Steak and chocolate – The best way to enjoy a L’Ecole No. 41 Cabernet Sauvignon

Jan 27, 2021

As we embark on the new year, we embark on a new relationship with L’Ecole No. 41 in Walla Walla. They have invited a selection of writers to join them to explore their wines in 2021. We don’t take this relationship lightly. We value the trust of our readers, and we will only recommend wines that we honestly trust and like. L’Ecole No. 41 stands to that challenge, so we look forward to sharing their wines with you over the next year.

You may have seen our social media posts on their Columbia Valley Semillon. It’s likely, that if you are not “into” wine, you might not be familiar with this variety.

If you are it is probably due to its use in the sweet wines of Bordeaux like Sauternes, or maybe you have heard of the fabulous expression of this wine coming from Australia’s Hunter Valley.

While not widely grown, this is one of L’Ecole No. 41’s most popular white wines. Three cheers for them getting this variety out into the wider market!

Our post today will focus on the L’ecole No. 41 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon from the Walla Walla Valley.

L'Ecole No. 41 2019 Columbia Valley Semillon

L’Ecole No. 41 and where it fits in the Washington Wine World

I’ll be honest, when you look at Washington Wine, first you see the big names, Columbia Crest, Chateau Ste. Michelle. Columbia Crest sold 7.53 million cases of wine in 2019!

L’Ecole No. 41 is on a smaller scale selling around 50,000 cases per year. Of the smaller wineries, they are one of the bigger ones. They are family-based. Marty and Megan Clubb took over the winery from Megan’s parents Bake & Jean Ferguson back in 1989. Today their children, Riley and Rebecca continue the legacy.

Baker and Jean when they founded L’Ecole No. 41 were just the 3^rd winery in Walla Walla. It was their retirement project in 1983.

Where did the name “L’Ecole No. 41” come from?

The winery is in Frenchtown, just outside of the city of Walla Walla. The school was built in 1915 and named the Lowden school. The community was called Frenchtown, because of all the French Canadians who settled here in the early 1800s. They were of French descent, so of course, they made wine! The district here is “41”.

For more details on the winery you can see our post L’Ecole No. 41 2017 Merlot with Dinner and a Unique Dessert. We also do a really fun pairing there with a bleu cheese ice cream for dessert with the Merlot!

Now let’s dive into this wine.

The 2017 L’Ecole No. 41 Cabernet Sauvignon from Walla Walla

This wine is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon and is blended from several vineyards in the Walla Walla AVA that cover 4 different soil types.

Ferguson Vineyard, an Estate Vineyard has fractured basalt soils
Pepper Bridge Vineyard has ice-age flood silts
Seven Hills, Loess, and Summit View vineyards have wind-blown loess soils
Stone Valley and Yellow Jacket Vineyards are in “The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater which has lots of cobblestones of basalt.

The lots are hand-harvested and fermented in steel then racked to small French oak barrels 40% of which are new. This ages with 4 different rackings for 22 months.

*This wine was received as a sample, no other compensation was received. All opinions are our own.

LEcole No 41 2017 Walla Walla Cabernet Sauvignon bottle shot — LEcole No 41 2017 Walla Walla Cabernet Sauvignon

What does all that mean as far as flavor?

Here are my tasting notes:

Deep red ruby in color, this wine has a pronounced nose of Ground coffee, cinnamon, tobacco, forest floor, cocoa powder, baking spices, and bruised mint.

On the palate, it is dry with high tannins that are very fine, medium to high body, and medium acidity. I get notes of mocha, spice, and black currant. It has a medium-long finish. This is a higher alcohol wine, and you know it, but it is not out of balance. I think of it not as large, but rather as tall and elegant.

This wine is 14.5% abv and retails for $39.00. They made 1,800 cases.

So what to pair with this Cabernet Sauvignon from L’Ecole No. 41? Well Steak of course!

