Summer of Appendix

So rather than really writing about my rose finds this summer - sorry readers - ended up tweeting - blame my appendix for wreaking havoc on my summer plans!  Unfortunately, given that I was pretty tired all summer I did not quite get through as many rose as I had hoped.  After tasting though here are my top four gems that I thought I would pass along (all of which I found at Esquin Wine Merchants:

• Biehler Rose (always good): Little fruitier this year; doesn't need food - pairs perfectly with a hot sunny day and spicy BBQ chicken
• Efeste Babbit Rose: Dry and crisp - definitely my favorite find of the summer.  Typically only available for wine club members - but they released to the general public this year.  If you haven't tried their riesling - its also fairly dry and one of my faves from Washington. Their Syrah is also incredible - can't pick a fave as every style they produce is beautiful, rich in color and taste, and reminds me of fall. 
• Chinook Rose: 100% Cabernet Franc - need I say more?  This bottle (or should I say bottles in our case) definitely remains one of my favorite roses of all time!  After you swirl in your glass a bit you get heavenly aromas of strawberry that would make you think this wine might be a bit on the sweeter side - happily to report for those of you averse to sweet wine this is a very dry rose that seriously was designed to be paired with a grilled king salmon, roasted potatoes, and fresh green beans.  Definitely worth visiting the winery and if you need a lighter bodied red - their Cabernet Franc is IMO one of the best to come out of Washington.
• Triennes Rose: French - from Province - so totally that nice dry style rose.  I have to say I prefer it to the Biehler now as it is just so easy to drink and pairs so well with food.  This one is a must try from Esquin.

My next adventure over the coming week is to find the perfect boxed wine.  Heading to Ely, Minnesota where boxed wine is an art form given that you can't take glass bottles into the Boundary Waters.  If you have any suggestions for things to try I'd love to hear from you.    

Ready for Wine

Sorry folks been VERY tardy with writing - just been so busy I have not had a chance to write in awhile.  I have been doing some shopping around for rose - just have to start it a little later than planned (pesky appendix).  Starting at the end of June, 30 days of Rose will be back barring other annoying appendix issues.  SO -though I am currently on a wine  drinking sabbatical while I recover - my hope is that I can come up with a fantastic list of rose finds to test out.  Thought in the interim I'd share my list with you of what I've found thus far this summer:

From France (LOVE french rose):

• Triennes
• Lancyre
• Bieler

 From Washingon:

• Patterson Cellars
• Brian Carter Abracadabra
• Chinook (100% cab franc - yum!)
• Efeste Babbit Rose
• Darby Cellars
• Gorman

From Oregon:

• Van Duzer (Pinot Rose!!)
• A to Z (little sweet typically)

Just getting started - so those of you with suggestions or favorite roses for me to try send them my way!  We've got plenty of seafood, salad, and spicy food to make to pair with our rose.  Now if we could just find someway to get the sun to appear again so I can get back out on my patio - I thought it was summer but in Seattle - you might think it was February right now with the gray and dreary weather.

Talk to ya'll soon!

Rainy Sunday Tastings in the 'Ville

Back again - working entirely too many hours in the last couple of weeks so my blogging has fallen a little behind.  This past Sunday we decided to head out to Woodinville for a afternoon date of wine and trips to the nursery to find anything that isn't a primrose or a pansy.  Seriously there must be other annuals that will grow here!  To bad the weather insists on remaining cold - we are done with it and absolutely ready for summer.  Nothing better than a glass of white wine while reading a book on our new patio (new as in we finished it last fall and haven't christened with a party) in the sunshine.  Opened up the '07 Ghost meritage as well this past weekend - not as good as the '06 but still delicious.  Mark Ryan and Gorman's reds always feel really big and meaty even if it is a blend - so in retrospect would have been better with a little food vs. on its own at a party.  At $14 though - can't beat that Red from Washington - easy to drink and just has a lot going on.  Highly recommend (their white is also good - riesling based this year but very dry). 

SO back to Sunday - headed out to Woodinville to pop in on the ladies at ANC and pick up our wine shipment.  The ladies that work the tasting room there are super knowledgeable and very passionate about making wine approachable for everyone.  Tried their newest white release - the Roussanne - some might find it a little overwhelmingly citrusy - but I really enjoyed it.  I think in the Shepherd's Mark it is a little more balanced, but it had all the big mouth feel and honeysuckle notes I come to expect with Washington grown white Rhone varietals. 

After ANC we wandered over to a new to me winery - Efeste - after we left I wondered seriously how I had never been there before.  Every pour was super approachable, easy to drink, and VERY reasonable.  Both their Syrahs were smooth, elegant, and definitely purchase worthy at $34 a bottle (especially considering ANC charges nearly $50 for a bottle that is good but not as amazing as the two at Efeste).  The riesling they served was dry, crisp, and made me think of sitting on my patio in the sunshine again - loved it enough to purchase a bottle or two and consider joining their wine club.  The owner was pouring and he was incredibly charming and also really made the wine feel very approachable (vs overwhelming guests with info).  Highly recommend a stop in there if you are out and about tasting wine.  Their Final Final Cab ($25) is also AMAZING and would be a perfect bottle to open after a long day at work.  Very easy to drink and well balanced.  LOVE IT!

