12 Days of Wine Day 12 – Syncline

December 24, 2019

Syncline

Let’s start with the name. Syncline…where does that come from? It was a new word to me. This winery & vineyard in located in the Columbia Gorge AVA. Vineyards are typically in scenic areas. Grapes like a view. But the Columbia Gorge? Come on…this is a pretty stellar backdrop.

So…back to the meaning of the word Syncline, from their website

syn-cline (‘sin-klin)
a trough of stratified rock in which
the beds dip toward each other from either side
http://synclinewine.com/our-history/

The Syncline winery is located on the Washington side of the Gorge on their Steep Ranch Vineyard. West of the property 300-foot cliffs rise up from the Columbia River…this is the Syncline, locally called the Coyote Wall Syncline.

The Columbia Gorge AVA

Views of the Gorge make this Washington Wine delicious — View of the Columbia River and the Gorge from Syncline’s Vineyard

The Columbia Gorge AVA was established in 2004 and is overwhelmingly known for white wines. This is the sweet spot where the rainy western part of the Gorge and the more arid Eastern Gorge meet. Syncline is on the South Eastern edge of the AVA.

Myself & James Mantone walking the rows at Syncline — James Mantone leading me through the Steep Ranch Vineyard

We spent a wonderful morning, talking with Winemaker, Vineyard Manager and Co-Founder of Syncline, James Mantone. Sitting in their beautiful gardens, we spoke about biodynamics which they are putting into practice here on this vineyard as well among other things before we walked the vineyard to take in the spectacular views at the top of the Syrah block.

But alas…in addition to the wines he makes from grapes grown on the estate vineyard, he also sources some fine grapes from elsewhere to make some beautiful wines. Such is the case with this Picpoul.

Picpoul

Picpoul is a favorite of mine. I have enjoyed Picpoul de Pinet which comes from the South of France right on the Mediterranean coast, as well as some lovely California Picpouls. You can read about those in Picpoul from Pinet and California and a seaside pairing. The name “Picpoul” means lip stinger in French. It is a zippy high acid wine.

Syncline 2018 Picpoul Boushey Vineyard Yakima Valley

We tasted this wine in the tasting room with James when we visited. Since I tend to think of Picpoul and ocean, this was intriguing to me. The grapes for this wine are sourced from Boushey Vineyards in Washington’s Yakima Valley. Boushey Vineyard sits at a high elevation (700-1200 feet) on southern slopes of the Rattlesnake Mountains. Dick Boushey is considered one of Washington States top wine grape growers.

Soil and the long ripening time at this vineyard allow for lots of complex flavors to develop.

The fruit was hand harvested and transported to the winery on October 2nd. It was whole cluster pressed and settled overnight. The juice was then racked to one of our stainless steel tanks. Fermentation completed with no malolactic fermentation. It was aged in stainless steel and bottledin March 2019. 300 cases produced • 12.4% Alc. By Vol.
http://synclinewine.com

The Tasting

Syncline 2018 Picpoul flavor profile

James tasting notes mention “Bright lemon verbena and key lime blossom” as well as “citrus zest and wet stones”. When we opened this wine, the first thing I smelled was chalk and dust followed my notes of tart citrus fruit. It opened further with some floral notes and then lemon zest and yes wet stones. This wine was completely enjoyable on it’s own.

The Pairings

Herbed goat cheese with the Syncline 2018 Picpoul from Boushey Vineyard

We paired this wine with herbed goat cheese and olive oil on bread to start. The pairing sweetened the cheese and brightened the wine and was kind of magical.

Then we went to a classic Picpoul pairing of shellfish. We had mussels in garlic and butter dusted with lemon zest. Which is indeed a perfect pairing with this wine. Often you think of oysters with Picpoul and somehow those didn’t hit me as the right pairing. Perhaps it was me thinking of the photos I had recently seen of the hoarfrost on the vines in the Yakima Valley. None-the-less this wine wanted a warmer version of shellfish and these mussels did the trick, warm with savory flavors and a bit of brightness, they snuggled with the wine and brightened a chilly evening.

Visit them….

I totally told you all about the vineyard at Syncline, but I skipped right over the stunning gardens and grounds at their winery and tasting room. Here…take a look.

Syncline winery entrance
The outdoor tasting bar at the Syncline Winery
Beautiful Foudre that was being refinished for wine at Syncline
The garden at the Syncline tasting room in Washington’s Columbia Gorge AVA
Perfect spot for a summer tasting
Syncline Wine’s tasting garden in the Columbia Gorge AVA
Syncline Wine’s tasting garden in the Columbia Gorge AVA
Syncline Wine’s tasting garden in the Columbia Gorge AVA
Syncline Wine’s tasting garden in the Columbia Gorge AVA

Head up there in the summer, on a weekend. Drive the Gorgeous Gorge and then stop for a tasting and to enjoy the garden.

That’s a wrap!

All the unwrapping is complete on our 12 Days of Wine Celebration. Hopefully you enjoyed the journey and perhaps have a few wines to search for, or a vacation to plan to take in some of these places.

We wish you all a very happy holiday and a wonderful New Year. Here’s to a spectacular 2020!

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12 Days of Wine Day 11 – Johan

December 23, 2019

Johan Grüner Veltliner 12 Days of Wine Reveal

What wine list of ours would be complete without a bottle from Johan.

The Van Duzer Corridor

The Van Duzer Corridor is one of the newer AVA’s in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. The TTB approval of the AVA happened in December of 2018 (7 years after they started the process). So what is this corridor and where is it?

