Showing posts with label woodinville. Show all posts
Showing posts with label woodinville. Show all posts
Saturday, January 25, 2014
Woodinville Wine Tasting Day - November 2013
Wine tasting: it’s what we do here. And thus that quest took us up to Woodinville for a long overdue tasting day with a few girlfriends. While I was on an ultimate mission to show a newbie to the Woodinville scene some great wineries, I also had a personal goal of getting to some tasting rooms I hadn’t yet visited (or visited in awhile). Did pretty well, hitting two that I had never stepped foot in previously and visiting a few of the old favorites
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
William Church Winery Winemaker Dinner - Russell's Dining & Bar - Bothell, WA
“Winemaker dinner” is probably one of my favorite phrases. Why you ask? Well, it combines what we’ve long since established are two of my favorite things: food & wine. If you’ve been following along with me on this blog, you’ll see that I’ve attended several winemaker dinners over the past year and a half and always have raving reviews afterwards. That probably has a lot to do with how picky I am when attending them, the perfect wine and the perfect restaurant make quite the excellent pair. You really can’t go wrong when you attend one for wines you enjoy at a restaurant that is notorious for delicious dishes! That principle is what brought me to the William Church Winery (@wmchurchwinery) dinner at Russell’s Dining & Bar (@RussellLowell / @RussellsDining). I have long enjoyed the wines of William Chuch, the owners of which happen to be WSU Alum (Go Cougs!). While I had tasted through their line-up on numerous occasions, I had yet to try their selections with food pairings, something I was very excited for. This dinner featured a five-course menu paired with five of the William Church wines. The evening was held in the beautiful upstairs loft area at Russell’s, which I had only ever previously seen empty! It was a beautiful room with the dinner tables all set out and was the perfect setting for our meal.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
From the Vine to your Glass: Bottling
I decided that it would be fun to do pieces on the different aspects of wine making. As I'm sure you've deduced by now, I love to learn. Some of my favorite wine adventures have come in learning experiences (remember that Bordeaux blending I did? Awesome!). For this series, I'll focus on separate pieces of the wine making process. Maybe take a tour through a vineyard, help out with crush, and of course, bottling. I'll do a separate write-up on each of these different activities. My first post in the series (obviously not in any sort of order) is on bottling. Enjoy!
I've always enjoyed volunteering with wineries. One local winery that I have helped out on a few occasions now is Northwest Totem Cellars, so when Mike Sharadin posted a note saying he was looking for a few volunteers for a Saturday afternoon of bottling, I jumped at the opportunity. The winery is located at the home of owners Mike and Kate Sharadin, located on the Redmond/Woodinville border. Mike has his own bottling equipment, but every winery does things a little bit differently. Mike stated that a lot of the smaller wineries have their own small bottling set-ups and once they reach a certain size (i.e. they reach a certain case production), they will utilize a mobile bottling truck. This truck is basically a bottling line on wheels and provides all the necessary equipment for bottling. Mike estimated that up to 85% of wineries in this area bottle using the mobile truck. At Northwest Totem Cellars, the bottling line is set up in an area designated for this purpose. The volunteers each had a specific responsibility in the line. Once we got going, we were bottling about 45 cases an hour! At 12 bottles to the case, that was a whopping 540 bottles that went by in just ONE hour of bottling. On this day we were bottling two separate wines. We started with the 2008 Qo-ne, which is a blend of 60% Cabernet Franc, 29% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Syrah, and 2% Petit Verdot. We bottled up 102 cases of the Qo-ne, which comes out to 1,224 bottles! WOW. It doesn't hit you just how many bottles go through the line until you do the math on it! After a lunch break, catered by Kate Sharadin, we headed back out to bottle up the 2008 Sangiovese. We bottled 62 cases of the Sangiovese, or 744 bottles. It was a lot of fun to be a part of the process!
I've always enjoyed volunteering with wineries. One local winery that I have helped out on a few occasions now is Northwest Totem Cellars, so when Mike Sharadin posted a note saying he was looking for a few volunteers for a Saturday afternoon of bottling, I jumped at the opportunity. The winery is located at the home of owners Mike and Kate Sharadin, located on the Redmond/Woodinville border. Mike has his own bottling equipment, but every winery does things a little bit differently. Mike stated that a lot of the smaller wineries have their own small bottling set-ups and once they reach a certain size (i.e. they reach a certain case production), they will utilize a mobile bottling truck. This truck is basically a bottling line on wheels and provides all the necessary equipment for bottling. Mike estimated that up to 85% of wineries in this area bottle using the mobile truck. At Northwest Totem Cellars, the bottling line is set up in an area designated for this purpose. The volunteers each had a specific responsibility in the line. Once we got going, we were bottling about 45 cases an hour! At 12 bottles to the case, that was a whopping 540 bottles that went by in just ONE hour of bottling. On this day we were bottling two separate wines. We started with the 2008 Qo-ne, which is a blend of 60% Cabernet Franc, 29% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Syrah, and 2% Petit Verdot. We bottled up 102 cases of the Qo-ne, which comes out to 1,224 bottles! WOW. It doesn't hit you just how many bottles go through the line until you do the math on it! After a lunch break, catered by Kate Sharadin, we headed back out to bottle up the 2008 Sangiovese. We bottled 62 cases of the Sangiovese, or 744 bottles. It was a lot of fun to be a part of the process!
Thursday, December 30, 2010
A Look Back on 2010: A Blog is Born, New Friends, Great Wine
As we approach the end of 2010 I can’t help but look back on the past year and all the adventures that were had and all the new people I met. It’s been quite the year! Back on March 13th, 2010 I decided to try my hand at blogging, and Sips & the City was born. What started as a way to document all the adventures I had been having at various wine events in Seattle has now turned into something more for me and for those people that follow my posts. I love sharing wines, wineries, and events with other people who, like me previously, used the internet as a learning tool when it came to these things. I thought 2010 deserved a re-cap post of all the amazing fun I’ve had along the way in developing Sips & the City. The month by month timeline is when the posts occurred, not necessarily when I attended the events. Enjoy!
