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Posts tagged with 'merlot'
Celebrating A Loved Ones Life

Lloyd celebrating his 86th birthday at The Cedars Floating restaurant in Coeur d'Alene, ID, September of 2008.
By Phil Anderson
This column started out, and has continued to be, about general wine thoughts. After all, that is why I named this blog the way I did. But this post will be a little more subdued. Shelley and I have been together, off and on, for awhile now and I’ve had the privilege to get to know her family during that time, but nobody more than her father, Lloyd.
He lived with Shelley for over four years and was instrumental, in various ways, in her leaving her nursing job at the hospital and starting an online support website for those taking care of their aging loved ones or parents. She has rapidly become one of the foremost experts in the field of caregiving for seniors. Her goal when her Dad came to live with her was to keep him OUT of an assisted living facility and now that goal has turned into a passion to help others that are in the position SHE was in to do the same if that is what they desire.
Last September he passed away at the age of 88. Because he wanted his remains to be scattered over Christopher Lake, which is about a half hour North of Prince Albert in Saskatchewan, Canada, we had to wait until just recently because the lake had already froze last year. The logistics of getting a boat out on a lake to spread ashes when the lake is actually ice was too much to manage.
For four years I played three hand Cribbage with Shelley and her father, Lloyd, nearly every night while sipping wine. We had to dilute his wine about a third with water because he refused to quench his thirst with water so he usually finished his wine rather quickly (we learned this the hard way). His famous saying was, “Water is to wash with not to drink!”
Lloyd had a knack for picking out the subtle nuances of a wines characteristics that amazed Shelley and I, even though he might have trouble remembering names of close family members or even what we did an hour before. He DID enjoy his wine.
He also enjoyed Marilyn Monroe. Certainly that is no surprise; many men of his generation had a special fondness for her. He would have calenders, wall hangings and other things with the image of Marilyn Monroe. He combined his love for wine and his “crush” for Marilyn Monroe by drinking, when the opportunity presented itself, a Napa Valley wine called, Marilyn Merlot.
Marilyn Merlot is produced and bottled by Nova Wines of Oakville, California. What started out as just some fun with a group of friends in 1981 spiraled into a cult wine. According to their website Marilyn Wines traces its origins to 1981, when a small group of friends started making wine at their home near St. Helena, in Napa Valley. One evening in 1983, over dinner and a bottle of homemade Merlot, the concept of “Marilyn Merlot” was born. The wine enjoyed a good deal of popularity around the valley and was often donated to charity auctions and given as Christmas gifts. To learn more about the journey of Marilyn Wines just click here.
I had found, and purchased, a bottle of the 2003 Marilyn Merlot for Lloyd about five years ago. Often I would ask Shelley if “this” night would be a good night to open that bottle with her Dad but the occasion never seemed to be right. This is EXACTLY what Open That Bottle Night is all about, isn’t it!
Well, his health continued to deteriorate and it seemed apparent that he would not be enjoying this bottle of Merlot with us. After his death, the bottle sat motionless in the pantry. When a date surfaced on when we would be making the trek up into Canada to honour (that’s the way Canadians spell honor) Lloyds life I suggested we bring the bottle of Marilyn Merlot up with us and enjoy it as we spread his ashes onto Christopher Lake. Shelley agreed and that’s what we did yesterday morning.

Shelley and her family prepare to scatter Lloyds ashes into Christopher Lake just after toasting his life with a 2003 Marilyn Merlot.
The weather certainly wasn’t conducive for this event, nor did it cooperate! Windy and frigid was the lake air as the pontoon boat waited for the arrival of our group. There would be a total of 13 family members. We had glasses for everybody. As the Last Post played from my iPod through the boats’ stereo system we poured about 2 ounces of the 2003 Marilyn Merlot into each glass, passing them around. Shelley’s son, Tyler, was chosen to gently pour Lloyds remains from a ceramic vase into the chilly waters of Christopher Lake, where Lloyd had spent so many summers of his life playing.
As Shelley put it, “It was the best event of the weekend.” Although each function honored Lloyd well, the barbeque the day before at Jill and Gerald’s house and the actual memorial service following the boat ride on Sunday, this really was a special moment, for a special person, with a special wine.
It had been a long weekend, full of sadness yet fond memories. Family members that hadn’t seen each other for many, many years were reunited because of Lloyd. Two full days of emotions. As we made our way into the hotel room last night, after it was all over, I looked over to Shelley, showing her what was left of the bottle of the 2003 Marilyn Merlot, and said, “Care to finish the rest of this with me?” The answer was, of course, “Of course.”
I pried the cork (with a replica of Marilyn’s lips on two sides of the cork) out of the bottle and poured a decent glass for each of us. We swirled and smelled and sipped. Shelley noticed the beginnings of brown showing up on the edge of the wine as it started showing its age.
The wine had some alcohol in the nose but it smelled and tasted delicious with hints of prunes, raisins and soft dark cherries. It had structure and a lingering finish. But, honestly, it could have tasted horrific and we both would have loved it anyway. Thankfully, it was the perfect way to peacefully close the book on Lloyd, her father.
As I was doing research on this wine I found out what it sells for now. I paid about $35 US dollars for the bottle in 2005 and now you can purchase it for a mere 100 bucks at Marilyn Wines. To me, Shelley and her family, it was worth MUCH more than that.
Thank you for the years Lloyd, although too few, and may you Rest In Peace.
Remember, you can join the many people who like drinking wine by joining the drinking wine fan page on Facebook! We’d love to have you…
As always, thank you for reading, and remember, bottoms up and enjoy each swallow to the fullest. You never know when it will be your last glass.
Running Into A RockWall Tongue First
By Phil Anderson

Pinot Noir grapes growing across the street from the RockWall Cellars tasting room.
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!
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!
Tim Sorenson, shown with me to the left, is the winemaker at Fall Line Winery which produces about 2,000 cases each year and is located in the Georgetown neighborhood of Seattle. He was pouring the year 2007 this particular night. The first was a red blend called Exhibition, which fuses Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Verdot. I also tasted another red blend called Artz which has Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon from a single vineyard on Red Mountain. I also tasted their 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. All the wines were young but solid, with soft tannins and an easy personality.
The other winery that was there pouring was Reynvaan Family Vineyards and proprietor Mike Reynvaan, shown with me to the left. Reynvaan produces only 1,200 cases a year and they are located in Walla Walla. They also grow their own fruit, their first release being the 2007. I tasted their 2008 Unnamed Syrah which has about 10% Viognier in it which I found softened it up quite a bit. This one had quite the nose on it with a smokey barnyard funk peppered with tar. The other was their In The Rocks Syrah with a little Viognier and a dash of Marsanne. This was my favorite of the night. I found blueberries in the nose with a dark, inky taste.

