Posts tagged with 'Washington wine'

Townshend Cellar Revisited

  • Posted on April 1, 2010 at 3:46 pm

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

  • Posted on March 17, 2010 at 4:35 pm

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!

Open That Bottle Night 2010

  • Posted on February 28, 2010 at 11:22 pm
We are enjoying a 2007 Maryhill Columbia Valley Chardonnay while sitting on folding chairs and using a step stool as a table!

We are enjoying a 2007 Maryhill Columbia Valley Chardonnay while sitting on folding chairs and using a step stool as a table!

Open That Bottle Night 2010 came and went without much fanfare, last night, just as last year did.  This year, however, we were back at home in North Idaho instead of Ogden, Utah. 

As you may, or may not, know, Open That Bottle Night, or OTBN, is the night you force yourself to open that “once in a lifetime” bottle of wine because if you didn’t, it may never get opened.  We save that special bottle for that special time and for some reason that special time never seems to be quite special enough.  So the bottle sits.  And sits.  And sits. 

“How ’bout THIS anniversary, honey?” 

“Ummmm, no.  Not quite important enough.”

And sits.  And sits.

“How ’bout the birth of our 14th child, baby?”

“Ummmmmm, nope.  Close, but STILL not quite important enough to open THAT bottle!”

And sits.  Until, it has sat too long.  Way too long!

That is why John Brecher and Dorothy (Dottie) Gaitor coined this once a year event, in their Wall Street Journal’s ”Tastings” column, that falls on the last Saturday of each February so that we could at least open a very special bottle before it had a chance to get over the hill, so to speak.  And this was the eleventh year of the event and it has gone viral globally!  It was all a-twitter on Twitter last night with the question, “What are YOU opening for OTBN tonight?”

Two years ago we had a little soiree at our place with a small group of friends and opened some very special wines.  One of them was a 1981 Chateau St. Michelle Cabernet Sauvignon.  It wasn’t very good.  It was either over the hill or just not kept correctly over the years as it was just bad.

But the experience was good.  That was the year we unvailed our cork catcher as I had just finished it a couple of days prior.  Last year we were on our own in Utah where we opened a Sancerre. 

So, what did WE open for that OTBN last night?  Good question.

This year we started out the evening with a 2007 Maryhill Chardonnay.  AND, it marked the first night of the year we enjoyed a glass of wine outside while throwing the ball to the dogs.  Last year we had snow in the back yard until April but this year it’s almost gone.  The sun was out so it made for a beautiful setting but once the sun set it got chilly really fast.  We even fed the fish in our pond for the first time this year on this eventful evening.  I drug out a couple of folding chairs because all of the patio chairs are inside for the winter, and we used a step stool as a table (see photo).

Maryhill has continually impressed me with their quality juice.  A couple of weeks ago we had a Maryhill  Sangiovese and it was very good.  We’re not really Sangiovese fans but this one was something we enjoyed.  We always enjoy their vitners blend.  But last night we opened a 2007 Columbia Valley Chardonnay, from Maryhill Winery.  It had a light toasty finish that continued to linger.  Very nice.  It wasn’t at all over oaked. 

Then, with dinner, we had a choice to make between a Cotes du Ventoux or a 2005 dArry’s Original Shiraz/Grenache from d’Arenberg in Australia and we chose the latter.

Shelley has a fondness for McLaren Vale Shiraz so we chose this one because of that.  We had T-Bone steaks (we usually have rib eye steaks) and they were scrumptious.  The only problem was that I THOUGHT it was a 100% Shiraz we were drinking (because I inadvertently FORGOT to look at the entire label!) but instead was a 50/50 Shirza/Grenache.  My bad.

Well, it started out rather tight but opened up in due time to a VERY berry nose and a chewy, jammy taste!  It paired very well with the steaks and by the end of the night my stomache was full and my heart was happy.

If you happened to enjoy your OWN Open That Bottle Night will you please comment here so that I know what YOU had to drink?  Thank you for reading and, as always, bottoms up!

A Lovely Taste of Townshend

  • Posted on May 6, 2009 at 6:28 pm

Right off the bat I want to thank all those new General Wine Thoughts subscribers.  If you’re one of them, and you know who you are, I hope you will enjoy the casual talk of wine.  My goal is to teach people from the ground up, from square one, from the beginning about wine.  People often are intimidated when discussing wine and, although there is certainly a lot to learn about wine, you can still have a broad understanding of the different varietals and what to look for.  I will be covering this as well as other opinions and, well, thoughts, during the coming months but I WILL go slow.  Hey, I have my whole life to explain this stuff!

Now, about White Table Wine, Syrah and Viognier!