March
-My first post was about a Seattle wine bar that I had visited quite a few times during the first part of 2010. Sip Wine Bar is located downtown and offers great flights and food!
-My very first Woodinville tasting day was along with my friend Barb, aka @Seattlewinegal. We hit up quite a few places and had a great meal at day’s end!
-My first major tasting event was Bags & Bottles, held at the Westin. This annual event combined two of my favorite things: wine and handbags. It was at this event that I met Annie (@BlackPearlSEA), who has since become an amazing friend.
-With the best view in Seattle (seriously, you are higher than the Space Needle), the Columbia Tower Club can’t be beat. My first tasting at the club was with my friend Jen (@jenkmiller), where we sampled a wide variety of Washington wines. This was also my first exposure to Guardian Cellars, now a huge favorite of mine.
-My first winemaker dinner was for Andrew Will Winery and was held at Purple Café in downtown Seattle. And so began my love of food and wine pairing…
April
-My first April post documented an event from late March, the Washington Merlot tweet-up. This event was held at Seattle Wine Outlet and was the first time I met another friend I have acquired this year, Joanna (@jojolocal).
-I did an entire post on Barrage Cellars, which has become another favorite of mine. I took a bottle of the 2007 Outcast Cab Franc to Utah with me and tasted it with some friends! It was a hit.
May
-On tax day in April, I had my first experience at Black Pearl, the restaurant where Annie (@BlackPearlSEA) runs the show. Annie, along with others, hosted a tweet-up that contained food from Black Pearl and wines from several wineries and shops.
-My second winemaker’s dinner was held at what is now one of my favorite restaurants: Russell’s in Bothell. Sojen Cellars teamed up with Russell’s to offer an amazing meal paired with fantastic wines! My friend Cheryl (@DivaTink) and I had a great time at this dinner.
-Another great tasting I attended was at Il Fornaio, located in Pacific Place. This was another food and wine paired event, and was absolutely delicious!
June
-As a special treat for my mom the Friday before mother’s day, we attended the Friday Wine & Dine Tour that is a partnership between Butler Transportation and Russell’s Restaurant. What a fun afternoon!
July
-In late May, we headed east for my best friend’s bridal shower in the Tri-Cities. As part of this, we visited several area wineries also. It was a fun wine-filled two days!
-Memorial Day Weekend took me to Lake Chelan, and found me visiting several of the newest Washington AVA’s many wineries. This was another two-day adventure that had me packing lots of wine back across the mountains!
August
-I did a post about a great wine bar and shop called Greenlake Wines. Their Thursday tastings are still going strong, check them out!
-On a beautiful day in July, my friend Caity and I headed to Woodinville for another fun tasting day. It was a hot day with great wines, and great food to cap it off!
September
-On 9/2/10, I woke up feeling creative and “Twas the Day of Cabernet” came spilling forth. This was the worldwide “Cabernet Day” and I felt like it deserved some love.
-I did a preview post about an upcoming event called the Grape Cup which included my top 10 list on why people should attend the event.
-I re-capped my “Cabernet Day” fun, which was held at Bin 41, a wine shop in West Seattle.
October
-I re-capped BLEND, a seminar and tasting event held at Bell Harbor Convention Center in Seattle. The blending seminar was my favorite part!
-I also re-capped the Grape Cup, and the winners of the judging between WSU and UW wines. Cougs reign supreme once again!
-I attended an AMAZING preview event for the Taste of Tulalip, held at the Tulalip Resort. So...much...food… I loved it.
November
-Another preview event I attended was for 20something, an annual wine event, this year held at the Fremont Studios. We got a great sneak peak at several wines being poured at the event along with delicious food from Seatown Seabar & Rotisserie.
-The Taste of Tulalip definitely lived up to and exceeded expectations as a one of a kind wine event. I can’t wait for next year!
-I had the opportunity to attend a tasting of Bordeaux wines at Esquin, located in the SoDo area of Seattle. What a treat those wines were!
December
-The Seattle Magazine “Best of 2010” Party was out of this world. It was truly the “Party of the Decade”.
-I re-capped the 20something event, which was trendy, had great wine, and event had a dance-off!
-I did post on Seattle’s newest wine superstore, Wine World Warehouse. This is one you need to check out for their daily tastings and amazing wine selection.
Well, there we have it! It’s hard to believe I did so much during 2010, but I am so thankful for each opportunity that I had to attend such amazing events this year. I have learned SO MUCH in less than a year, it’s pretty unbelievable. I have also met some pretty spectacular new people, who I look forward to future adventures with. What’s in store for 2011? Well, I have a new job; one that will no doubt take up a lot more of my time. I’ll still be hitting the wine scene as best I can though, and look forward to attending the 2011 “vintages” of the events I attended in 2010. Until then, cheers and Happy New Year!
March
-My first post was about a Seattle wine bar that I had visited quite a few times during the first part of 2010. Sip Wine Bar is located downtown and offers great flights and food!
-My very first Woodinville tasting day was along with my friend Barb, aka @Seattlewinegal. We hit up quite a few places and had a great meal at day’s end!
-My first major tasting event was Bags & Bottles, held at the Westin. This annual event combined two of my favorite things: wine and handbags. It was at this event that I met Annie (@BlackPearlSEA), who has since become an amazing friend.
-With the best view in Seattle (seriously, you are higher than the Space Needle), the Columbia Tower Club can’t be beat. My first tasting at the club was with my friend Jen (@jenkmiller), where we sampled a wide variety of Washington wines. This was also my first exposure to Guardian Cellars, now a huge favorite of mine.
