly, I know.  And now as we are already 3 months into the new year our third year of volunteering at Taste Washington is only a few months away. 

What new gem will we find THIS year?