Walla Walla Washington Archives | Crushed Grape Chronicles

Syrah and Aloha – Doing Earth Month Island Style with L’Ecole No. 41

Apr 21, 2021

Syrah and Aloha, may not be things you think of together, but think about it. There is a sense of generosity in a Syrah. It tends to be more laid back than the Cabs, and it manages to make itself at home, where ever it goes. A bit of a chameleon, fitting in and adapting to soils and climates. It’s easy-going.

Like Ocean waves softly folding on themselves and lapping the shore, Syrah makes you want to close your eyes (go ahead, do it now) relax and take it all in.

Walla Walla Valley Wine Month logo courtesy Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance

Walla Walla Wine Month

Walla Walla is the home of this wine. L’Ecole No. 41 and their estate vineyards lie within the Walla Walla AVA. If you have never been to Walla Walla, it is a place to put on your list for travel when you are able. You don’t drive through Walla Walla on your way to anywhere, you have to set out to go there.

Located in the southeast part of Washington State, the AVA actually straddles the border to Oregon with 57% of the AVA in Washington and the remaining 43% in Oregon.

The Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance established Walla Walla Wine Month in 2020. They chose the month because it was right between “Taste Washington Wine Month” in March and Oregon Wine Month in May. As they straddle the state lines, the month in between seemed appropriate.

It’s also the month of their annual Spring Kickoff Weekend when all the spring wine releases come out.

With the pandemic, they did have a wrench thrown in the works and have worked to make this an online celebration! You can visit the Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to learn more! Follow the hashtags #WallaWallaWineMonth or #WallaWallaWine to see what they are up to!

Earth Month and sustainability at L’Ecole No. 41

The L’Ecole No 41 Schoolhouse – photo courtesy L’Ecole No. 41

Not only is it Walla Walla Wine Month, but it is Earth Month, with Earth Day itself landing on April 22^nd. We have been highlighting Earth Friendly wines this month and with our wine today we get to continue.

I recently had a chance to sit down (via Zoom) with a collection of wine writers as well as part of the team at L’Ecole No. 41. Constance Savage the General Manager and COO spoke to us about L’Ecole and sustainability.

L’Ecole No. 41 has long been a leader in sustainable winegrowing, but you might not have known this. It’s not something they advertised or shouted from the rooftops, you see, it was just the common-sense way that they farmed. It was second nature, they didn’t think about it. Their Seven Hill Vineyard was converted to sustainable and the Ferguson Vineyard with its first planting in 2008 was planted as a sustainable vineyard.

Constance mentions Sadie the viticulturist at the SeVein vineyard development where the estate’s Ferguson vineyard is located, whose philosophy is that she and her team should be able to go home after work and walk straight to the dinner table to eat. They should not have to worry about exposing their family to chemicals on their skin or clothing.

Sadie is very protective of her crew, looking out for their health and well-being in the vineyard. Sadie, by the way, just receive the Erick Hanson Memorial Winegrape Grower of the Year Award “for demonstrated viticultural skills that provide impact in the vineyard and in the bottle.”

They are not organic. Organic agriculture allows the use of larger quantities of copper and sulfur that they do not want to use in their vineyards.

On to some of the sustainable methods they employ!

Salmon-Safe

They are salmon safe, which influences what they feel safe putting into the vineyards. Salmon safe deals with what is in any water runoff from the vineyard or that could soak into the undergrown water. This all wants to be safe for the environment.

Compost tea

They utilize compost and compost teas in the vineyard to promote healthy mycorrhizae. Mycorrhizae is a fungus that works symbiotically with the roots of the vine helping it to take in additional moisture and nutrients. This helps prevent water stress, which is an issue in the dry climate of Walla Walla.

Sap flow sensors

Speaking of water. Marcus the L’Ecole No. 41 winemaker mentions the Fruition Sciences sap flow sensors. They have one of these in each vineyard which measures the transpiration in the plant. This is continually monitoring the vineyard and communicating the information to the vineyard manager. This allows them to water appropriately and not wastewater, as well as looking out for the well-being of the vines.

Falcons

Another way that they stay low impact on the environment is with the use of falcons between veraison and harvest. Birds especially the starlings in the area can wreak havoc on a vineyard, gobbling up the fresh ripe berries. Many in the region resort to air cannons, which fire periodically making a loud noise (like a cannon) to scare the birds away. Others turn to squawk boxes that play the sounds of birds of prey and birds in distress to deter birds from landing and feasting. These deterrents sadly make for a really unpleasant vineyard experience.

At L’Ecole they hire a falconer to come in every few days. Just the sight of a bird of prey is enough to scare away smaller birds.

On to the wine…

2018 L’Ecole No. 41 Syrah Estate Seven Hills Vineyard

Marcus refers to 2018 as a unicorn vintage. Everything was just right. The weather was right so that there was low disease pressure and they had the luxury of long hangtime into October.

This Syrah was picked over 2 days in September from 3 different blocks in the Seven Hills vineyard. Fermented in 1.5-ton fermenters with 2 punch downs each day it saw no pumping until it went into barrel. This is important because it is gentle on the wine.

They did 20% whole cluster in the ferment. What does that really mean? Well, 20% of the fruit did not get destemmed and they put the whole clusters in at the bottom of the fermenter. This gives structure to the wine and adds tannins. It also helps to enhance the color. Marcus had been part of a study on stem inclusion and they found the sweet spot to be at 20-30%.