-My first winemaker dinner was for Andrew Will Winery and was held at Purple Café in downtown Seattle. And so began my love of food and wine pairing…
April
-My first April post documented an event from late March, the Washington Merlot tweet-up. This event was held at Seattle Wine Outlet and was the first time I met another friend I have acquired this year, Joanna (@jojolocal).
-I did an entire post on Barrage Cellars, which has become another favorite of mine. I took a bottle of the 2007 Outcast Cab Franc to Utah with me and tasted it with some friends! It was a hit.
May
-On tax day in April, I had my first experience at Black Pearl, the restaurant where Annie (@BlackPearlSEA) runs the show. Annie, along with others, hosted a tweet-up that contained food from Black Pearl and wines from several wineries and shops.
-My second winemaker’s dinner was held at what is now one of my favorite restaurants: Russell’s in Bothell. Sojen Cellars teamed up with Russell’s to offer an amazing meal paired with fantastic wines! My friend Cheryl (@DivaTink) and I had a great time at this dinner.
-Another great tasting I attended was at Il Fornaio, located in Pacific Place. This was another food and wine paired event, and was absolutely delicious!
June
-As a special treat for my mom the Friday before mother’s day, we attended the Friday Wine & Dine Tour that is a partnership between Butler Transportation and Russell’s Restaurant. What a fun afternoon!
July
-In late May, we headed east for my best friend’s bridal shower in the Tri-Cities. As part of this, we visited several area wineries also. It was a fun wine-filled two days!
-Memorial Day Weekend took me to Lake Chelan, and found me visiting several of the newest Washington AVA’s many wineries. This was another two-day adventure that had me packing lots of wine back across the mountains!
August
-I did a post about a great wine bar and shop called Greenlake Wines. Their Thursday tastings are still going strong, check them out!
-On a beautiful day in July, my friend Caity and I headed to Woodinville for another fun tasting day. It was a hot day with great wines, and great food to cap it off!
September
-On 9/2/10, I woke up feeling creative and “Twas the Day of Cabernet” came spilling forth. This was the worldwide “Cabernet Day” and I felt like it deserved some love.
-I did a preview post about an upcoming event called the Grape Cup which included my top 10 list on why people should attend the event.
-I re-capped my “Cabernet Day” fun, which was held at Bin 41, a wine shop in West Seattle.
October
-I re-capped BLEND, a seminar and tasting event held at Bell Harbor Convention Center in Seattle. The blending seminar was my favorite part!
-I also re-capped the Grape Cup, and the winners of the judging between WSU and UW wines. Cougs reign supreme once again!
-I attended an AMAZING preview event for the Taste of Tulalip, held at the Tulalip Resort. So...much...food… I loved it.
November
-Another preview event I attended was for 20something, an annual wine event, this year held at the Fremont Studios. We got a great sneak peak at several wines being poured at the event along with delicious food from Seatown Seabar & Rotisserie.
-The Taste of Tulalip definitely lived up to and exceeded expectations as a one of a kind wine event. I can’t wait for next year!
-I had the opportunity to attend a tasting of Bordeaux wines at Esquin, located in the SoDo area of Seattle. What a treat those wines were!
December
-The Seattle Magazine “Best of 2010” Party was out of this world. It was truly the “Party of the Decade”.
-I re-capped the 20something event, which was trendy, had great wine, and event had a dance-off!
-I did post on Seattle’s newest wine superstore, Wine World Warehouse. This is one you need to check out for their daily tastings and amazing wine selection.
Well, there we have it! It’s hard to believe I did so much during 2010, but I am so thankful for each opportunity that I had to attend such amazing events this year. I have learned SO MUCH in less than a year, it’s pretty unbelievable. I have also met some pretty spectacular new people, who I look forward to future adventures with. What’s in store for 2011? Well, I have a new job; one that will no doubt take up a lot more of my time. I’ll still be hitting the wine scene as best I can though, and look forward to attending the 2011 “vintages” of the events I attended in 2010. Until then, cheers and Happy New Year!
Monday, August 23, 2010
Summer Wine Day - Kirkland/Woodinville, WA
Back on a beautiful sunny day in July, my friend Caity (@CaityM_J) and I decided to head to the east side of Lake Washington for some wine tasting (me, wine tasting? Shocking!). We headed first to Kirkland for lunch at “Olive You” by the water, and were not entirely pleased with how long it took for our food. It was tasty, but I probably won’t be eating there again. Now off to a later start to tasting than we had originally planned, we headed off on our adventure…
Our first stop of the day was at Northwest Cellars (@NWCellars), which is located in a warehouse area in Kirkland off of 124th Ave. Luckily, great signs lead the way from the main road to the tasting room, which is small, but cozy. We decided to visit Northwest Cellars because we had both purchased a Living Social deal quite a few months back that was for a tasting and 4 bottles of wine for just $40! Both of us purchased the deal and set a future date to visit the winery together to redeem it. This was great exposure for this winery, as I’m sure that we weren’t the only ones that had never been into the winery before when we purchased this. It was a great way to bring in some new people to try the wines! We tried several of their wines, including the 2008 Adagio, a 61% Sauvignon Blanc and 39% Chardonnay blend. This was a Gold winner at the Seattle Wine Awards and I really liked the Sauvignon Blanc flavors in this. It would pair nicely with food. We moved on to the 2005 Merlot, which has a great aroma and is a very classic and peppery Merlot. We were also able to try the 2004 Merlot, which has a much different nose than the 2005. I liked the 2004 much better than the 2005, which goes to show what a little bit of aging can do to a wine. This would also be great paired with food, maybe some BBQ? Next we tried the 2006 Intrigue, which is a great blend of 51% Cabernet, 22% Syrah, 18% Pinot Noir, and 9% Carmenere. I really like the added Carmenere in this wine, it is very pleasant. We finished with the 2007 Syrah, which is a 100% Syrah that also took Gold at the Seattle Wine Awards. This is a very small release and it was a fantastic Syrah.