One of the many incredibly fun things about enjoying wine is meeting so many great people that share the same passion for wine.  As I found myself around the Green Bluff area just North of Spokane, Washington, I felt compelled to stop by the tasting room of an old friend, Townshend Cellar.  It seems like where ever I see Townshend Cellar set up (Taste Washington, Food Services of America events, etc…) I see Jill Rider.  Her Business card says she is the Director of Sales and Marketing for the winery but she is also the General Manager and manages the tasting room and winery events and she does a stellar job, from what I can see.  Really, what DOESN’T she do?  The last time we were there it was myself, Shelley, her dad, Lloyd, and our newest pup, Izzie (see the last post for pictures of all!).

In fact, while visiting with Jill during this “out of the blue” stop, the winemaker, Don Townshend, called her to let her know he had just returned from his trip to Italy.  Undoubtedly, a wine driven trip to be sure.  The story of Townshend is refreshing.  Don debated for years on whether or not he should make wine.  Having never made wine he took the leap of faith after attempting a Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in 1995, bottling them in 1998 and realizing they tasted as good or better than some of the best California and Washington wines.

Now, Townshend Cellar makes about 10,ooo cases of wine a year and offers around 20 different wines for their customers to choose from.  Their most popular wine is probably their T3 which is a non-vintage Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc.  I see this wine on many restaurants’ wine lists and we have a bottle of that in our cellar, as well as their Vortex, 2002 Late Harvest Merlot and 2005 Syrah (which I just purchased when I was there). 

The other night we opened their White Table Wine which consists of Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier and Chardonnay.  For a price of under $11 you can’t really go wrong.  It was very crisp from the first sip.  Shelley tasted the Viognier right away and thought there may be too much of it.  She thought it was syrupy and slightly metallic.  I noticed there was a tartness to it right at the back of the tongue.  We also noticed hints of apples and apricots on the nose and I also tasted the apricots.  I was captured by the legs on this wine–the wine just seemed to cling onto my glass! 

All in all, we enjoyed this White Table Wine.  They also make a Red Table Wine.  In the never ending quest of coming up with labels that will catch the eye of the consumer the labels on these wines simply have a white table and red table, respectively.  Simple, to the point and catchy.

As for their Syrah–I bought the recently released 2005 while I was there but we already owned a bottle of the 2004 from our last trip to Townshend and we chose to open that.  We drank this with barbequed ribs which was quite tasty.  Since we had a half bottle left over we had that with steak the following night and it was even better!  It is almost entirely Syrah with only 4% Merlot and it’s from Washingtons Columbia Valley.  Very rich.

Shelly exclaimed, “It’s SO PURPLE!” as I poured her a glass.  True, it is very dark.  Right away there was alcohol on the nose but as it opened up the alcohol went away and was replaced with raspberries and pepper.  I thought it was very soft with good mouthfeel.  It paired well with the ribs but was outstanding with the steak.

The following night we completed the Townshend trifecta with their 2007 Viognier.  I remember tasting this at the tasting room and thinking it was quite sweet.  When we opened the bottle it wasn’t AS sweet but SO much fruit on the nose.  This is a wine that would be wonderful on a hot summers day or with some oysters. 

Townshend has made a name for itself with its quality juice and have only ten years making wine.  Just think what another ten years will do for them.  Why don’t you pick up a bottle of something from Townshend Cellar and try it for yourself.

Until then, bottoms up and ENJOY!

‘Twas The Night Before OTBN…

  • Posted on February 27, 2009 at 10:20 pm

‘Twas the night before OTBN Ten and all through the house…

That’s right, tomorrow is Open That Bottle Night TEN (see previous blog post).  We’ll be on the road so we couldn’t have our annual event, which would have been our third year, but that doesn’t mean we won’t have something fun to open tomorrow night.  I have a little surprise for Shelley, but, where WILL we be?  Twin Falls?  Idaho Falls?  Logan or Provo, Utah?  I’m guessing it will be somewhere in between these points as we make our way down to Southern California.  Wouldn’t it be great if we were going down to wine country?  Ah, but alas, we are going down to pick up her father and visit our kids.  My guess is we’ll probably be in Salt Lake City.  Hmmm, they probably won’t appreciate us having a special bottle of vino, will they?

Oh well.  So here’s the deal, you will have to wait to find out what we’re going to open tomorrow night.  I went into our wine cellar looking for just the right wine but all we have are reds down there and I didn’t think we’d finish a whole bottle by ourselves (I’m not about to let a special bottle of red go to waste by not drinking all of it!) so I’ve opted for a white.  And that’s all I’m telling you–for now anyway.  The next post you’ll real ALLLLL about it!

Last night we had a marvelous pork tenderloin and we opened a bottle of 2005 Sagelands Merlot.  Sagelands is from the Columbia Valley in Washington, located in Walla Walla.  This was a delight.  I got raspberries on the nose and even some terrior.  The taste was very mellow and Shelley commented on the tannins.  It went very well with the pork.  Shelley made this wonderful raspberry sauce and it all paired very well with the wine.

Well, tomorrow will be a long day but we’ll have our special bottle of wine to look forward to when we reach our destination, wherever that might be.  I hope you have pulled a special bottle for you to open yourself and share it with somebody or somebody’s special.

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