The Van Duzer Corridor AVA map courtesy the Oregon Wine Resource Studio

1st, this is a nested AVA lying within the larger Willamette Valley AVA in Oregon. It is in the southern part of the AVA, north of Salem. Encompassing 59,850 acres, there are but 1,000 acres planted to vines. The soil here is marine sediment. It is named for the area 10 miles to it’s west, the actual Van Duzer Corridor, where there is a drop in the coastal range that funnels cold air into the interior. This happens daily at around 2 pm. The breeze, or should I say wind (it often gets up to 8 mph) does a couple of things. It cools things down and it dries out the berries, keeping them free from mold and fungus (think the Mistral in Provence). It also forces the berries to protect themselves. To do this they thicken their skins and tend to grow smaller and fewer. This gives you more tannins and anthocyanins (which give you color). Lower yields, smaller berries, thicker skin…this all means more flavor.

Johan Vineyard

I have a great love for the wines of Johan. If you know me, you are probably surprised that this was not a Pet Nat! (I do love their Pet Nats). But today we dive into their Estate Grüner Veltliner. But before we get into that…a little on the vineyard.

The vineyard road at Johan Vineyards in the Willamette Valley’s Van Duzer Corridor AVA
Vines at Johan Vineyard
Vineyard View at Johan in the Van Duzer Corridor
Jack and the compost at Johan in the Van Duzer Corridor
Jack pointing out the mushroom innoculation on this stump at Johan
A cowhorn at the biodynamic Johan Vineyard
Views from the tasting room at Johan

Johan Vineyard is 85 acres certified biodynamic. More than that, the winery is certified biodynamic. A holistic approach is important to them here. We walked the vineyard with Jack when we visited and saw the compost heap, and the oak stump innoculated for mushrooms. They have a garden and their wines…most lean toward that “natural wine” style, with many deliciously unfiltered.

For more on Johan you can catch a couple of our previous pieces

Now onto the wine

Grüner Veltliner

Grüner Veltliner can be an underappreciated variety. Hailing from Austria, this grape can often trick people in tastings. That is until they get to the finish where white pepper is the give away. These wines can be citrus, or herbal, lean or full. Flavors as well as textures can vary dependent on climate and style.

In Austria white wines dominate, much of that due to the climate and Grüner is the definite leader covering about a third of the vineyard acreage.

2017 Johan Estate Grüner Veltliner

The grapes are crushed and destemmed, then barrel fermented through primary and malolactic fermentation in puncheons and aged 10 months sur lie (that’s on the dead yeast cells that fall to the bottom). They do not stir the lees. It sits at 13.6% abv and runs $34.99.

They look to make this wine rich and exotic, choosing to pick appropriately and going through malolactic and sur lie aging to increase the texture.

It should be noted that white wines from the Van Duzer Corridor have a few things in common. They tend to have bright fruit and acid that is compimented by weight and texture. The Oregon Wine Board also notes that you will often find Iodine and Nori characteristics in these wines.

The Tasting

Exotic and rich…lime, lemon, herbs, white pepper, poprocks, nectarine, ginger, honey are all typical aromas and flavors for Gruner.

This wine was a deep golden color in the glass. The first thing on the nose was bruised apple, then white flower and nectarine. It exploded out of the glass and bottle when it was first opened. It perfumed the air for a several foot radius around the bottle and glass. Then it quickly became shy, making me search for aromas. The acids were firm and the wine had a depth of texture.

The Pairing

We paired this with camembert cheese and found that it brought forth the floral notes. It was lovely with our asparagus risotto. This is one of those rare wines that can pair with asparagus! We also tested it with a split pea soup and found it was less exciting. Perhaps a lighter style of Grüner would have worked with this. I did struggle to find that signature Grüner white pepper on this wine. On a second pour tropical notes came forward and it opened again in the glass with rich warm baked apples.

Other pairing suggestions

Grüner can pair beautifully with Wiener schnitzel (breaded veal cutlets quickly fried). It also pairs well with fried chicken. In addition it is one of those rare wines that will pair with artichokes! Try it with cauliflower, trout or gnocchi!

Noooooo….Only 1 day left!

Thank goodness there is Christmas to cheer us after tomorrow! Otherwise what would we do? The sadness as the 12 days comes to an end would be unbearable! Come back tomorrow!

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12 Days of Wine Day 10 – Girardet

December 22, 2019

If you have tried today’s variety I want to hear about it! This is Baco Noir, a French American hybrid created by Francois Baco from folle blanche (which is a wine grape from France) and a red grape of the vitis riparia species (comes from America, but the exact grape is unknown). This variety is often found on the east coast and chilly North American regions like Ontario and New York.

Baco Noir at Girardet

The vines for this wine came from New York. In the late 60’s Philippe Girardet was bored of rocket science so he and his wife Bonnie headed north in their VW bus. They settled in the Umpqua Valley in Southern Oregon bought some land, built a cabin and decided to plant a vineyard.

Well to plant a vineyard, you need vines. So they headed cross country in the VW bus and picked up vines in New York, among them Baco Noir.

It was 1990 before Girardet did a single varietal bottling of Baco Noir, the first time this had been done. In 2009 it was Matt Kramer hailed as one of Oregon’s best reds in the Oregonian.