Stem inclusion can naturally soften acids, build complexity and improve color stability.

*This wine was received as a media sample. No additional compensation was received. All opinions, as always, are our own.

2018 L’Ecole No. 41 Syrah Estate Seven Hills Vineyard

Syrah in Washington State

A little nugget from L’Ecole No. 41 on Syrah from their “Schooled in Wine” program.

HISTORY: Syrah was first planted in Washington State in 1986 by Mike Sauer on 3 acres at Red Willow Vineyard in the Yakima Valley. At the time, most growers believed that Rhone varietals would not thrive in Washington’s cold winters. It was not until the vines survived the severe winter of 1996 that the state began to embrace Syrah. By 1999, there were 1,500 acres of Syrah and now it’s the third-most planted red wine varietal in the state behind Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Today there are more than 4,565 acres/1,847 hectares planted in the Columbia Valley.

Well, if you have visited us here at Crushed Grape Chronicles before, you will know that we have a deep love for Red Willow Vineyard and a great respect for Industry legend Mike Sauer. Here, have a gander at the beautiful chapel (like the one at Hermitage) on the hill of Syrah at Red Willow Vineyard.

Red Willow Vineyard Chapel on the hill in Yakima Valley AVA in Washington State

So wait? What does this Syrah taste like?

My first note with this Syrah was that it was generous. Generous but in an elegant way. You find notes of blackberry, currant, and black plum with notes of spices like nutmeg with bits of green olive tapenade and savory herbs. There are spicy floral notes of lavender as well as the tell-tale cedar character that is a Seven Hills Vineyard marker. This is a savory wine.

It has structured tannins and intense flavors and aromas. This is a wine that you can enjoy right now, but it will evolve and get better over the next 10 to 15 years.

The wine has great acidity for food pairing. Constance suggested pairing it with goat! Marcus mentioned a lentil or bean stew for vegetarians as well as barbeque. We ran with that in a slightly different direction.

Earth Month Pairing for the 2018 Seven Hills Syrah

For our Earth Month L’Ecole No. 41 pairings with their 2018 Walla Walla Syrah, we channeled the Aloha spirit.

We wanted to support local restaurants, so we picked up Laulau from a new local Hawaiian spot, called Island Flavor. (They have 3 Las Vegas Locations and the one in our neighborhood just opened). We lucked out that the Friday lunch special was

Laulau with Kalua Pig Cabbage served with Steam Rice, mac salad, lomi salmon & haupia.

Okay for all you haoles (non-Hawaiians) out there, Laulau is fatty pork and salted butterfish wrapped in taro leaves. This gets steamed and is moist and delicious. And yes, you eat the leaves too. Ours came with Kalua pig (this is the traditional Hawaiian style roasted pig, with cabbage, rice, lomi lomi salmon (which is like salmon poke). Instead of the mac salad (macaroni salad), we got sautéed vegetables (zucchini, summer squash, carrots onions, yum).

We finished with Haupia. Haupia is a coconut milk dessert. Ours was creamy and delicious. When I was a kid, I was not so fond of haupia, I thought of it as Knox Blox (remember those) made with coconut milk. Island Flavors haupia was much better than the stuff I remember from childhood out in Nanakuli.

We didn’t do anything fancy, we just served out of the Styrofoam containers, poured a glass, and enjoyed. (Sorry planet, about the containers, we really have to find a way to make recyclable packaging more affordable and accessible for small restaurants!)

L'Ecole No. 41 2018 Syrah, Estate Seven Hill Vineyard with a Hawaiian feast from Island Flavor

The Syrah was brilliant with the Laulau! The fatty pork and its salt softened the Syrah pulling out its fruit notes.

We also ordered their Avocado Fried (Avocado, fried, chipotle aioli, sweet tamari.) Sooo ‘ono! (so delicious).

So share the aloha, support a local restaurant, and celebrate Earth Month and Walla Walla Wine month with a great wine from L’Ecole No. 41.

Sources Resources and further reading

More on L’Ecole No. 41 from Crushed Grape Chronicles

For more on L’Ecole No. 41 you can visit their website https://www.lecole.com/

Or read some of the other pieces we have written on the winery and their wines.

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

Robin Bell Renken I have always loved people’s stories. I spent a career in Theatre helping to tell stories, as a Stage Manager. Daily enabling artists to freely and safely tell stories through their art. Then I fell in love with wine. There are so many details, so many nuances, not just in the glass, but in the vineyard, the region and the people. As I met winemakers and vineyard owners and even the people in the tasting room excited to pour me a glass and tell me the story of this wine, I knew these were stories I wanted to share. I completed my study and became a Certified Specialist of Wine and continue learning daily as I meet and interview people in this industry.

Robin Renken is a wine writer and Certified Specialist of Wine. She and her husband Michael travel to wine regions interviewing vineyard owners and winemakers and learning the stories behind the glass.

When not traveling they indulge in cooking and pairing wines with food at home in Las Vegas.

The Valley Grove Vineyard and the future of Armstrong Family Winery

Mar 25, 2020

The Valley Grove Vineyard

It was a lovely afternoon in the Walla Walla Valley and Tim & Jennifer walked us around the property. (You can hear the crunch, crunch of the gravel under our feet in the video). Their Valley Grove Vineyard is located just north of Walla Walla Washington.