Well, it’s a Cabernet Sauvignon, so I reached for steak. Michael is a lean meat guy so we did Filet Mignon with an arugula salsa verde which included some spices, like cumin and sumac. Alongside we did a fresh green bean salad with grape tomatoes, feta, and lemon.

The wine was great with the food, brightening both dishes and making the feta seem even more aromatic. The steak was a great pairing, of course, and the addition of the salsa verde tied in nicely with the spice notes and acid.

Chocolate and Cabernet Sauvignon

But we didn’t stop there. While I know a few people who are not fans, I am a BIG fan of Cabernet Sauvignon and chocolate. With the L’Ecole No. 41 Cabernet Sauvignon, we decided to try some homemade wine truffles.

The recipe is simple, just dark chocolate, half and half, and wine. I mixed this up then split my mixture in half. To half, I added a bit of espresso powder and to the other half, chopped dried cranberries. The idea was to pull out these notes in the wine. After they set up, I rolled the espresso wine truffles in cocoa powder and the cranberry wine truffles in ground pistachios.

Both went beautifully with the wine in my opinion. Espresso is wonderful in accentuating dark chocolate and this did pair really well with the wine bringing out those dark brooding notes.

The cranberry truffles were brighter and pulled out the fruit notes in the wine. These also for some reason firmed up a little better so they were easier to eat. Either way, you can’t go wrong, and having to eat a truffle with a fork, is not a deterrent for me!

Check out the recipe below!

Want to know more about L’Ecole No. 41?

L’Ecole is located just outside of Walla Walla Washington. You can visit their website to learn more about the winery and its history.

14 Truffles

L’Ecole No. 41 Cabernet Sauvignon Wine Truffles

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Additional Time: 2 hours

Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes

These delicious wine truffles are completely decadent. We created two, one with chopped dried cranberry inside, dusted with ground pistachio, and one with a touch of espresso powder inside, then dusted with cocoa.

The wine we used was the L'Ecole No. 41 2017 Walla Walla Cabernet Sauvignon, which is also the perfect wine to pair with these truffles.

Thank you to L'Ecole No. 41 for the delicious sample that inspired these truffles.

Ingredients

4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/4 cup of whole milk
1/4 cup of heavy creme
2 tablespoons Cabernet Sauvignon wine
1 teaspoon espresso powder
¼ cup chopped dried cranberries
2 tablespoons Cocoa powder
2 tablespoons ground pistachios

Instructions

In a small saucepan over low heat, melt chocolate (slowly) until smooth
Remove from the heat and stir in half and half, and the Cabernet
Divide this mixture into 2 small bowls
To one dish add the chopped cranberries
To the other add the espresso powder
Put in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, or until firm enough to hold a ball shape
Put the coating ingredients in shallow bowls
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat
Scoop out a teaspoonful of the espresso mixture and gently roll into a ball and then roll in the cocoa powder to coat
Place on the cookie sheet and repeat with the remaining espresso truffle mixture
With the cranberry mixture, roll this in the ground pistachios
Refrigerate until ready to serve

Notes

I did notice that the espresso truffles came out a little soft, compared to the cranberry truffles. Perhaps including some chopped hazelnuts in these would have worked. None the less, I am happy to eat them with a spoon if necessary!

Nutrition Information

Yield

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 113Total Fat 7gSaturated Fat 4gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 1mgSodium 10mgCarbohydrates 11gFiber 2gSugar 7gProtein 2g

Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.

Sources and Resources

For more great wine and food pairings visit our recipe page.

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.

Syncline Subduction Red – Day 3 of the 12 Days of Wine 2020

Dec 15, 2020

It was a cool summer morning when we visited Syncline. Located on the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge just where the lush green western part of the gorge begins to turn into the flatter browner drier landscape. Here though, the trees still grow lush and we entered the quiet property and set up in the gardens where James Mantone the vigneron and winemaker met us.

James is thoughtful and quiet, a man who uses words sparingly. He is happy to share information on his property and wines but is in no way boisterous. When he speaks, you know that he has thought through what he is saying.