We are here to make discoveries, not to follow the beaten path.
Philippe Girardet, Co-Founder Girardet Vineyards and Winery

Girardet Tasting Room in Umpqua Valley in Southern Oregon

Marc Girardet

Marc Girardet was born in 1975, so the vineyard had just recently been planted. He grew up on the vineyard and then in the winery as that was built. He was away for a bit in the Air Force, but the vines called him home. In 1999 he took over the winemaking from his father. It was time for dad to enjoy the fruits of his labors.

The vineyard

We spent an afternoon with Marc, talking on the patio, driving through the vineyard and tasting wine. Marc has planted the back vineyard(Shale Rock Summit) to Italian varieties now including Sangiovese, Barbera and Teroldego. We watched the jackrabbits, talked about the vines, the bush training he was doing and took in the view.

Jackrabbits in the vineyard
Marc & I by the Sangiovese on the Shale Rock Summit Vineyard at Girardet
Ancient Marine Shale
Grapes at Girardet
View from Girardet and the ShaleRock Summit Vineyard

We did a short version of our visit that you can read about here The Scenic Route – Flash Tour 2019 Part 2 – Southern Oregon Applegate and Umpqua Valleys and you can be sure that we will be following up with more in depth information on our visit.

2016 Girardet Baco Noir

The grapes were hand harvested and hand-punched twice a day during fermentation and the resulting wine was aged in small French barrels for 15 months before bottling. 490 cases. Vegan Friendly!
http://girardetwine.orderport.net/product-details/0009/2016-Baco-Noir

This wine sits at 13.4% abv and they note plum, blueberry, black cherry, dark chocolate and cinnamon spice in the tasting notes. It ran $34.00. Yep, sorry, this vintage is sold out, but never fear the 2017 has been released and sounds even more delicious with additional notes of clove, tobacco, cedar, vanilla and caramel. It also runs $34.00

The Tasting

Girardet Baco Noir with aroma inspirations

This wine came with the promise of notes of plum, blueberry, black cherries, dark chocolate and cinnamon spice.

The first thing I got on the nose was brambles and dried herbs, with a backing of that black cherry and then blackberry with spices in the background. It had great acidity (think sour cherry) and lots of red and black fruit on the palate.

The Pairing

Okay…this was a late night tasting. I was soooo hungry at work, and I was craving pasta. I mentioned this to Carlo (a handsome Italian I work with, who is a great cook). He rattled off sauces…bolognese, puttanesca. Both sounded delicious, but I didn’t have the time to make those this evening. Then he said a word I had not heard…amatriciana. What is that? “You chop up bacon and sauté it, but don’t let it get crispy…” (Then he left to do a cue and I was waiting breathlessly for the rest of the recipe!). He returned to tell me to add peeled tomatoes, salt and pepper, maybe a little basil if you have it. So…a late night grocery run on the way home for these simple ingredients and voila!

We also paired with Gouda, bleu cheese and blackberries and a little dessert pairing with brownies. All good choices.

Only 2 more days! Noooo!

Yep…there are just 2 days left in our 12 Days of Wine Celebration. Come back tomorrow…

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12 Days of Wine Day 9 – Wooldridge Creek

December 21, 2019

We are sticking to Southern Oregon today, but…we are into a white wine. Viognier is a white Rhône variety that has found a home in the new world. It is thought to be the leading white variety in Virginia, where it does very well. You will find it in California where it can vary in style from a more full bodied style in warm climates to a more elegant style in cool climates.

Last year we did a Viognier from Maryhill Winery near the Columbia Gorge in Washington. This year, we bring you a Viognier from a bit further south in Oregon.

Wooldridge Creek

We visited Wooldridge Creek this past summer and did a tasting and pairing. The property is a beautiful farm with goats and a garden in addition to the vineyard. They make cheese here on site also, as well as other delicious things from the garden.

Our tasting at the time took us through the gammit of their wines, as well as a tasting array of cheeses, charcuterie, mustard and chutneys, all produced on site. It was a treat for the senses as we sat on the crush pad with a view of the vineyards and gardens and enjoyed this feast.

Wooldridge Creek 2018 Viognier

This wine is fermented and matured in stainless steel. They noted flavors of peaches, creme, candied orange zest and vanilla. It sits at 13.5% abv and runs $25.00.

The Tasting

The nose on this gave me wet stone, white peach, mineral and citrus zest. On the palate it had great acidity and I got tart white peach that was still a little crisp. The body is medium and the alcohol heats your mouth and makes your gums tingle.

The Pairing

We paired this with roast chicken, butternut squash and mac & cheese. The acid allowed it to cut through the fat in the chicken as well as the mac & cheese to pair well. I found that it also paired nicely with the bleu cheese we had.

More on Wooldridge Creek

We included Wooldridge Creek in a piece we did earlier this year The Scenic Route – Flash Tour 2019 – Part 1 Vegas to Southern Oregon

Wait, is it almost Day 10? How can that be?

Stick with us! We have 3 more wines to share with you!

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12 Days of Wine Day 8 – Cowhorn

December 20, 2019

We are sticking with Southern Oregon today, but we are heading into the Rhônes. No…I’m not giving you another Syrah. Today we focus on Grenache from Cowhorn in Southern Oregon’s Applegate Valley AVA (which is nested in the Rogue Valley AVA).

Cowhorn Entrance Gate in the Applegate Valley in Southern Oregon — Cowhorn Entrance Gate

We’ve done a bit on Bill Steele and his wife Barbara recently

Feel free to dig into these, but I’ll give you the quick run down here.