From the Blue Mountains to the Ocean

We walked down to where they hope to build their winery. Tim pointed out the tree line, which is the property line. It is also where the creek flows. This creek flows into the Walla Walla River, then into the Snake River and eventually into the Columbia River. Then the Columbia carries this water through Portland Oregon and finally out to the Pacific Ocean. The creek is fed by the Blue Mountains, which we can see in the distance. Over the course of a year the creek rises and falls pretty dramatically. Rain or snow melt will see it rise 5 to 6 feet beyond where we see it now.

The vision for the future

Where the winery will be…

The winery will be built in this area facing the Blue Mountains to the west. They will landscape and add some more vineyard. The idea is to include a porch where people can take in this view. There will be grass. It will be a place where people can wander and take in the splendor. (Oh dear…yes, I have been binging West World)

The park

We walk on to the pond, the area they like to call The Park. It is a man made irrigation pond. Already it is beautiful, with lavender around the edges and some fish. They will landscape here and picture dinners and maybe a band. (They have Wednesday night Jazz at their Walla Walla tasting room, an event we will get to later on this day).

History on display

The bare cliff wall below the Audrey block at Amstrong Family Winery's Valley Grove Vineyard — The bare cliff wall below the Audrey block at Amstrong Family Winery’s Valley Grove Vineyard

We walk on beyond a bridge that straddles the creek and turn to see this amazing exposure of soil, a cliff or ledge of sorts, beneath the Audrey block of Cabernet. Here you can see the layers of wind blown loess that the roots are growing through, and eventually the layers of ancient riverbed.

Nature won't be kept down. A couple of reborn volunteers in one of the pulled up blocks at Amstrong Family Winery's Valley Grove Vineyard — Nature won’t be kept down. A couple of reborn volunteers in one of the pulled up blocks

We walk to another old vineyard patch. There are a few straggly vines popping up. This used to be a vineyard but with winter damage they determined to pull it up. Still, vines struggles to continue, trying to come back. Eventually they will plant vines here again. They are pondering on Cab Franc, or Riesling or perhaps Gamay. While there is not much of any Gamay planted in Walla Walla, Tim things it might do well. It’s cold hardy and you can harvest it early to make a lighter red or rosé.

The historic barn

The Historic Barn at the Armstrong Family Winery’s Valley Grove Vineyard
Built in 1895, the barn is on the Historic Barn Register

As we walk to the barn, Tim tells us why he feels the so important.

The thing about it is that it kind of connects this site to the history of this land. This is agriculture and it has been agriculture. It’s just really neat to have that history here and be able to tell the story about how, it wasn’t grapes, but people have been farming here for a really long time. We like the historical character that that barn brings to the property and how it ties us to the history.
Tim Armstrong, July 2019

The barn dates to 1895 and they do have it registered with the Heritage Barn Register. Considering the shape it is in, it is probably beyond repair, as far as actually turning it into a usable building from health department standards. Barns were not built for those kind of things. Still the historic character of this building and it’s iconic presence on the property…they will keep it for it’s historic character.

The vines are older than they look

We walk on to the Emily block of Cabernet which you drive past to arrive at the house and cottage. The vines here are almost 20 years old, but by looking at them you would not immediately know this. When they bought the vineyard, there was some extreme winter damage and the vines needed to be retrained. They have spent the last few years doing just that.

The vines were cut back to the roots, the new shoots grew to become the trunk and now after 3 years they were going to get their first harvest in 2019. This is different than planting new vines, the grapes have the advantage of a root system that has already had time to dig deep.

When you look closely you can see that the base of the plant is pretty big. Where it enters the ground the base is about 1 foot in diameter. Tim pointed out the suckers at the bottom of the vines.

This is the grapevine basically saying “I’ve got tons of energy in my root system, more energy than the canopy is currently supporting based on the trunk size.” So it is just pushing up suckers. We’ve been through here to clean this up once this year, an we’ll go through to clean it up again, here in the next couple of weeks.
Tim Armstrong, July 2019

Clones and canopy management

This is all clone 4 cabernet. Clone 4 is the Mendoza clone which was imported from Argentina. This clone is noted for it’s typicality, the herbal character that Cabernet Sauvignon is known for.

Vines running North to South in the Valley Grove Vineyard in the Walla Walla AVA

Vineyards here run north south, so canopy management is pretty straight forward. The morning side of the vines will have the leaves thinned to allow the grapes to soak up the sun. On the afternoon side, where the sun will be much hotter, they allow the vines more sprawl, leaves covering and protecting the bunches of grapes from sunburn.

Other sources

While this year they will make their first estate wine from the Valley Grove vineyard, they have been making wine since 2010. In that time they have connected with several vineyards where they continue to source fruit. They are making wines that are both Walla Walla AVA as well as Columbia Valley AVA.