Next we headed into Woodinville and up to a winery that I had been meaning to visit for quite awhile now. Northwest Totem Cellars (@NWTotemCellars) is located on the private property of owners Mike & Kate Sharadin. Their tasting room is in their bright and spacious kitchen inside their home! I had met both Mike and Kate in the past, and worked with them for Passport to Woodinville at the Hollywood Schoolhouse earlier this year. I was so excited to finally get a chance to head up the hill to check out the tasting room. That particular day, we were the first people Kate had seen that afternoon! This was surprising since it was such a beautiful summer day that makes being out tasting that much more fun. One thing I was looking forward to trying was their Salish wine that had refermented. 1/6 of their production had gone through this refermentation and was left as almost a bubbly version of this delightful Viognier and Riesling blend. They were selling this for $50/case so Caity and I took full advantage and left with a case of our own to share! We also tasted the 2007 Cab Franc, which I have tasted before. This has great aroma and flavors and is a big favorite of mine. We also tried the 2007 Low Man Red, which is a Bordeaux blend, and a great blend indeed! We finished with the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon which is a great complex Cab with amazing flavors. I am never disappointed when tasting through Mike’s wines; he makes such great varietals that offer amazing flavors!
Off of a recommendation from Kate Sharadin, we headed back down the hill to Brian Carter Cellars (@briancarterwine), which is located right near the Hollywood Schoolhouse tasting area. They have a cute little yellow house with a spacious deck for their tasting room. I had never visited the tasting room before, but had heard great things about the wines from other people. Brian Carter is well known for his blends, and I must say, he does them very well. He has 14 different vineyards and 17 different varietals this year. We were welcomed warmly when we entered the tasting room, and it was such a treat to chat with the ladies behind the counter during our visit. We started our tasting with the 2007 Oriana, a white blend of 52% Viognier, 35% Roussanne, and 13% Riesling. This is a great and refreshing blend that was perfect on this hot summer day. Next we tried the 2009 Abracadabra Rose, which is a Rose of Sangiovese. This is a small production wine and is definitely one that I left with! I am a sucker for a good Rose, and I am so happy to keep finding such great ones. Next up we had the 2006 Byzance, which contains grapes similar to those found in the Rhone Valley of France. This blend contained 61% Grenache, 21% Syrah, and 18% Mourvedre. This wine has flavors similar to that of a Châteauneuf-du-Pape. On this day, it could have been just a bit colder in temperature, but it was great all the same. We then tried the 2006 Le Coursier, a 39% Merlot, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Cabernet Franc, 8% Malbec and 5% Petit Verdot. This is a big blend and is Bordeaux style. We finished with the 2005 Solesce, which is a wine club only pour, but the lovely ladies in the tasting room were kind enough to let us try some as well. This wonderful wine is their signature Bordeaux-style blend. This is a mix of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec. It has great aromas and great flavors that would pair well with just about anything. What a treat and an overall great time tasting at Brian Carter Cellars (Our great experience on this day prompted me to bring back my family a few weeks later for a tasting tour on my mom’s birthday. As I expected, the wines were a big hit yet again!).
We headed over to the Woodinville Warehouse District and first hit Barrage Cellars (@BarrageCellars), a winery I have visited several times in the past and always enjoy. Rebecca was holding down the fort in the tasting room on this day, as Kevin was out of town on a business trip. I have tasted through their wines on several occasions, and I enjoy them a lot. Caity really enjoyed the 2008 Nuclear Blonde Chardonnay, and we both liked the 2007 Trifecta Merlot on this day. And while we didn’t taste it this time around, I also really like their 2007 Outcast Cab Franc, which I wrote about a few months back.
We scooted just across the parking lot and into Edmonds Winery (@EdmondsWinery), maker of wine I had tasted at an event at Russell’s (@RussellsDining ) back in the spring. At this particular event, I also received a coupon for a free tasting in the tasting room, which is what brought us in on this day. We started our tasting with the 2009 Rhapsody, a Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc blend. This is a crisp white wine, another of those warm weather wines that was perfect on this day. We both really enjoyed the 2007 Robt D wine, a 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Malbec, and 60% Cab Franc blend. This is great to the nose and as one of us quoted “let’s make a candle out of this!”. It just has an aroma that was pleasant and a taste to match. Their 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon is a 93% Cab Sauv, 5% Cab Franc, and 2% Malbec. This is a fairly small production wine, at just 126 cases produced. This is a gentle cab, with a relaxed finish.
We walked down the way to Gordon Brothers Winery (@gordonwines), which is a winery where I had joined the wine club back at a tasting day back in May. I really enjoy their tasting room, with wine displayed all around and even several fun gift items also (I definitely added a Celebration style Eisch decanter to my Christmas list after visiting here!). Here we tasted a 2006 Syrah which is a fantastic wine! This Columbia Valley wine is very flavorful and great to the nose as well. Our favorite at this stop was the 2004 Tradition, a blend of 52% Cabernet, 43% Merlot, and 5% Syrah. This is a very elegant and smooth wine that rates 90 points or more year after year. Caity and I split the purchase price of this bottle, which will force us to drink it (and enjoy it!) together sometime in the (hopefully very near!) future.
We finished up our day at Smasne Cellars/Gard Vintners (@smasnecellars/@gardvintners), just across the parking lot area. This tasting room is always a favorite, and their extended hours make it easy to finish up a day here. They have a nice open tasting room area, with a bay door that can go up to open up the area on a nice day (such as this one). At this point in our day, we were warm from the weather and had been tasting quite a bit, so we stuck with some white varietals at this visit. We tasted the 2008 Farm Boy Viognier, which is a Snipes Mountain Upland Vineyard wine. This is a nice wine, and the label has a great back story (did you know that it’s based from a photo of Robert Smasne from when he was a young boy?). We also tried the 2007 Gard Dry Riesling, a Columbia Valley wine. This was a very nice and crisp wine and not too sweet, as some Rieslings tend to be. We also enjoyed the 2008 Smasne Konner Ray White, from the Upland Vineyard. I always enjoy this wine. Robert also makes a Konner Ray Red as well, and both wines are named after his son!
