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

September 11, 2019

Valdemar Estates in Washington's Walla Walla AVA

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

Valdemar Estates Winery and Tasting Room in Walla Walla Washington
Entrance to Valdemar Estates Winery and Tasting Room

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.

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

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!

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

September 4, 2019

Grapes at Hedges Family Estate in Washington's Red Mountain AVA

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.

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

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

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

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.

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#WBC18 Crushed Grape Chronicles Travel Log Day 2

October 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

September 26, 2018

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

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

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.

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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!

Crushed Grape Chronicles

Adventures in Wine Exploration

Walla Walla Washington

12 Days of Wine Day 6 – Armstrong Family Winery