Tim tells us about Discovery Vineyard in the Horse Heaven Hills.

they have this amazing vineyard site that sits up above the Columbia River, literally on the bluff above the river, looking into Oregon. It’s just this gorgeous site with the wind coming up the river all day long.
Tim Armstrong on the Discovery Vineyard in Horse Heaven Hills, July 2029

In addition, they pull fruit from Walla Walla’s Seven Hills Vineyard. Seven Hills is one of the 1st commercial vineyards in Walla Walla. From the Yakima Valley they source from Dineen, outside of Zillah and Sugarloaf. The Bogie’s blend we tasted with them on the patio is a Syrah/Cab Franc blend that comes from Elephant Mountain. (add the link to elephant Mountain)

Visiting them

While they work toward building their winery on site, they work out of a Walla Walla custom crush facility. But don’t worry, there are lots of ways to experience their wine. They have tasting rooms in both Woodinville (outside Seattle) and in Walla Walla. The Walla Walla tasting room is charming with a great staff and Jazz on Wednesday nights.

If you want to see the barn and the beautiful Valley Grove Vineyard, you can book a stay at the Armstrong Vineyard Cottage. This beautiful vacation rental on the property has two bedrooms and a wrap around porch, a full kitchen and a fireplace. You are likely to meet Bogie, their beagle or the resident cats, while you take in the breathtaking views.

Winery tasting room Located at 14 W. Main Street in Walla Walla

Armstrong Family Winery

The Walla Walla Tasting Room is located at

14 W Main St
Walla Walla, WA
509-524-8494

If you are interested in staying at the guest house check out this link https://www.armstrongwinery.com/visit/guesthouse/

You can see more on the history of Armstrong Family Wines here

The Woodinville Tasting Room

19151 144th Ave. NE, Ste. I
Woodinville, WA 98072

Armstrong Family Winery – The Journey to Washington

Mar 18, 2020

We were driving through rolling hills of fields of wheat for as far as the eye could see. This is the Armstrong Family Winery’s Valley Grove Vineyard. It is their home and an oasis in the wheat fields.. You’ve seen it. It’s popular for car commercials these days, and for good reason. It’s spectacular, and eerie. The vastness makes you feel at once both immense in this wide open vista and extremely small.

Armstrong Family Winery Barn at the Valley Grove Vineyard built in 1895 with clouds above — The Historic Barn at the Armstrong Family Winery’s Valley Grove Vineyard

So this is wine country? You wouldn’t guess that from the scenery. We were driving North out of the city of Walla Walla Washington, past the penitentiary and into the open fields of wheat. Finally, we turned and came upon a green patch. Turning in, we crossed the creek to a spot of green with trees, vineyard, a house and cottage and a spectacular historic barn.

We sat with Tim & Jennifer Armstrong on their back patio overlooking the Audrey block of cabernet sauvignon.

Armstrong Family Winery

It started in Chicago

Neither of them were really into wine to start with. It wasn’t part of their lives, even as young adults (I can relate to this personally). When they got married, Tim had a little interest in wine. He had been to New York and someone poured him a glass of Opus One (lucky guy).

Well, this hooked him on Bordeaux wines and soon enough he was spending a good bit on wine and investing in Bordeaux futures! His pragmatic wife Jenifer asked “Hey, do you know what you are doing?” He found an online class from the UC Davis extension that they both took.

They literally would mail DVD’s
Jennifer Armstrong, July 2019

Yep, they are a little dated by this. They sat in their Chicago bungalow learning about wine and Tim realized that this was his calling. He had grown up in Wisconsin surrounded by farms, and while the family didn’t farm he had a propensity for mechanical things. That and his love for wine…he’d found his bliss. Jen was skeptical, but supportive.

A bottle of Merlot

How did they decide on Washington? Here’s the story. It all kind of started with a bottle of Merlot.

So when we were in Chicago, we were buying mostly Bordeaux, getting progressively geekier about those wines and paying a lot of attention to the wine that we were drinking. One day Tim came home with a bottle of Walla Walla Merlot. It was a Walla Walla Vintners bottle.
Jennifer Armstrong, July 2019

They had been thinking about wine making and researched different regions. Virginia & North Carolina, came up since they were near to Jen’s family. They thought about New York with the Finger Lakes region. With Tim in the technology industry, the Bay area was an idea, but that bottle of Walla Walla Merlot….

We tasted it and were kind of blown away. It tasted like the Bordeaux that we had fallen in love with.
Jennifer Armstrong, July 2019

What blew them away? Tim says this bottle was new world fruit with the structure and earthiness they loved about Bordeaux.

It really was striking this balance between old world wines and the California west coast wines that we had gotten to know.
Tim Armstrong, Armstrong Family Winery, July 2019

Armstrong Family Wines start in Woodinville

So now Washington was a viable option for them. They spent a couple years doing research and paying attention to the region. When an opportunity to move to Washington for Tim’s job came up, they made the move. This was the opportunity to be a part of a world class wine region. Something you can’t do in Napa or Sonoma without coming in with a large fortune. In Washington it is still possible to own a small vineyard and make wine, without being a millionaire.

Tim flew to Seattle and a friend told him he needed to check out Woodinville. He was blown away. Here people kept their day jobs and moonlighted as winemakers! It occurred to them that they could pursue this and get started right here.

They moved out in 2010 buying grapes even before the furniture was delivered. They met people at a wine shop and then a brewer/winemaking supplies company who referred them to people in the warehouse district where they bought a couple hundred pounds of grapes.