He took us to the vineyard up on the ridge to see the view the Syrah has. You can see the river in the gorge from there. It’s beautiful and perhaps a little humbling, as you can see far into the distance and the scale really puts your smallness into perspective.

The patio at Syncline Winery

Syncline interview behind the scenes

Walking the Steep Ranch Vineyard with Syncline's James Mantone

James Mantone of Syncline walked us to the top of their vineyard to enjoy the views from their spectacular location on the Columbia Gorge

Views of the Gorge make this Washington Wine delicious

View of the Columbia River and the Gorge

The View from Syncline’s Steep Ranch Vineyard

Syncline 2017 Subduction Red from the Columbia Valley

Syncline 2017 Subduction Red – Columbia Valley

A blend of 49% Syrah, 26% Grenache, 12% Carignan, 7% Cinsault, 6% Mourvedre, this is their version of a Côtes du Rhône Villages wine.

Syncline sources this fruit from a variety of vineyards in multiple AVAs: Columbia Gorge, Horse Heaven Hills, Red Mountain, and Yakima Valley. With all of the vineyards that they work with, they have long term contracts and a good relationship and sense of trust with the growers.

91 barrels were produced. 13.7% abv SRP $25

My notes on this wine start with its medium color of dark red with blue notes. On the nose, there are raspberry notes in the front, with deeper black fruit and rich red notes. Sitting in the very back you find notes of dried currant and whiffs of anise. There is also an undertone of brambles and dried herbs. As it evolves I get more spice.

Medium in body, dry and elegant with medium to low tannins, in my mouth it has deep juicy red and black fruits and something like the scent of a woodfire with herbs.

While this wine is from many vineyards it is incredibly integrated.

Bacon-wrapped stuffed pork tenderloin with raspberry sauce, beet greens, and a root vegetable gratin

Syrah loves bacon, and raspberry notes with this wine meant I wanted to tie those in somehow. I found a recipe for a stuffed pork loin and thought this would be a good match. I had just bought fresh beets, so beet greens on the side were a no brainer.

The pork loin is stuffed with crème cheese and a raspberry sauce. The loin is wrapped in bacon, basted in the sauce, and roasted for a few hours.

This was really wonderful with the wine, bacon, and raspberry and Subduction Red makes for a perfect trio.

You can see the full recipe here.

I did a side of sauteed beet greens, that brings in an earthy note and added to that with our rainbow root vegetable gratin. You can find the gratin recipe as part of this post.

Bacon brie raspberry bites

We stuck with the bacon and raspberry notes for a sweet/savory dessert bite. This is really an hors d’oeuvres, but it was a perfect bite to finish the meal. These are quick and easy with phyllo cups filled with brie, bacon, and a raspberry preserve.

This was a perfect little bite with the wine.

Check out the recipe here.

Phyllo cups filled with brie, raspberry sauce, bacon, rosemary and almonds

Syncline 2017 Subduction Red with bacon, brie, raspberry phyllo bites

Syncline is open for limited outdoor seating on weekends for tasting and you can do take out bottle sales. They have a reservation section on their site.

The outdoor tasting bar at the Syncline Winery with its juniper posts

Syncline Wine’s tasting garden in the Columbia Gorge AVA

They are located across the river from the Dalles. If you can’t get there to enjoy their beautiful gardens you can order online and enjoy these delicious wines in the comfort of your own home.

Production here is under 6,000 cases annually. These wines are truly something special.

Sources and Resources

Bacon Brie Raspberry Bites

Yep, more raspberry and bacon! We munched these for dessert but they would be great for an appetizer too.

What to Pair?

Syncline 2017 Subduction Red – Columbia Valley

A blend of 49% Syrah, 26% Grenache, 12% Carignan, 7% Cinsault, 6% Mourvedre, this is their version of a Côtes du Rhône Villages wine.

Syncline sources this fruit from a variety of vineyards in multiple AVA: Columbia Gorge, Horse Heaven Hills, Red Mountain, and Yakima Valley. All of these vineyards they work with they have long term contracts and a good relationship and sense of trust with the growers.