Bill Steele of Cowhorn
The Tasting Room at Cowhorn
The Patio and creek at Cowhorn
Lavender at Cowhorn supporting pollinators and biodiversity

Bill and Barbara Steele, were working in the corporate world and trying to live a homeopathic lifestyle. Finally it came time to make this life they wanted, full time, incorporating it into everything they did. They chose the Applegate Valley and settled on creating a vineyard and farm. After meeting some biodynamic vineyard owners, they knew this was the way forward for them. After having the soil analyzed they settled on Rhône varieties and planted their vineyard. They also grow asparagus and have a really wonderful lavender patch that is home to multiple varieties of bees, as well as some really beautiful decorative gardens.

When they decided to build their tasting room, they went for the Living Building Certification and became the 1st tasting room in the world to be built to these standards. The tasting room is beautiful as well as energy efficient and is made from sustainable products.

Cowhorn 2016 Grenache 6

Why is this wine called Grenache 6?

Well…it’s Grenache. The “6” comes from the number of mornings that Bill was raised before dawn in the coldest hours to turn on the frost protection for the vineyard. So as you can see, 2016 was not a bad year for frost!

Here are Bill’s notes on this wine from their site.

Vibrant and acid driven, the 2016 Grenache reaches a new level of boldness. Intense aromas of cherry, blackberry and licorice pour over the glass. Juicy ripe strawberry appears on the palate with a perfect balance of oak on the finish, making this fun red wine perfect for your favorite BBQ fare. Chill slightly for a refreshing zip in the summertime.
Cowhorn.com Tasting notes

James Suckling gave this wine 93 points. It sits at 14% abv and runs $45.00. Oh…and while I sort of mentioned this, it is important to note that this is biodynamic.

The Tasting

The first thing that hit my nose with this wine was stewed strawberries. You know like when you are cooking down some strawberries to make a sauce. Then the spice hit my nose followed by anise (licorice) and then cooked blackberries.

The tannins were lighter sticky tannins and the wine had a medium intensity. This is an elegant wine that evolves in the glass.

Cowhorn 2016 Grenache 6 with notes of black cherry, blackberry, strawberry and anise.

The Pairing

On our cheese plate with the above pictured berries, we included included manchego cheese which was heaven with this. A small bite of manchego, honey, black cherry and rosemary was heavenly with this wine.

Our dinner pairing was barbecued beef, which again was lovely with this.

This is a wine that I will look forward to tasting future vintages. For Bill, he is not looking to create the same wine over and over. He looks to create the best wine for that vintage, which will make each year different in it’s own unique way.

On to the 9th Day of Wine

Onward! 4 days left, 4 wines to go. Are you still with us!?

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12 Days of Wine Day 7 – Quady North

December 19, 2019

Where in Washington is this winery you ask? Nope, we finally stepped out of Washington. Quady North can be found in Oregon’s Applegate Valley. The Applegate Valley AVA is a nested AVA within the Rogue Valley AVA. This region is way south in Oregon, just above the California state line. In the State of Jefferson…well that’s a story for another day.

We discovered Quady North when we were speaking with Leah Jörgensen a couple of years ago. She pulls Cabernet Franc from his Mae’s Vineyard and spoke highly of Herb Quady. So when we were visiting the Applegate Valley this past summer, we stopped in and met Herb at the vineyard. You can see a bit of our visit in The Scenic Route Part 8 – Johan and Quady North .

Herb Quady

Herb comes from a wine family. Quady is known in Central California for their sweet wines. Then he fell in love with Rhônes and headed North to Southern Oregon, convinced this was the perfect place to grow those varieties.

Cabernet Franc is not a Rhône variety, but Leah had spoken so highly of his Cab Franc…so…

Quady North 2014 Cabernet Franc

Panorama of the view from Mae's Vineyard — Panorama of the view from Mae’s Vineyard

Most of the Cab Franc for this wine comes from Mae’s Vineyard, named for his daughter which they planted in 2006. We walked the vineyard with him when we visited. The views from the vineyard are pretty spectacular.

2014 is one of our best vintages to date. It was warm and even with good set in the vineyard. In the winery, we took advantage of our new facility to improve our winemaking with gentler handling and reduced exposure to oxygen. The result is a vibrant, balanced Franc with notes of loam and red pepper.
QuadyNorth.com

He goes on to give lots of wonderful geeky notes about fruit handling, aging, lees stirring etc…you should visit his site if you are into those. The wine sits at 14.3% abv and runs $35.00 per bottle.

The Tasting

I found this wine to be medium intensity with notes of earth, coffee, black cherry and red pepper, plus there was a bit of spice on the nose. I am a Cab Franc lover and this wine has found it’s way into my heart. (much like that corkscrew on the label).

The Pairing

While it was suggested that we pair with coffee and ancho chili rubbed skirt steak (which I think would be awesome with this)…that was not in the cards for this evening. We paired with bleu cheese and gouda and with some strips of red pepper (just wanted to see…) and all worked really well. We paired with bbq and some creamy gnocchi and it made for a great dinner.

A little more…

Herb is also exploring other ways to get his wine to the people, other than bottles that is. We did a piece on his canned rosé a while back, and talked with him about cans, bags and kegs when it comes to wine. You can check out that piece here Cans and kegs – packaging sustainability with Quady North

Quady North Rose blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre is bright and fresh and packaged in a can which is great for sustainability.

The Quady North Tasting room in Jacksonville Oregon
Herb showing me around the Mae’s Vineyard at Quady North in Southern Oregon’s Applegate Valley AVA
Happy vines at Quady North’s Mae’s Vineyard
Vines and a view at Quady North’s Mae’s Vineyard

Tomorrow is Day 8!