Immersive education and a fast track to winemaking

Tim arrived on Jennifer’s birthday in October around 7:30 am to pick up the grapes. Well, the grapes were not there. While he waited (until 4 pm) for the grapes he had them put him to work. He had his first experience in a commercial winery that day. Waiting for those grapes, he helped out, cleaning things and shoveling grape must.

The next summer he called John Patterson of Patterson Cellars in Woodinville. Tim told John he wanted to make some wine and work with him. John tried to talk him out of it. He was unsuccessful. In 2011 Tim & Jen contracted 6 tons of grape and made their first vintage. So the 2010 home batch they started…by the time it was ready to bottle, they were bottling it in a commercial winery. Fast tracking for sure.

Tim dove into classes with the WSU extension as well as South Seattle Community College. As the business evolved they signed a lease at the end of 2012 and opened their own space in 2013. 2013 they did their own crush, in their own facility in Woodinville. By 2016 they had 52 tons of grapes in that tiny spot. They had upgraded equipment, but it was just Tim, Jennifer and Jennifer’s Dad doing it all.

They played the winery tetras game, which was more difficult in this area. The Warehouse district tasting rooms were open all day, so you couldn’t utilize outdoor space in the parking lot until late at night. They pulled 10 all nighters that harvest. They determined it was time to make a change.

The Walla Walla spell

They fell for Walla Walla. It’s easy to do. A drive through town will have you enchanted and you won’t ever want to leave. So they didn’t. They found a small vineyard north of town that was for sale and their fate was sealed. With a vineyard, a house, a historic barn, a creek, a guest cottage…it was perfect.

Not that it was easy. The spot was originally out of their budget. They kept their eye on it and eventually the price came down. Sadly it went under contract just before they got to it. Their disappointment only lasted a day, when a friend in the industry told them the contract fell through. They drove up from Seattle immediately and the rest is history.

The Valley Grove Vineyard is 22 acres with 2 blocks of cabernet sauvignon. They had to do some retraining of the 17 year old vines and pulled their first harvest in 2019. They now have 2 tasting rooms, one in Woodinville and one in Walla Walla, and they have plans for the winery they want to build here on site.

Our conversation didn’t end there. Join us as we talk about the history of the vineyard, and their plans for this beautiful spot just outside of Walla Walla.

For More information

Want more information? You can visit their website or read the other pieces we’ve written about them.

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

Robin Renken CSW (photo credit RuBen Permel)

When not traveling they indulge in cooking and pairing wines with food at home in Las Vegas.

12 Days of Wine Day 6 – Armstrong Family Winery

Dec 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!

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

The Scenic Route Part 6 – Visiting Rioja in Washington and dinner at a gas station in Walla Walla

Sep 11, 2019

It was a quiet morning as we drove south of Walla Walla toward the Oregon border. Pulling off Peppers Bridge Road into an area with several large wineries, we headed to the one that stood out architecturally. This was Valdemar. Bodgas Valdemar is known in the Rioja region of Spain, and has ventured to Washington to explore making wines of place here.

Valdemar Estates in Walla Walla

Modern with clean lines the building evokes the feel of the modern architecture seen in Spain. There were few cars here at this point and we headed to what we thought was the front entrance, an immense door that stood a full story tall. Natasha let us in and we met Kaleigh Vrapi, the Valdemar Estates Hospitality Director. We were led upstairs around the stunning space as things started to open up for the day. After a stop in the tasting room, we headed out to the patio next to the fountain with a beautiful view of the Blue Mountains for our interview with Kaleigh.

Entrance to Valdemar Estates Winery and Tasting Room

Valdemar Estates Winery and Tasting Room in Walla Walla Washington

Basket Press at Valdemar Estates

Valdemar Estates in Washington’s Walla Walla AVA

The Barrel Room at Valdemar

The sparkling winery

After our interview, which we will share with you later, Kaleigh led us through the rest of the space in this beautiful facility. Down the open stairway that spans the full height of the space, past the antique basket press, into the barrel rooms and finally into the winery, to meet Assistant Winemaker Devyani Gupta. Devyani was awaiting the crane to install new fermentation tanks that morning. As the truck had not yet arrived, she took a few moments to show us around the sparkling facility.

The Working Winery at Valdemar Estates

Flights of Rioja & Washington

Kaleigh then led us back up to the tasting room and took us through a tasting. Tastings here are done as flights and we began with a couple of flights from Bodegas Valdemar beginning with their rosé of Garnacha & Viura, followed by their barrel fermented Viura and then into the reds, which as you would expect…are Tempranillo based.

The Tasting flights at Valdemar in Walla Walla Washington — The Valdemar Estates Tasting Room

Now it was time to move on to the Vlademar Estate Wines, which are labeled as “Component Trial” . This exploration into the wines of this region features labels are perfect for the geeky wine nerd, listing vineyards by percentage, as well as the harvest notes etc.

Valdemar Estates Component Trial 2017 Syrah Walla Walla Valley

All of their Washington wines are Syrah. The first of these is their Blue Mountain Syrah from the Walla Walla Valley, then they have 2 from Red Mountain. The Red Mountain Syrah is a blend of syrah from Kipsun and La Coye vineyards and then they have a vineyard specific Klipsun Syrah.

This is the perfect place to come and explore wine and food pairings. Find a comfortable spot with a view, chose a flight or two, then ask your server for suggested pairings from their Tapas and Pinchos menu. They are all about hospitality here.