91 barrels were produced. 13.7% abv SRP $25

Time: 1 Hour 25 Minutes

Yield: 3 people

Bacon Brie Raspberry Bites

Ingredients

1 box of phyllo cups (15 count)

4 oz wedge of brie

3 slices of bacon

½ cup fresh raspberries

½ cup granulated sugar

2 tsp water

½ tsp white vinegar

½ tsp corn starch

1 teaspoon dark brown sugar

Fresh rosemary & sliced almonds (to garnish)

Directions

Stick the brie in the freezer for 1 hr (this makes it easy to slice, so it is not a goopy sticky mess)
Make the raspberry preserve
Put 1 cup of raspberries in a small pot over medium-low and mash with a fork.
Add the water and granulated sugar, mashing until the berries are completely broken down.
Add the brown sugar, cornstarch and vinegar
Cook 2 minutes
Put in a bowl to cool.
Cook the bacon until it is crispy.
Drain the bacon on a paper towel and crumble into small pieces
With 10 minutes left on the Brie, Preheat the oven to 350
Place the phyllo cups on a baking sheet
Take the brie out of the freezer and slice off the rind
Dice the brie into squares small enough to fit in the phyllo cups
Put one cheese square in each cup, (there should be some left)
Bake for 8 minutes.
Remove and add more brie to any cups that don’t look full enough.
Top with the raspberry preserve and bacon
Bake another 10 minutes
Garnish with fresh rosemary and sliced almonds and serve

Bacon Brie Raspberry Bites

Name: L’Ecole No. 41 Cabernet Sauvignon Wine Truffles
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 2 h 15 min
Yield: 14
Cuisine: Dessert
Ingredients: 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped; 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped; 1/4 cup of whole milk; 1/4 cup of heavy creme; 2 tablespoons Cabernet Sauvignon wine; 1 teaspoon espresso powder; ¼ cup chopped dried cranberries; 2 tablespoons Cocoa powder; 2 tablespoons ground pistachios

Watch our quick video for the highlights.

Bacon brie raspberry bites

We went with the bacon and raspberry notes for a sweet/savory dessert bite. This is really an hors d’oeuvres, but it was a perfect bite to finish the meal. These are quick and easy with phyllo cups filled with brie, bacon, and a raspberry preserve.

This was a perfect little bite with the wine, the Syncline 2017 Subduction Red, a red blend from the Columbia Valley.

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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.

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

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.

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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 5 – JB Neufeld

Dec 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.

Armstrng 5504 — 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 3 – Valdemar Estates

Dec 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.

Who is Owen Roe? Well….

Owen Roe O’Neill was a seventeenth century Irish Patriot, who dedicated his life to upholding the highest principles of political equality and freedom. His commitment to great things makes him an ideal model for us at Owen Roe, for we share his dedication to principle in our work to produce the wines of Owen Roe.
Owen Roe Winery

David O’Reilly co-owner Owen Roe Winery
Jackie Evans, Owen Roe Winery, Winemaker
Owen Roe Winery, in Yakima Valley Washington
Owen Roe Winery, Grapes in Fermentation Bins
Owen Roe Winery, in Washington State
Yakima Valley Flavor Camp Wine Dinner
Dinner in Yakima Valley at Owen Roe Vineyards

We visited Owen Roe in October of 2018 when we attended the Wine Media Conference in Washington. It was harvest and Wine Yakima Valley had provided a pre-conference tour that included a dinner with a sunset view in front of the Owen Roe winery. Before dinner we had the opportunity to do a vineyard tour with then owner David O’Reilly and I even managed to tour the winery, filled with fermentation bins with David and meet winemaker _____.

You can read more about those adventures:

We visited the Yakima Valley again this summer and did a wonderful tasting with Brandon. Owen Roe sources grapes from both Oregon and Washington, so you will find Oregon Pinot, Washington Reds and white wines from Chardonnay to Gewurztraminer to Oregon Pinot Gris.