After a long day of tasting, we were hungry girls, so we headed nearby to a favorite place: Russell’s (@RussellsDining ). We sat at the bar and enjoyed several appetizers and even a fantastic chocolate mousse for dessert (thanks Rob!). Of course we had to go find our bottle that was put up on the wall after our Wine & Dine tasting day back in May. It was right where we left it, so we documented it for proof! What a great day of tasting with a great friend!
Our first stop of the day was at Northwest Cellars (@NWCellars), which is located in a warehouse area in Kirkland off of 124th Ave. Luckily, great signs lead the way from the main road to the tasting room, which is small, but cozy. We decided to visit Northwest Cellars because we had both purchased a Living Social deal quite a few months back that was for a tasting and 4 bottles of wine for just $40! Both of us purchased the deal and set a future date to visit the winery together to redeem it. This was great exposure for this winery, as I’m sure that we weren’t the only ones that had never been into the winery before when we purchased this. It was a great way to bring in some new people to try the wines! We tried several of their wines, including the 2008 Adagio, a 61% Sauvignon Blanc and 39% Chardonnay blend. This was a Gold winner at the Seattle Wine Awards and I really liked the Sauvignon Blanc flavors in this. It would pair nicely with food. We moved on to the 2005 Merlot, which has a great aroma and is a very classic and peppery Merlot. We were also able to try the 2004 Merlot, which has a much different nose than the 2005. I liked the 2004 much better than the 2005, which goes to show what a little bit of aging can do to a wine. This would also be great paired with food, maybe some BBQ? Next we tried the 2006 Intrigue, which is a great blend of 51% Cabernet, 22% Syrah, 18% Pinot Noir, and 9% Carmenere. I really like the added Carmenere in this wine, it is very pleasant. We finished with the 2007 Syrah, which is a 100% Syrah that also took Gold at the Seattle Wine Awards. This is a very small release and it was a fantastic Syrah.
Next we headed into Woodinville and up to a winery that I had been meaning to visit for quite awhile now. Northwest Totem Cellars (@NWTotemCellars) is located on the private property of owners Mike & Kate Sharadin. Their tasting room is in their bright and spacious kitchen inside their home! I had met both Mike and Kate in the past, and worked with them for Passport to Woodinville at the Hollywood Schoolhouse earlier this year. I was so excited to finally get a chance to head up the hill to check out the tasting room. That particular day, we were the first people Kate had seen that afternoon! This was surprising since it was such a beautiful summer day that makes being out tasting that much more fun. One thing I was looking forward to trying was their Salish wine that had refermented. 1/6 of their production had gone through this refermentation and was left as almost a bubbly version of this delightful Viognier and Riesling blend. They were selling this for $50/case so Caity and I took full advantage and left with a case of our own to share! We also tasted the 2007 Cab Franc, which I have tasted before. This has great aroma and flavors and is a big favorite of mine. We also tried the 2007 Low Man Red, which is a Bordeaux blend, and a great blend indeed! We finished with the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon which is a great complex Cab with amazing flavors. I am never disappointed when tasting through Mike’s wines; he makes such great varietals that offer amazing flavors!
Off of a recommendation from Kate Sharadin, we headed back down the hill to Brian Carter Cellars (@briancarterwine), which is located right near the Hollywood Schoolhouse tasting area. They have a cute little yellow house with a spacious deck for their tasting room. I had never visited the tasting room before, but had heard great things about the wines from other people. Brian Carter is well known for his blends, and I must say, he does them very well. He has 14 different vineyards and 17 different varietals this year. We were welcomed warmly when we entered the tasting room, and it was such a treat to chat with the ladies behind the counter during our visit. We started our tasting with the 2007 Oriana, a white blend of 52% Viognier, 35% Roussanne, and 13% Riesling. This is a great and refreshing blend that was perfect on this hot summer day. Next we tried the 2009 Abracadabra Rose, which is a Rose of Sangiovese. This is a small production wine and is definitely one that I left with! I am a sucker for a good Rose, and I am so happy to keep finding such great ones. Next up we had the 2006 Byzance, which contains grapes similar to those found in the Rhone Valley of France. This blend contained 61% Grenache, 21% Syrah, and 18% Mourvedre. This wine has flavors similar to that of a Châteauneuf-du-Pape. On this day, it could have been just a bit colder in temperature, but it was great all the same. We then tried the 2006 Le Coursier, a 39% Merlot, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Cabernet Franc, 8% Malbec and 5% Petit Verdot. This is a big blend and is Bordeaux style. We finished with the 2005 Solesce, which is a wine club only pour, but the lovely ladies in the tasting room were kind enough to let us try some as well. This wonderful wine is their signature Bordeaux-style blend. This is a mix of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec. It has great aromas and great flavors that would pair well with just about anything. What a treat and an overall great time tasting at Brian Carter Cellars (Our great experience on this day prompted me to bring back my family a few weeks later for a tasting tour on my mom’s birthday. As I expected, the wines were a big hit yet again!).
We headed over to the Woodinville Warehouse District and first hit Barrage Cellars (@BarrageCellars), a winery I have visited several times in the past and always enjoy. Rebecca was holding down the fort in the tasting room on this day, as Kevin was out of town on a business trip. I have tasted through their wines on several occasions, and I enjoy them a lot. Caity really enjoyed the 2008 Nuclear Blonde Chardonnay, and we both liked the 2007 Trifecta Merlot on this day. And while we didn’t taste it this time around, I also really like their 2007 Outcast Cab Franc, which I wrote about a few months back.