A stroll in Walla Walla

We headed back to Walla Walla and after a stroll, stopped in to the Cadaretta tasting room. In October with WBC18 we had been treated to an extraordinary dinner at Cadaretta’s glass house. We needed to get back and explore some more of their wines.

Cadaretta Tasting Room

In the tasting room, Greta was a friendly face! We had met her at the Glass House. She took us through a tasting and we left happily with a bottle or two.

My Dinner at Andrae’s

(Can anyone give me a shout out for that movie reference?)

Now we were ready for dinner and dinner had a plan! At our dinner at Doubleback back in October, Chef Andrae of Andrae’s Kitchen had put together a spectacular meal. Thaddeus Bugs of the Minority Wine Report had gushed about his food when we arrived and asked if we had been to the gas station? What? Well, now were were back to do just that.

Andrae's Kitchen at the Cenex gas station on Rose Street in Walla Walla Washington — Andrae’s Kitchen at the Cenex gas station on Rose Street in Walla Walla Washington

Chef Andrae Bopp has a resume filled with work in restaurants like Balthazar and Le Bernardin. His current restaurant and catering business run out of the Cenex Gas Station on Rose Street in Walla Walla. His food is impeccable, but he keeps it real. Unsure of what to expect, we pulled into the Cenex, but the sign over the door let us know we were in the right place.

I stood back to peruse the chalkboard menu for a bit. It was a tough decision, but we settled on AK’s Corn Salad, Poutine and a combo of tacos. The kitchen runs like a well oiled machine. The staff are polite, attentive and obviously in love with the food they are making. We kicked back at table up front to wait while they did their magic. Chef Andrae came in while we were there to check in. We grabbed our to go order and headed back to the hotel to indulge in some deliciousness to end our day and our stay in Walla Walla.

Rest for another day…

Tomorrow we would spend a good deal of the day driving. First it would be back to Sunnyside in the Yakima Valley to meet Kerry Shiels and visit her Du Brul vineyard and a stop to see Co Dinn at his Sunnyside tasting room. Then we would drive back to the gorge through Hood River and up to Hiyu with their stunning view of Mt. Hood. We would finish our day with views of Mt. Hood as we headed back to Salem Oregon for the night. Join us for more!

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

The Scenic Route Flash Tour 2019 Part 5 – One day 3 Washington AVAs

Sep 4, 2019

Roskamp Vineyard in the Snipes Mountain AVA

Vines on the top of Snipes Mountain at Roskamp Vineyard in Washington's Yakima Valley — Vines on the top of Snipes Mountain at Roskamp Vineyard in Washington’s Yakima Valley

After a good nights sleep, we were up early, but not too early, (not pre-dawn like the day before!) to meet Co Dinn up at Roskamp Vineyard on Snipes Mountain.

Map Yakima Valley 2019 courtesy of WineYakimaValley.org

As you are driving through the Yakima Valley, Snipes Mountain is hard to miss. It bubbles up in the middle of the Valley on the south side of the highway. Snipes Mountain, named for Ben Snipes who had a cattle ranch here in the 1850’s, is it’s own AVA.

Meeting Co Dinn on Snipes Mountain

The View from Roskamp Vineyard on Snipes Mountain Yakima Valley Washington — Roskamp Vineyard View on Snipes Mountain Yakima Valley Washington

We were scheduled to meet Co Dinn of Co Dinn Cellars here early in the day. There was plenty of time, as we headed out early and followed the GPS. But the %/&*#$* &% GPS led us astray, trying to take us in the back way, where there are locked gates and dirt roads. We called Co and got back on track and eventually met him off the mountain, which gave him an opportunity to stop and show us some of the soil strata on our way up.

Syrah with a view. Co Dinn's block at Roskamp Vineyard on Snipes Mountain in Washington's Yakima Valley — Syrah with a view!

At the top of the mountain we visited a beautiful block of Co’s Syrah, while he filled us in on the soil and we took in the expansive views. He got pretty detailed on the soils and geology, so we will save that for our in depth interview with him later.

Chardonnay vines on Roskamp vineyard Snipes Mountain AVA Yakima Valley Washington — Chardonnay vines on Roskamp vineyard

We also visited his Chardonnay block that looks north toward Sunnyside and across to DuBrul Vineyard. We look forward to doing a comparitive tasting of these two Chardonnays later this year.

After a great morning we looked at the clock and realized it was time to get moving. Luckily would be back this way so we scheduled to join him at his tasting room in a couple days. Now it was back on the road, we had to continue our journey east to Red Mountain.

Hedges Family Estate in the Red Mountain AVA

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

We drove east and passed Red Mountain to the North of the highway. The entrance to the area is on the east side of the mountain. As we were running just a bit early, we headed toward Richland to find some coffee. We found a great quaint coffee shop, with a friendly staff, good coffee and bags of cherries for sale on the counter. After a cup of joe we were back on the road to Red Mountain and to Hedges Family Estate.

The Red Mountain AVA has been getting quite a bit of press lately. The AVA is not actually the whole mountain, but the South facing slope. This is (currently) the smallest AVA in the state at 4040 acres. The Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah here are bold and powerful and are thought to be some of the finest examples of these varieties in the state.