Can you believe it? We are sailing toward the holiday at high speed! Come back as we pop yet another bottle!

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12 Days of Wine Day 6 – Armstrong Family Winery

December 18, 2019

Today we venture out of the Yakima Valley, sort of….This wine is from Armstrong Family Winery, who are located in Walla Walla. We spent an afternoon with Tim & Jennifer Armstrong at the vineyard this summer (you can read about it here). But, sadly…the fruit from this vineyard, did not go in this wine. Here’s the deal…

Tim & Jennifer started their wine journey near Seattle with Tim working with a winery in Woodinville. (Well actually they met in Milwaukee and spent time in Chicago before heading to Washington…but Washington is where we get to the good part). After sourcing grapes, they found a vineyard near Walla Walla (which is where we visited them). They now have a tasting room in both Woodinville as well as Walla Walla and their vineyard has just had it’s first estate harvest! So…you need to get in line for the 2019 Vintage!

Armstrong's Valley Grove Vineyard Barn Walla Walla Washington

Their property is stunning, with the historic barn that now graces many of their labels. The vineyard is 20 years old, and they have been retraining it. I look forward to the vintages that will come from the estate and to seeing their dream of a winery and tasting room on property progress. In the meantime, you can visit by booking the guest house they have on property.

Okay…on to this particular wine.

Armstrong Family Winery 2016 Bogie’s Blend

Where does the name come from?

Bogie, the family dog is a blend of beagle and basset hound. The wine named in his honor is a blend of 55% Syrah & 45% Cabernet from the Columbia Valley. Bogie joined the family 13 years ago as a rescue.

Elephant Mountain Vineyard fruit

Well…I know it says Columbia Valley, but those grapes come very specifically from Elephant Mountain Vineyard, which we visited a while back. This vineyard is super nested. So yes, it is in the Columbia Valley as the label says, it is also within the Yakima Valley AVA (which is in the Columbia Valley AVA) and then it is in the Rattlesnake Hills AVA (which is within the Yakima Valley AVA). So, when I said we ventured out of the Yakima Valley at the top…well i was only telling part of a truth. Yep, this wine actually comes from fruit from the same AVA as that lovely Côte Bonneville Riesling.

The Tasting

Armstrong Family Winery 2016 Bogie’s Blend with it’s flavor profile

So you may have noticed by now the photos of the wines with their flavor profiles. Well, I only had one bottle of each of these wines, so I referred to tasting notes to find the flavors and pairings ahead of time. For this lovely photo I blended Tim’s notes with a review of this wine and put together a spread of black cherries, tobacco, spice, vanilla, rose petal, lavender, roasted walnuts, coffee, blueberry and anise. Did I get all that from the wine when I opened it? First I found stewed red berries and spice then florals, yes…dried rose petals and lavender. Then the nose took on those cocoa notes, I thought of chocolate covered dried chukar cherries (which seem appropriate as we are in Washington). The tannins were tingly, not drying and I got a bit of mocha and smoke…and a little cigar tobacco.

This wine sits at a hefty 15.2% abv, but it is surprisingly smooth. This wine runs $42.00. It was the wine we enjoyed sitting on their back patio overlooking the vineyard as we chatted with Tim & Jennifer.

View from the patio at Armstrong — The view while sipping Bogie’s Blend

The Pairing

I did roast some walnuts to pair with this and they were perfect. We made a perfect bite with bleu cheese, honey and rose petal…and then another with the walnut, raspberry jam and a sprinkle of dried lavender…the combinations to delight with this wine are endless.

Armstrong Family Winery Bogie's Blend — Armstrong Family Winery 2016 Bogie’s Blend

Half way there!

I don’t know if that is good or bad. I kinda want this to go on forever! None-the-less we are on to Day 7 tomorrow! See you then!

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12 Days of Wine Day 5 – JB Neufeld

December 17, 2019

Justin Neufeld is the winemaker for Gilbert Cellars. On his own he works on his JB Neufeld label, focusing on Cabernet Sauvignon. We spoke with Justin when we were in Yakima in July. He sources his fruit and he played with vineyard specific bottlings for a bit, and found that by blending fruit from multiple vineyards he could bring more depth to the wine. Different vineyards have different soils and aspects and the fruit ripens differently, bringing different notes to the wine.

Justin of JB Neufeld at Gilbert Cellars in Washington's Yakima Valley AVA — Justin of JB Neufeld at Gilbert Cellars

2015 Cabernet Sauvignon – Yakima Valley from JB Neufeld

JB Neufeld Cabernet Sauvignon — JB Neufeld 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon

Brooke Neufeld was kind enough to send me the vineyard breakdown for this vintage.

The vineyard compilation for 2015 was: -38% Dineen Vineyard -38% DuBrul Vineyard -17% Two Blondes Vineyard -7% Conley Vineyard.

Map Yakima Valley 2019 courtesy of WineYakimaValley.org

So to break this down, DuBrul is located north of Sunnyside (in the Prosser area) so around the middle of the valley. Dineen and Two Blondes are located further west, north of Zillah and Conley Vineyard is on the far end of the valley near the city of Yakima. So you can see that these vineyards are likely to have different character notes in the fruit.

This wine is not listed on their website. The current release is the 2016. But…Brooke told me they have a case of this left at the winery…so…if you want a bottle you should act quickly!