We scooted just across the parking lot and into Edmonds Winery (@EdmondsWinery), maker of wine I had tasted at an event at Russell’s (@RussellsDining ) back in the spring. At this particular event, I also received a coupon for a free tasting in the tasting room, which is what brought us in on this day. We started our tasting with the 2009 Rhapsody, a Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc blend. This is a crisp white wine, another of those warm weather wines that was perfect on this day. We both really enjoyed the 2007 Robt D wine, a 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Malbec, and 60% Cab Franc blend. This is great to the nose and as one of us quoted “let’s make a candle out of this!”. It just has an aroma that was pleasant and a taste to match. Their 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon is a 93% Cab Sauv, 5% Cab Franc, and 2% Malbec. This is a fairly small production wine, at just 126 cases produced. This is a gentle cab, with a relaxed finish.
We walked down the way to Gordon Brothers Winery (@gordonwines), which is a winery where I had joined the wine club back at a tasting day back in May. I really enjoy their tasting room, with wine displayed all around and even several fun gift items also (I definitely added a Celebration style Eisch decanter to my Christmas list after visiting here!). Here we tasted a 2006 Syrah which is a fantastic wine! This Columbia Valley wine is very flavorful and great to the nose as well. Our favorite at this stop was the 2004 Tradition, a blend of 52% Cabernet, 43% Merlot, and 5% Syrah. This is a very elegant and smooth wine that rates 90 points or more year after year. Caity and I split the purchase price of this bottle, which will force us to drink it (and enjoy it!) together sometime in the (hopefully very near!) future.
We finished up our day at Smasne Cellars/Gard Vintners (@smasnecellars/@gardvintners), just across the parking lot area. This tasting room is always a favorite, and their extended hours make it easy to finish up a day here. They have a nice open tasting room area, with a bay door that can go up to open up the area on a nice day (such as this one). At this point in our day, we were warm from the weather and had been tasting quite a bit, so we stuck with some white varietals at this visit. We tasted the 2008 Farm Boy Viognier, which is a Snipes Mountain Upland Vineyard wine. This is a nice wine, and the label has a great back story (did you know that it’s based from a photo of Robert Smasne from when he was a young boy?). We also tried the 2007 Gard Dry Riesling, a Columbia Valley wine. This was a very nice and crisp wine and not too sweet, as some Rieslings tend to be. We also enjoyed the 2008 Smasne Konner Ray White, from the Upland Vineyard. I always enjoy this wine. Robert also makes a Konner Ray Red as well, and both wines are named after his son!
After a long day of tasting, we were hungry girls, so we headed nearby to a favorite place: Russell’s (@RussellsDining ). We sat at the bar and enjoyed several appetizers and even a fantastic chocolate mousse for dessert (thanks Rob!). Of course we had to go find our bottle that was put up on the wall after our Wine & Dine tasting day back in May. It was right where we left it, so we documented it for proof! What a great day of tasting with a great friend!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Friday Wine & Dine Tour - Butler Transportation & Russell's Dining - Woodinville, WA
My mom was in town in early May (over Mother’s Day weekend in fact!) so I thought what a better activity for us than to head out for some wine tasting in Woodinville. Mom was in town from Anchorage (doesn’t happen all that often) and my friend Caity was also available to join us! Rob Williamson, General Manager at Russell’s Dining & Bar (@RussellsDining) in Bothell, had told me previously about the “Wine & Dine” tour offered as a collaboration between Russell’s and Butler Transportation. This Friday afternoon tour departs Russell’s at 3:30pm and heads out to visit several tasting rooms in the Woodinville area. For just $10/person you get to ride around in style in one of Butler’s Mercedes vans and visit at least three warehouse area wineries. The wineries waive tasting fees as part of the tour also. After the wine tasting, you head back to Russell’s to enjoy dinner and no corkage fee on wine purchased on the tour! This sounded like such a great deal and a fun way to spend a Friday afternoon. The day of our tour, we arrived at Russell’s just in time and were greeted by Jeremy Butler, co-owner of Butler Transportation, and our driver Joseph. Our party of three happened to be the only ones booked for the afternoon, so we jumped in the van and off we went on our tour. The sun was shining and we were quite surprised that there was no one else joining us that day! Came to find out later that there had been several cancellations. That just meant more attention to us, which we definitely got!
We started off our afternoon at Patterson Cellars, a winery I had never visited or tried before. Favorites of mine here were the 2009 Chardonnay and the 2009 Late Harvest Roussanne. The tasting room here is small, but inviting! My mom even picked up some of Russell’s special spice blend in addition to her wine purchases.
Next we moved on to Covington Cellars (@CovingtonWine), which was by far my favorite of the day, and another winery I had never visited before. We were again the only ones in the tasting room when we arrived and we had a chance to chat with winemaker Morgan Lee. Morgan poured us our first few tastes, then grabbed the next bottle and we headed off on a tour of the winery. It was great to see how all storage and production happens in the space they have in the warehouse. The best part was the barrel samples that we were able to try of wine that will still sit for awhile longer. It had such amazing flavors already and it will be fantastic when it goes to bottle. My favorites at Covington included the 2007 Malbec and the 2007 Sangiovese. The tasting room area also has a large table that can be used for special events and dinners. They had obviously done a lot of remodel work on the tasting room, it was very beautiful inside. Another highlight of the stop at Covington was a poster in the production area that I knew I was going to have to find for my dad. Anyone who has a black lab (or any dog for that matter), knows how true this is!