Sarah Hedges Goedhart – Hedges Family Estate Winemaker

When we were deciding on a winery to visit in this region, we were drawn to the fact that Hedges Family Estate is biodynamic on their vineyard. (You know biodynamics is my jam!). We reached out and Sarah Hedges Goedhart, the winemaker for Hedges Family Estate was able to meet with us.

Hedges Family Estate in the Red Mountain AVA of Washington's Yakima Valley — Hedges Family Estate in the Red Mountain AVA of Washington’s Yakima Valley

The property is stunning. You drive up the the beautifully landscaped French Chateau and enter another world. Sarah’s mother is French and had a great influence on the design. I could have happily spent the day reclining in the garden.

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

Chateau is on Red Mountain in Washington. Hedges Family Estate.

Sarah was in a meeting when we arrived, but soon joined us on the patio under the trees, next to the fountain, overlooking the vineyard. It was a pretty enchanting spot. She shared with us her story and her family’s. We dove into their going biodynamic, moving to native ferment, the old world philosophies in the vineyard and winery as well as about slowing down. Sarah has been known to play meditation and yoga music in the winery to assist fermentation. The staff looked at her skeptically at first, but they couldn’t deny the results.

Into the Tasting Room

Hedges Family Estate Red Mountain Washington

2017 Biodynamic Syrah Barrel Sample at Hedges Family Estate Red Mountain Yakima Valley Washington

After our interview we moved into the tasting room for a tasting with Sophia. This winery has multiple labels and the selection we tasted through was vast and included some barrel samples that Sarah brought in for us. We look forward to sharing all those details with you later.

We headed out to grab some vineyard shots and then jumped back in the car to make our way east to Walla Walla.

Walla Walla “The city so nice they named it twice”

We spent time in Walla Walla last year for WBC18, so we knew a little of the lay of the land coming in. We stopped for a really delicious lunch at the Walla Walla Bread Company. I will throw out a high recommendation here, for if you ever find yourself in this town.

Walla Walla AVA

While we spent time in Walla Walla on our last trip, we really have yet to “dig into” this AVA. The area has the highest concentration of wineries in the state. Rainfall in the valley varies, but some vineyards on the east side have the ability to dry farm, which is rare in Washington. The eastern side also gets into the foothills of the beautiful Blue Mountains.

The region is known for reds with Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon dominating the plantings.

Valley Grove Vineyard in the Walla Walla AVA

Rolling fields of wheat surround Armstrong's the Valley Grove Vineyard in Walla Walla Washington

We had time to check into the hotel, before heading north of the city to visit Tim & Jennifer Armstrong of Armstrong Family Winery at their Valley Grove Vineyard. The drive took us through vast wheat fields, rolling as far as the eye could see. The hills rolled and sometimes you were engulfed in nothing but wheat. Eventually we came to a green patch near a creek and turned into the vineyard. The old red barn is an iconic landmark.

Tim and Jennifer met with us at a picnic table on the back patio overlooking the vineyard. We talked about their journey into wine, their Seattle winery and then walked the vineyards talking about their plans for this place.

Off to the Walla Walla Tasting Room

Armstrong tasting room door in Walla Walla Washington

All too soon it was time for us to leave. They were packing up to fly out on a well needed vacation to the East Coast in the morning. We determined we had not had enough and headed downtown to their tasting room. It was jazz night, so they were open late with live music. Carl runs the tasting room and it also happened to be his birthday. We arrived early and grabbed a table in the back and watched as every table filled up. Carl did an amazing job of keeping up with the busy room.

Time to rest for the next great day

We were a little tired, so we looked for a pizza spot nearby and grabbed a pizza to go. I’ll send a shout out to Sweet Basil Pizzaria for great service and a great pie!

Off to bed to rest up. Our morning stop would be the beautiful Valdemar, followed by some time in Walla Walla and dinner at the Gas station.

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

#WBC18 Crushed Grape Chronicles Travel Log Day 2

Oct 3, 2018

Day 2:

Today I will get up for sunrise over Lake Tahoe. Ok maybe not, was ahead of the rain yesterday not. Today.

Leaving Lake Tahoe

Leaving Lake Tahoe.

Had a spot of sun near Rogue river.

Rogue River

Made it to Salem OR, at around 730pm. Quick nap and wait, text from Alaska Air your flight has been cancelled and re-routed.

Called the agent, the original flight was from portland to seattle, then seattle to tri cities. The tri cities was cancelled. so they rerouted me direct from Portland to Tricities at 10:15 to 11:00 am. My original flight was at 6am. Yeah for me.

Robin had to be Redirected to Portland,(she was flying to Seattle to connect to same flight.)

So I’m at the Portland Airport Now.

They were amazing with the fix.

Will see if Robin makes it?

#wbc18 here we are.

Stay Tuned to see If Robin makes it Here?

Washington Wines and beyond with #WBC18

Sep 26, 2018

feature photo: Drew Bledsoe’s Doubleback winery summer solstice party at McQueen Vineyard overlooking Walla Walla, Washington Courtesy of Washingtonwine.org

#wbc18

Michael and I will be heading north again in October. This time visiting Washington for WBC18. The Wine Bloggers Conference is a great opportunity for us to meet winemakers, taste wines and hear plenty of stories (which is what we like best). We will also have an opportunity for some IRL (In real life) meetings with many of the wine writers that we otherwise only speak to over social media. The opportunity to clink glasses with people from across the globe who are fascinated with wine like we are makes for a great trip.