The Tasting

This wine is smoother than expected. Tannins hit your gums but smooth quickly, leaving a bit of a buzz in your mouth. The wine feel cool and lifts on the palate. Red fruit dominates up front with cranberry, red currant and pomegranite. A set of tasting notes I came across mentioned blackberry, basil and fennel on the nose, and I get all that if I breath deeply.

This wine sits at 14.7%. Yep, it sounds big, but it is smooth. While I don’t know the price on this from the winery (you’ll have to call and ask Brooke) the 2016 vintage will set you back $35.

The Pairing

So with those thoughts of fennel and basil, I whipped up a salad of fresh shaved fennel, basil, olive oil, fresh orange juice, salt, pepper and orange zest. Heaven! We had Steak and Stout pies with this and it was lovely. With bleu cheese? Divine, as well as with blackberries and dark chocolate.

Steak and stout pies, fennel salad, potatoes and peas

We will have more on our visit with Justin coming soon. In the meantime, you can check out the highlights of our visit in The Scenic Route – Part 4 Naches Heights and the Yakima Valley

On to Day 6 – Our halfway point!

Come back tomorrow! We will reveal another great wine as we slide into our half way point on our 12 Days of Wine!

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12 Days of Wine – Day 4 Côte Bonneville

December 16, 2019

DuBrul Vineyard is one of the older vineyards in the Yakima Valley. Hugh and Kathy Shiels purchased the property in 1991 and pulled out the orchards to plant vines. This is a family business and the winemaker is their daughter Kerry Shiels.

Last summer we spent a morning with Kerry first at their Sunnyside tasting room and then in the family’s DuBrul vineyard.

Cote Bonneville, Tasting Room Sunnyside Washington

The tasting room is in the historic Grandview Train Depot, on the line that connected Walla Walla and Yakima. After it’s life as a train stop and before becoming a tasting room it was home to her father’s orthopedic practice.

Dubrul Vineyard with Kerry Shiels — DuBrul Vineyard with Kerry Shiels

The DuBrul vineyard is a bit of a drive up into the Rattlesnake Hills. The rolling terrain has multiple aspects allowing them to grow a variety of grapes types in the micro climates. We felt the micro climates just walking across the vineyard from one side to the other.

2018 DuBrul Vineyard Riesling Yakima Valley

Côte Bonnevile 2018 DuBrul Vineyard Riesling — Côte Bonneville 2018 DuBrul Vineyard Riesling

This is the oldest block on the DuBrul. I assume it predates their purchase of the property as it was planted in 1982. These almost 40 year old vines produce fruit that Côte Bonneville turns into spectacular wine a Spätlese style riesling that sits at low 10% abv. I must share with you the beautiful quote from Kerry on the back label.

On a rocky windswept plateau high above the Yakima Valley DuBrul Riesling vines struggle to survive. Among the oldest planted in Washington State, their small truncks bear witness to the severe growing conditions. Yet their tiny berries transform into wine glowing with intensity.
On the bottle – 2018 Côte Bonneville Riesling

When we spoke with Kerry, she was in the midst of her Summer of Riesling. They had taken a cruise on the Mosel with their wine club earlier in the year, tasting Mosel Rieslings side by side with those from DuBrul. I have no doubt, that as good as this wine was, the Rieslings from Côte Bonneville will continue to get even better. I like to explore wines, and rarely keep more than one bottle of a wine in the cellar. Life is too short to drink the same wine! I’ll make an exception here. This is a wine that I want to have around all the time. Oh…I guess we should get on to the…

Tasting

Côte Bonneville 2018 DuBrul Vineyard Riesling

This wine has a light golden color. It’s a wine that I want to dab behind my ears. You get that classic petrol and then citrus and tart pear. It is rich with a bit of sweetness (it is spätlese in style after all). With the low alcohol it is quaffable, but you will find yourself wanting to savor this wine.

Pairing

Riesling with Thai food is classic right? We paired this with a lunch of Pad Thai. Lunch seemed appropriate. This wine is bottled sunlight and it felt appropriate to bask in the winter sun as it came through the window while we enjoyed this wine.

12 Days of Wine – Day 3 – Valdemar Estates

December 15, 2019

Valdemar…Go ahead, say it. Savor the word. It has an exotic feel doesn’t it. Well it should. As you drive up the the Estate it looks like exactly what it is, a modern Spanish winery. Only…you are in Walla Walla Washington. What’s the story?

Valdemar Estates Winery and Tasting Room in Walla Walla Washington

A Spanish Bodega takes root in the new world

Bodegas Valdemar is well known in the Rioja region of Spain, producing wines from Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa, primarily Tempranillo and Viura. Here they have ventured into Washington to explore the wines of place of this region.

Valdemar Estates in Washington’s Walla Walla AVA
Entrance to Valdemar Estates Winery and Tasting Room
Basket Press at Valdemar Estates
The Valdemar Estates Tasting Room

The winery is stunning in it’s modern architecture and the patio allows you to enjoy your wine while gazing out onto the Blue Mountains.

Component Trials

This is what they came here for. The Component Trials allow them to explore the regions, soils and particular vineyards here in Washington. The initial 2017 Component Trials focused on Syrah from Red Mountain (vineyard specific from Klipsun Vineyard and a blend of Klipsun and La Coye vineyards) and Walla Walla with a Blue Mountain Syrah.

Blue Mountain Vineyard

Located on the Tranche Estate in the foothills of the Blue Mountains, this vineyard’s location and elevation protect it from spring frost and winter freeze. Soils are well drained and deep. This is a cooler site and they see 14-16 inches of rain annually. Valdemar sourced the Syrah for their component trial from this vineyard. It’s seems appropriate as you can see these mountains from the tasting room.

