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!

The tasting room at RockWall Cellars.

By Phil Anderson

Pinot Noir grapes growing across the street from the RockWall Cellars tasting room.

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!

So, now nearly two weeks later, I am writing about a 2006 Shiraz that we had last night with meatloaf.  First of all, let me tell you, Shelley knows what she’s doing in the kitchen.  This was likely the best meatloaf I’ve ever had.  And this Shiraz from Burley Fox went quite well with it. 

Our Cork Catcher and riddling rack.

I don’t know much about Burley Fox other than they’re located in South Eastern Australia.

It was a young Shiraz and it lacked complexity and character.  I was thinking we would get a much stronger wine but it worked well with the meatloaf.  When we were finished we did what we do with all our corks after we finish a bottle of wine and pitched it in our cork catcher. 

Yes, you read correctly, cork catcher.  About a year and a half ago we went to a little wine bar  in Sandpoint, Idaho, to enjoy a little wine and a little food.  It was a lovely place down a long stairway.  As we entered there was this large framed glass with a bunch of corks in it. 

Shelley loved the concept and asked if I would make one for us.  I did and you are looking at the outcome.  We had a few corks saved up but since then we just pitch the cork in the top (the top is open) after we finish a bottle of wine.  We usually don’t put anything in unless it’s actually a cork MADE of cork.  On special bottles or wine drank on special occasions or events we’ll even write on the cork including the date and what the occasion was.  It’s been a lot of fun and quite a conversation piece. 

Next to the cork catcher is our antique riddling rack.  A riddling rack is for sparkling wines.  They are to be turned, if I remember correctly, about a quarter turn every other week, which is called riddling.  I will get my facts straight in a later post but this is the rack that is used to do this.  Now most riddling is done by a machine.  Notice this rack is also used for drying out lavender.  A rack for many uses!

We unveilded our cork catcher at our Open That Bottle Night last year which is the last Saturday of the month of February.  I’ll explain all about Open That Bottlel Night on my next post.  Until then, bottoms up and keep enjoying that wine.