Last stop pre-nursery was Brian Carter - and have to say they were very packed and it was a less than amazing tasting experience.  Wine was incredibly as always but they were so busy we ended up leaving before they had a chance to pour the Corrida or Solece.  Staff there are always welcoming and friendly - and their wine is pretty out of this world.  If you are looking for a well balanced summer white - (I've raved about it before) - their Oriana is smooth and delicious.  Little more riesling this time around but it is still very easy to drink and one of my top 5 whites from Washington. 

Time for me to sign off for the night - before I go, want to ask one question for the winemakers of the world - why are Washington and California winemakers are avoiding oaking whites? Anyone else noticed this?

Dear winemakers, we don't all want everything neutral, concrete, or stainless fermented!!!

Thank you,

ItsRainyInSeattle     

Saturday Night is Meant for Bubbly

Been a weekish since my last post - I've been a working maniac since I started a new job at a small social media agency in Seattle - totally love it!  Great people and right in the heart of Pioneer Square and a job that allows me to do what I love best - writing and program management!  But I digress - I'm supposed to be talking about wine...well tonight's post is all about bubbly.  Anyone who knows me - knows I love the bubbles - so when there is a chance to celebrate I'm all about breaking out the bubbles.  I'm a little picky as I think there are some very reasonable bubbles out there - and then there are some that seriously only belong in a mimosa.  So friends, skip the Cooks, Totts, Reuniti, and sorry Chateau Ste Michelle - skipping you too - if you really want something tasty and inexpensive - try one of these gems from Europe:

- Veuve de Vernay ($5)
- Cristalino ($6)
- Brut Rosado Cavas Hill ($13)
- Blanquette de Limoux ($13)
- Avinyo Brut Cava ($15)

The Blanquette is my go to bottle as it is consistently amazing - I've swapped in Cristalino for my mimosas as I just think Cooks is expensive and a guaranteed headache even after one glass.  If you want to spend a little more - we've been digging on the Roederer & Scharffenberger - both are delicious and always hit the spot with a great grilled shrimp salad or truffled/saffron popcorn.  Of course if you really want to splurge you can do what we are doing tonight - enjoying a magnum of the Duval LeRoy Paris - very excited to dive into that gem to celebrate tonight.    If you have a fave bubbly that you think I should try - let me know!

PS Working on my list for 30-days of rose and looking for recruits to help partake and review.

Quest for the Big Winter White

Thinking a lot about bigger whites lately - especially as it isn't warm enough yet to drink rose or a lighter white - so if I am not in the mood for a red - what are my options. When we go out I struggle to find that really big white that isn't just a glass of oaky butterball (at times tasty) vino to pair with my meal - not that I do not appreciate the red - but sometimes it is just not what I am in the mood for.  California has come through for me a few times, but really trying to find an everyday bigger white that is reasonable and local if possible.  Here are my go to varietals for winter:

• Chardonnay
• Viognier
• Roussane
• Marsanne
• Grenache Blanc

In our house we typically end up drinking either Viognier or Roussanne - here are a couple that are reasonable and fit the bigger and creamier bill:

- Troon Viognier (OR)
- ANC Crawford Estate Viognier (WA)
- ANC Shepherds Mark (WA)
- Brian Carter Oriana (less reasonable but REALLY good)

Given that so much of the trend in white wine making at the moment involves neutral oak, concrete, or stainless - it has been tough to find a really big white that we love - especially in the Chardonnay department.  Washington seems to have a few that are worth exploring - but we really have not found anything we love in a long time.  Anyone have any recommendations?

2010 Year of the Decanter & WA Reds

Its been forever - but thought I would finally get back to blogging! 2010 got off to a bit of a crazy start thus far with nutty adventures in California and lots of changes (new job, etc)- as part of our effort to collectively set some goals for this year - we decided we needed wine goals (of course) - one being 2010 is the year of the decanter.  Too many times we've opened up a bottle - $$ or $ and been sort of so so on the first couple glasses only to savor the last two - ah if only we decanted.  Happily we are off to a good start and are decanting pretty much everything but white wine and bubbly at this point.  HUGE difference - especially for some of our older Pinots.  Unfortunately (part of our crazy 2010) we dropped a wine glass on our Spiegelau decanter so we had to find a replacement (thank you Jamie for the recommendations). 

We also are going to attempt to build a passive wine cellar in the crawl space to help keep our wine at the preferred temperature - I'll take pics of the before and after to document the event once we get started. We've had the wine in racks, inventoried, and organized for eons just haven't finished building it out (spreadsheets are of course involved). 

Keeping this short and sweet tonight - weekend of madness dealing with appliances - we've been drinking a fair bit of tasty red from WA....so here are my picks for my favorite reds of the moment:

• 2006 WoodsLake Syrah (Patterson Cellars)
• 2007 Sharecropper Cabernet Sauvignon
• 2006 Darby Darkside Syrah

Hope everyone is having a great new year thus far - promise to be a bit better about keeping up with my blog!

 

xo