2017 Component Trial Blue Mountain Syrah

The labels for the Component Trials are a geeky wine lover’s (like me) dream.

Valdemar Estates Component Trial 2017 Syrah Walla Walla Valley

And yes…this is another Syrah! I know…3 in a row. Here’s the cool thing, all 3 were from Washington, 3 different AVAs, all vineyard designates and 3 different vintages, 2013, 2015 and now 2017!

Tasting

This wine had more in the way of blue notes, visually, aromatically and on the palate than the other two syrahs. “Blue Mountain”, does that play into that? A little word association that might be suggestive to my palate.

Valdemar Estate 2017 Blue Mountain Syrah with notes of spice, fresh sage, crushed almonds, bramble fruit, blueberries, pepper and cocoa. — Valdemar 2017 Blue Mountain Syrah with notes of spice, fresh sage, crushed almonds, bramble fruit, blueberries, pepper and cocoa.

We laid out nutmeg, fresh sage, blackberries, raspberries, crushed almonds, dried blueberries and cocoa powder to see if we could find these in the wine. The components were all in there, but were very blended, not standing out on their own.

Sitting at 14.1% abv they made just 146 cases of this wine.

Pairing

Pairings again were bleu cheese, gouda and chili with bison as well as our wide array of other tasting components. I did find that this went very well with the raspberries. Something in those lighter berry notes brighten with the wine.

12 Days of Wine 2019 – Day 2 Owen Roe

December 14, 2019

We’ve come to Day 2 of our 12 Days of Wine! Today’s wine is from Owen Roe Winery and it’s kinda special. This is the 2015 Syrah Chapel Block. Yes…I know, another Syrah. Well, we happen to like Syrah and as I mentioned this one is special to us.

The Chapel Block – Red Willow Vineyard

The Chapel on the Chapel Block at Red Willow Vineyard Yakima Valley Washington — The Chapel on the Chapel Block at Red Willow Vineyard

Red Willow Vineyard is in the Yakima Valley, and within it sits the very special Chapel Block. We were lucky enough to visit and spend an evening watching the sunset with vineyard owner/grower Mike Sauer and his son Jonathan.

So many of the vineyards in the Yakima Valley are easily accessible along Interstate 82. It’s a bit more work to get to Red Willow. Southwest of the City of Yakima, you must travel West from Wapato. It is 14 miles through large blocks of agricultural land that seems to go on forever. Far in the distance Mt. Adams rises.

Red Willow Vinyard
Red Willow Vinyard
Red Willow Vineyard Chapel Block
Red Willow Vineyard Chapel Block
Red Willow Vinyard with Mike and Jonathan Sauer
Red Willow Vineyard Yakima Valley AVA Mt. Adams in the Distance
Red Willow Vineyard
Red Willow Vineyard
Red Willow Vinyard with Mike and Jonathan Sauer

We arrived before sunset and Jonathan Sauer took us up to the Chapel Block. The Chapel stands on the top of a hill with slopes on each side planted to wine grapes. That syrah grows in sight of the Chapel is no mistake. The building harkens back to the Chapel of Hermitage in France’s Northern Rhône where Syrah is king.

While we were there, we saw blocks labeled for wineries, one of which was for Owen Roe. This was where the Syrah for this wine originated from. The Chapel Block, with it’s iconic Chapel is well known for highly prized fruit in the Yakima Valley. The care and pride that the Sauers put into the fruit they grow, shows in the final wine. You can read a bit about our magical evening with them here

Red Willow source for some of Owen Roe's great Washington Wine — Red Willow Vineyard, the Chapel Block, one of the rows for Owen Roe

Owen Roe 2015 Syrah Chapel Block (Red Willow Vineyard)

So, we do have a progression here from yesterday’s wine. This is from the other end of the Yakima Valley and it is 2 years younger. It was aged 10 months in 47% new oak. It sits at 14.1% abv and will set you back $55.

Tasting

The color on this was a bit bluer and the rim a little less (2 years younger will do that). Blueberry, blackberry and a bit of orange zest come out, blended with notes of leather, tobacco and a bit of wet stone.

Notes of bramble fruit, wet stone, tobacco, leather, orange peel and on the 2015 Chapel Block Syrah from Owen Roe — Notes of bramble fruit, wet stone, tobacco, leather, orange peel and blueberry on the nose 2015 Chapel Block Syrah from Owen Roe

Pairing

We again hit the bleu and gouda to pair with this. I found raspberries and cherries to pair nicely. (hmm…cherries and the Chapel block…that just makes me happy to think about)

More on Owen Roe

We visited Owen Roe and met with then Owner David O’Reilly in October of 2018. Recently he has sold the winery, though he is still overseeing operations. We are always sad to see a winery sold, most especially when it is to a larger organization. We hope that as David is staying on, not just with Owen Roe, but will be taking a place within Vintage Estates a a regional director, the winery will continue in it’s quality and uniqueness.

For more details on Owen Roe Winery you can visit these posts

More on the Yakima Valley

We have fallen a little in love with this valley. As such, we have a list of pieces and additional places you can get information on Washington’s Yakima Valley wine region.

You can also visit Wine Yakima Valley‘s site for maps and details.

On to Day 3!

2 down 10 more coming your way! Don’t miss tomorrow’s reveal as we march on with our 12 Days of Wine Celebration!

As always be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to keep up to date on all of our posts.