Oregon-Wine-Walla-Walla-Valley
Courtesy of Oregon Wine Board

The Wineries and Stories of Washington

The conference itself will be held in Walla Walla Washington, but we will be taking both pre and post conference excursions. This will give us insights into the Yakima and Columbia Gorge wine regions.

Washington AVA Photo Courtesy of washingtonwine.org

Washington AVAs
Photo Courtesy of washingtonwine.org

The highlight of the trip will be getting to know the Washington wines. You will get to hear about our trip to Owen Roe Winery and Elephant Mtn. Vineyard in the Yakima area, our dinner in the glass house at Cadaretta Winery, and our post conference trip to Maryhill and Cathedral Ridge wineries in the Columbia Gorge.

Maryhill Vineyard Photo Courtesy of washingtonwine.org

More than Washington Wines

And it won’t just be Washington wines. In between those trips Michael and I have some seminars on wines of Uruguay, and German Riesling and presentations on Walla Walla Wines and Cascade Valley Wines. There are discovery sessions with Rias Baixas and Consorzio Lugana. We will also do live blogging sessions with speed tastings of red wines and white and rosés.

Along with all of the wine education there will also be seminars on social media strategies and other writing/blogging stuff.

Sponsors from around the globe will be at the conference, tasting and educating, including organizations from Rioja, and Uruguay, as well as import companies like Loosen Bros and Apps like Delectable.

There will also be wineries from around the globe including Gloria Ferrer with their sparkling wines, Mt. Beautiful from New Zealand. Beyond wine, Cheeses of Europe will be there to pair amazing cheeses with the wines.

Gloria Ferrer Vineyards

So…while we are still chest deep in content from our wonderful trip to Oregon, (which we will continue pushing out fabulous posts from our interviews with wineries there), you will see tons of new bits on Washington and the conference.

CGC and the Environment

Around the conference we will be capturing our trip, as we do an unplanned, where ever the wind blows us return trip by car in our beautiful EV plug-in hybrid Nuit. That’s her name “Nuit” because she is midnight blue. She’s a KIA Niro Plug-in hybrid and if you want to get me talking, ask me about her. My carbon footprint has shrunk dramatically as has the money I spend on gas.

If you ask me if you should invest in one, I will overwhelmingly tell you yes! The trip will (hopefully) be filled with great shots of amazing countryside, bragging on our great gas mileage and our adventures in finding charging stations, possible Yurt stays and any wineries along what-ever route we choose.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

And, while we are on the environmental bandwagon here, we will also be listening for stories to share with you on how climate change is impacting wineries. We see in both Oregon and Washington, changes in where vineyards are being planted and varieties that go into those vineyards.

We are pretty excited about the trip. My favorite part is micro planning part of it, with the details for the conference and trips layed out on spread sheets and tons of research completed and mapped out to share with you.

Having the other part be pretty free spirited, with just discovering as we go lends a real air of adventure to the trip!

So get ready to see an explosion of content on our social media sites at the beginning of October! Make sure you are following us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as we head off on our latest adventure. We will be chronicling it as always and will have plenty of stories to share!

Walla Walla Washington

Walla Walla Wine Month

Earth Month and sustainability at L’Ecole No. 41

Salmon-Safe

Compost tea

Sap flow sensors

Falcons

On to the wine…

2018 L’Ecole No. 41 Syrah Estate Seven Hills Vineyard

Syrah in Washington State

So wait? What does this Syrah taste like?

Earth Month Pairing for the 2018 Seven Hills Syrah

Sources Resources and further reading

More on L’Ecole No. 41 from Crushed Grape Chronicles

Share this:

Like this:

The Valley Grove Vineyard

From the Blue Mountains to the Ocean

The vision for the future

Where the winery will be…

The park

History on display

The historic barn

The vines are older than they look

Clones and canopy management

Other sources

Visiting them

Share this:

Like this:

Armstrong Family Winery

It started in Chicago

A bottle of Merlot

Armstrong Family Wines start in Woodinville

Immersive education and a fast track to winemaking

The Walla Walla spell

For More information

Share this:

Like this:

Armstrong Family Winery 2016 Bogie’s Blend

Where does the name come from?

Elephant Mountain Vineyard fruit

The Tasting

The Pairing

Half way there!

Share this:

Like this:

Valdemar Estates in Walla Walla

The sparkling winery

Flights of Rioja & Washington

A stroll in Walla Walla

Cadaretta Tasting Room

My Dinner at Andrae’s

Rest for another day…

Share this:

Like this:

Roskamp Vineyard in the Snipes Mountain AVA

Meeting Co Dinn on Snipes Mountain

Hedges Family Estate in the Red Mountain AVA

Sarah Hedges Goedhart – Hedges Family Estate Winemaker

Into the Tasting Room

Walla Walla “The city so nice they named it twice”

Walla Walla AVA

Valley Grove Vineyard in the Walla Walla AVA

Off to the Walla Walla Tasting Room

Time to rest for the next great day

Share this:

Like this:

Day 2:

Share this:

Like this:

#wbc18

The Wineries and Stories of Washington

More than Washington Wines

CGC and the Environment

Share this:

Like this:

Join our Crushed Grape Chronicles Family

Join our Email List

Archives

Categories