We left Covington and headed back over to the main warehouse area to visit Gordon Brothers (@gordonwines). This was another new stop for me, I was on a roll of visiting all places I had never tried! The tasting room had gift items for sale in addition to wine, including a brand of stemware I had recently purchased one of. The Eisch breathable stemware is supposed to aerate your wine equivelant to wine that has been decanted for a few hours. I have just one piece of the stemware so far, and it’s definitely my “special glass” (and also the one that no one but myself gets to use!). Another feature at Gordon Brothers is a back room area called the “Tradition Room” that is used for winery and private events. I really enjoyed the wines here, and was excited to see that their 2007 Sauvignon Blanc was on close-out special for $6.99! This was a fantastic deal for a great summer weather wine. I ended up joining the wine club here, and was able to purchase their 2007 Tempranillo, a wine that had been in the previous wine club shipment, at a discount. While I did not get to try this wine while at the tasting room, I am excited for it, as I love a good Tempranillo. We decided to purchase our wine to take back for dinner at Gordon Brothers, and left with a 1.5L 2002 Syrah, one that had been voted Best Syrah in the 2006 Washington CEO Magazine Wine Competition. It didn’t disappoint. I really enjoyed chatting with Laurie, the tasting room manager, and I look forward to my next visit to the tasting room as a wine club member!
We finished our tour off at Smasne Cellars (@smasnecellars)/Gard Vintners (@gardvintners), a tasting room that I have visited several times and quite enjoy. There is such a wide selection of wines to try each time I come in, I still haven’t tasted all the way through! It was great to see Lori working in the tasting room. My mom found quite a few wines she enjoyed here, including the Smasne 2007 Chardonnay and the Gard 2007 Syrah. I’ve always been a fan of the Smasne 2007 Rosella Rose, I even took it to Mexico with us last month! We enjoyed several wines here, which was a great end to our tasting tour.
We headed back to Russell’s for our dinner reservation and were sat immediately. I had been raving about the gnocchi appetizer to my mom and Caity and after an afternoon of wine tasting, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. We brought in our 2002 Gordon Brothers Syrah to enjoy with dinner, which accompanied all of our courses well. For our dinner courses, we tried a little bit of everything, sharing the halibut, scallops and New York steak between the three of us. Dinner was simply amazing. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the food at Russell’s is the best around. Everything was prepared beautifully and the service (as always) was fantastic. We finished off our meal with the chocolate gateau, a chocolate cake with a melted chocolate interior. This was a great dessert to share among the three of us and left us so satisfied with the meal. After we finished our wine, our big 1.5L bottle made it up on the wall, I’ll get to walk by it each time I visit now and remember our great day out wine tasting and the great dinner that followed!
We started off our afternoon at Patterson Cellars, a winery I had never visited or tried before. Favorites of mine here were the 2009 Chardonnay and the 2009 Late Harvest Roussanne. The tasting room here is small, but inviting! My mom even picked up some of Russell’s special spice blend in addition to her wine purchases.
Next we moved on to Covington Cellars (@CovingtonWine), which was by far my favorite of the day, and another winery I had never visited before. We were again the only ones in the tasting room when we arrived and we had a chance to chat with winemaker Morgan Lee. Morgan poured us our first few tastes, then grabbed the next bottle and we headed off on a tour of the winery. It was great to see how all storage and production happens in the space they have in the warehouse. The best part was the barrel samples that we were able to try of wine that will still sit for awhile longer. It had such amazing flavors already and it will be fantastic when it goes to bottle. My favorites at Covington included the 2007 Malbec and the 2007 Sangiovese. The tasting room area also has a large table that can be used for special events and dinners. They had obviously done a lot of remodel work on the tasting room, it was very beautiful inside. Another highlight of the stop at Covington was a poster in the production area that I knew I was going to have to find for my dad. Anyone who has a black lab (or any dog for that matter), knows how true this is!
We left Covington and headed back over to the main warehouse area to visit Gordon Brothers (@gordonwines). This was another new stop for me, I was on a roll of visiting all places I had never tried! The tasting room had gift items for sale in addition to wine, including a brand of stemware I had recently purchased one of. The Eisch breathable stemware is supposed to aerate your wine equivelant to wine that has been decanted for a few hours. I have just one piece of the stemware so far, and it’s definitely my “special glass” (and also the one that no one but myself gets to use!). Another feature at Gordon Brothers is a back room area called the “Tradition Room” that is used for winery and private events. I really enjoyed the wines here, and was excited to see that their 2007 Sauvignon Blanc was on close-out special for $6.99! This was a fantastic deal for a great summer weather wine. I ended up joining the wine club here, and was able to purchase their 2007 Tempranillo, a wine that had been in the previous wine club shipment, at a discount. While I did not get to try this wine while at the tasting room, I am excited for it, as I love a good Tempranillo. We decided to purchase our wine to take back for dinner at Gordon Brothers, and left with a 1.5L 2002 Syrah, one that had been voted Best Syrah in the 2006 Washington CEO Magazine Wine Competition. It didn’t disappoint. I really enjoyed chatting with Laurie, the tasting room manager, and I look forward to my next visit to the tasting room as a wine club member!
We finished our tour off at Smasne Cellars (@smasnecellars)/Gard Vintners (@gardvintners), a tasting room that I have visited several times and quite enjoy. There is such a wide selection of wines to try each time I come in, I still haven’t tasted all the way through! It was great to see Lori working in the tasting room. My mom found quite a few wines she enjoyed here, including the Smasne 2007 Chardonnay and the Gard 2007 Syrah. I’ve always been a fan of the Smasne 2007 Rosella Rose, I even took it to Mexico with us last month! We enjoyed several wines here, which was a great end to our tasting tour.
We headed back to Russell’s for our dinner reservation and were sat immediately. I had been raving about the gnocchi appetizer to my mom and Caity and after an afternoon of wine tasting, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. We brought in our 2002 Gordon Brothers Syrah to enjoy with dinner, which accompanied all of our courses well. For our dinner courses, we tried a little bit of everything, sharing the halibut, scallops and New York steak between the three of us. Dinner was simply amazing. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the food at Russell’s is the best around. Everything was prepared beautifully and the service (as always) was fantastic. We finished off our meal with the chocolate gateau, a chocolate cake with a melted chocolate interior. This was a great dessert to share among the three of us and left us so satisfied with the meal. After we finished our wine, our big 1.5L bottle made it up on the wall, I’ll get to walk by it each time I visit now and remember our great day out wine tasting and the great dinner that followed!