12 days of Wine 2019 – Day 1 Hedges Family Estate

December 13, 2019

We kick off our 12 days of wine this season with a wine from Red Mountain Washington from the Hedges Family Estate. We had a wonderful visit with Sarah Hedges Goedhart this summer and after a lengthy tasting through many of their wines we left with a bottle of this wine.

Hedges Family Estate the garden with the fountain Red Mountain Yakima Valley Washington

Syrah on Red Mountain

Yes I know. If you know Red Mountain, you immediately think cabernet sauvignon. Don’t get me wrong, the cab is good here, but I love syrah and the syrah here is pretty amazing. You will get lush bold dark fruit and a distinctive minerality.

Vines at Hedges Family Estate in Yakima Valley's Red Mountain AVA — Vines at Hedges Family Estate in Yakima Valley’s Red Mountain AVA

When Sarah & her husband Brent started Goedhart Family Wines in 2006 they wanted a singular focus. That focus was on syrah from Bel’ Villa Vineyard. They blend both early and late fruit to get a balance. This gives you bright red fruit notes and acid from the earlier picked fruit and lusher darker fuller notes from the later picked fruit.

Bel’Villa Vineyard

Planted in 1997 this vineyard sits above the Hedges Estate vineyard. It is one of the highest vineyards on Red Mountain. This is the Joseph Phelps clone on it’s own rootstock and the vineyard sits at 959 feet in elevation.

Here is a link to their vineyard map. Click on the top right vineyard section to find the block for this wine. (It’s a pretty cool map)

https://www.hedgesfamilyestate.com/the-land

2013 Goedhart Family Red Mountain Syrah from the Bel’ Villa Vineyard

This wine is 100% Syrah from the Bel’ Villa Vineyard on Red Mountain. Goedhart is Sarah’s married name.

Their harvest notes for 2013

Harvest Notes: 2013 was another excellent vintage in Washington State, made slightly unusual by 80 plus temperatures in April and 90 plus temperatures in May. This uncommon early season heat caused bud break and growth to be early and rapid, exceeding average by about ten days. An average summer meant veraison and harvest began early, which led to ripe fruit throughout the state. Once again, “average” in Washington is everyone else’s “great”.
http://hedgesfamilyestate.orderport.net/product-details/0138/2013-Goedhart-Family-Red-Mountain-Syrah

Details on the making of this wine

destemmed
partially crushed into stainless steel fermenters
punched down three times per day
pressed to barrels
malo-lactic fermentation
racked off lees
100% barrel aged for 11 months in 26% new American & French oak.
Abv sits at 13.4%
they made 504 cases of this wine.
SRP $29.00

2013 Goedhart Family Red Mountain Syrah Bel Villa Vineyard from the Hedges Family Estate

Tasting notes

This wine is a rich dark garnet with a bit of a rim (this is a 2013 after all). It started with full fruit then backed off as it opened. I did get the dried blueberries and cherries they mentioned (side note, dried blueberries have a slight macha note to them, who knew?). Notes of mocha, cherry and orange peel. It does have a whiff of vanilla and spice from the oak.

Pairing

We had some bleu cheese and gouda (always a good bet with a big red). We laid out dried blue berries and cherries, plus some other cherries (cooked). Michael made a chili with beef, turkey and bison (adding game to pair with the wine.) We also did some adorable little potato stacks with butter, thyme and parmesean that baked in the oven and were the perfect little flavor bombs to pair with the wine.

More on Red Mountain

We visited with Sarah last July and you can catch a bit of our visit in our post The Scenic Route Flash Tour 2019 Part 5 One Day 3 Washington AVA’s

You can also visit the Red Mountain AVA site for details on the area.

11 more days!

And we’re off! Day 1 for 2019 is in the books…on to Day 2! Join us tomorrow for the reveal of our 2nd wine for our 12 days of Wine!

As always be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to keep up to date on all of our posts.

12 days of Wine

Syncline

The Columbia Gorge AVA

Picpoul

Syncline 2018 Picpoul Boushey Vineyard Yakima Valley

The Tasting

The Pairings

Visit them….

That’s a wrap!

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The Van Duzer Corridor

Johan Vineyard

Grüner Veltliner

2017 Johan Estate Grüner Veltliner

The Tasting

The Pairing

Other pairing suggestions

Noooooo….Only 1 day left!

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Baco Noir at Girardet

Marc Girardet

The vineyard

2016 Girardet Baco Noir

The Tasting

The Pairing

Only 2 more days! Noooo!

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Wooldridge Creek

Wooldridge Creek 2018 Viognier

The Tasting

The Pairing

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Wait, is it almost Day 10? How can that be?

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Cowhorn 2016 Grenache 6

The Tasting

The Pairing

On to the 9th Day of Wine

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Herb Quady

Quady North 2014 Cabernet Franc

The Tasting

The Pairing

A little more…

Tomorrow is Day 8!

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Armstrong Family Winery 2016 Bogie’s Blend

Where does the name come from?

Elephant Mountain Vineyard fruit

The Tasting

The Pairing

Half way there!

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2015 Cabernet Sauvignon – Yakima Valley from JB Neufeld

The Tasting

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On to Day 6 – Our halfway point!

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2018 DuBrul Vineyard Riesling Yakima Valley

Tasting

Pairing

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A Spanish Bodega takes root in the new world

Component Trials

Blue Mountain Vineyard

2017 Component Trial Blue Mountain Syrah

Tasting

Pairing

More on Valdemar Estate

More wine to come (and I promise it’s not all Syrah!)

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