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Barrage Cellars - Woodinville, WA
A few posts ago I had mentioned that I would have a write-up on the Barrage Cellars 2007 Outcast Cab Franc. Well, that time has finally come! I was finally able to enjoy this bottle with some friends while on a trip down in Utah (yes, I took my own wine.. sssh.. don't tell!). I thought it would be fun to get the first taste notes and flavor opinions from all of the people I was drinking it with, so they are all included here as well. In attendance for this bottle was myself (Taryn), Heather (a born and bred wine lover), Tyler (fiance of Heather, her wine love has rubbed off on him), and Ryan (Tyler's roommate, and oddly enough someone I went to high school with in AK!).
To start with, a little about Barrage Cellars: Barrage is owned and operated by Kevin Correll and his lovely wife Rebecca. They have a wonderful space in the Woodinville Warehouse District, side by side with many other wineries that have space in the area as well. Their tasting room is beautifully simple and inviting, where you're greeted right as you walk through the door. The barrel room in the back of their space holds the liquid treasure that has yet to be bottled. This is a great winery that produces some fantastic wines.
The 2007 Outcast Cab Franc is 100% Cab Franc from the Boushey Vineyard in Grandview, WA. My first impression of the aroma of this wine was that it was very pleasant and that of a true cab franc. My first taste was delightful, and the flavors consumed the entire mouth. Especially noteworthy was the taste I got on the back of the pallet, which was very smooth. Flavors of black cherry were present and kept me wanting more. It has a beautiful dark color that is very solid when you try to take a look through the glass. I am a big fan of caesar salad (I make mine from scratch!) and the rich garlic flavors of that salad would be so tasty with this wine. In fact, I would eat just about any food with this wine! The wine definitely improved as it sat open for awhile, and decanting it would make it even better.
Heather's opinion was that it had a "nice bouquet" and that at first taste it was very "fruit forward" and "very smooth". Tyler said that it had "a nice aroma" and that the wine was "good, and very smooth". He went on to say that it was "not overly complex, but complex enough" (my favorite note of the tasting!). Ryan tasted it and announced "I like hot cabs" and said that it has "a fair amount of black cherry". Everyone in attendance was a big fan of the 2007 Outcast Cab Franc and we were very lucky to enjoy this bottle to start out our Friday night!
Thanks again to Kevin Correll for creating such a tasty wine. I look forward to what the future vintages have to offer!
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Woodinville Wine Tasting - 3/13/10
I have tasted in Woodinville once before and we hit some great wineries. On this somewhat sunny afternoon, @seattlewinegal and I decided to hit a few tasting rooms together. Our first stop was Woodinville Wine Cellars, who was having their spring release party. I needed to stop in here to pick up my wine, as I'm a wine club member. As part of the spring release party, there were several cheeses to try along with the wine releases. There are few things I love more in this world than wine and cheese. Yum. The release I picked up here included two excellent wines: an '07 Cab Franc from Conner Lee and Chandler Reach vineyards, as well as an '07 Chandler Reach Syrah, which is Woodinville Wine Cellars first ever single vineyard Syrah. Both were excellent wines, and I look forward to opening my wine club shipment bottles in the future. We had a chance to chat a bit with the wine maker, Sean Boyd, who was very excited about both releases this spring. Another wine of theirs that I stock up on at each visit is their Sauv Blanc, it's just a great Columbia Valley white that goes great with any occasion. I have a great time at each visit to the tasting room here, I am so glad I joined this wine club last fall.
After leaving Woodinville Wine Cellars we headed over to the warehouse district. I have never tasted in the warehouse district before, and it's amazing just how many wineries are in this small area! It was great to see the signs all lined up side by side as we turned the corner into the area. Our first stop was Barrage Cellars, which is a favorite of @seattlewinegal. I was excited to meet winemaker Kevin Correll and his wife Rebecca. It was hilarious to see Rebecca trying some pilates right as we walked through the door. Both were so inviting and full of such enthusiasm. The tasting room filled immediately after we arrived, I couldn't believe the crowd! I had been able to try their Trifecta Merlot at a recent event and was very excited to try additional varietals. Look for a full blog post on their '07 Outcast Cab Franc coming soon. They were kind enough to send a bottle with me to review!
We headed out of Barrage (it was hard to leave, they are just so fun!) and wandered over to Smasne (not a far walk, one of the great things about the warehouse district!). I was able to try several Smasne wines, which were all fantastic. I left with bottles of the '06 Malbec, '06 Konner Ray Red, and the '07 Rosella Rose. Had a chance to chat with Bart Fawbush of Bartholomew Winery, who was pouring in the tasting room. His new tasting room in Seattle is set to open in May 2010, can't wait to visit!
Our afternoon went faster than we hoped and most tasting rooms close at 5pm so we headed out of the warehouse district and over to Russell's to get some food and wine. As always, Rob Williamson (GM at Russell's) took such AMAZING care of us. This is now one of my favorite restaurants in the area, and worth the drive to Bothell to check it out. Seriously. Amazing. Everything that came out of the kitchen was fantastic and the company was just as wonderful. Met up with Max and Jen Jensen of Sojen Cellars, who are such great people! They brought a few bottles of their wine (some of which I had tried previously), and I was able to learn more about their winery, name (stemmed from a nickname of Jen), and location (they are in Everett). Looking forward to visiting their tasting room sometime in the near future.
It was a nice Saturday afternoon and evening in Woodinville, looking forward to many more to come!
Woodinville Wine Cellars
Barrage Cellars
@barragecellars
Smasne Cellars
Sojen Cellars
@sojencellars
@sojengirl
Russell's
@russellsdining
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