Wine news (a bit of wine politics)

There is a bit of news since our visit. Vintage Estates of Santa Rosa California, purchased Owen Roe in September 2019. These are the same peeps that purchased Qupé in Santa Barbara a while back. I’m always a bit of a skeptic when a large company purchases a winery and adds them to their “portfolio”. David O’Reilly stays on directing operations at Owen Roe. He also gets a new title as regional winemaking director for Vintage Wine Estate. So….we shall see.

So… on to the wine we are drinking today!

Owen Roe 2017 Rosa Mystica Cabernet Franc

This Cabernet Franc is from the Yakima Valley and sells at $28. is at 14.1% abv. The fact that it says Yakima Valley and does not have a vineyard designate, tells us that this fruit source from multiple locations in the Yakima Valley, blended together. It aged 16 months in French Oak.

2017 Rosa Mystica Cabernet Franc from Owen Roe Winery Yakima Valley

The first thing that catches your eye is the label. This black and white photography by David K. Brunn, is haunting…I guess a little mystical (hence the name). Here’s what the winery has to say about it:

The image on the front label was captured by photographer David K. Brunn. The ancient Drumlane Abbey in County Cavan, Ireland served as a place of refuge for almost one thousand years until it was destroyed by the forces of Oliver Cromwell. Here the great patriot Owen Roe O’Neill sought solace until he too breathed his last, also at the hands of Cromwell in 1649.
Owen Roe Winery http://www.owenroe.com

This Cabernet Franc – In the Glass

The color of this Cabernet Franc leans toward Ruby. Deep enough in the glass that while I can see light through it, it is not transparent enough to read through. The nose first hits you with cocoa powder. Another breath finds wet tobacco and brambles. Then you find cooked strawberries, stewed on the stove with maybe a bit of herbs. Finally comes the spice, baking spice and a bit of vanilla.

A sip finds the wine dry. While it smelled hot on the nose right after it was opened, indicating high alcohol, on the palate it is smoother, lighter, feeling medium on tannins, alcohol and body. The acid while not high, it high enough to pair beautifully with food. This feels old world, in it’s lightness. While bigger on the nose, than on the palate, I did get more in the way of black fruit on the palate. We paired this with grilled sausage today, which went nicely.

Other Great Cabernet Francs

Cabernet Franc is so underrated! It’s more than just a blending grape..the 3rd in the line of Bordeaux grapes. It is being grown in Virginia, where it is making some luscious juice. We had a terrific one a while ago from Veritas. You find it in California and Oregon (it’s doing great in Southern Oregon…check out the Cab Francs from Leah Jorgensen Cellars, or Quady North. And of course Washington is growing some great Cab Franc in the Yakima Valley! Where ever you find it, it’s worth picking up. I suggest pairing it with a big juicy burger like we did.

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

Wine Yakima Valley

Oct 3, 2019

We met Barbara initially when we visited the Yakima Valley while attending the Wine Media Conference held here in October of 2018. She had planned a spectacular pre-conference tour highlighting the wine, cider and beers of the area. When we wanted to return to the Valley to visit and speak with winemakers she was a great resource. She graciously assisted us with finding the perfect spots for sunrise and sunset as well as suggesting winemakers to speak with.

We met Barbara at Stems Wine shop in downtown Yakima. Stems is a GREAT place to find wines from all over the region!

Wine Yakima Valley

We were lucky enough to enjoy a bit of the summer in Washington’s Yakima Valley. Barbara Glover of Wine Yakima Valley took time out of her day to meet us to talk about the Valley. While we were there she also filled us in on their upcoming event Catch the Crush happening October 12-13th 2019.

Catch the Crush

Catch the Crush is an annual event in the Yakima Valley. Barbara took a bit of time to fill us in on the details. Each of the wineries has their own style of event that you can enjoy with a Premier Pass. And the Premier pass will only set you back $35. If you are able to get to the area and take part, this promises to be a fantastic event!

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.

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

Armstrong's Valley Grove Vineyard Barn 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.

Stems

Aug 27, 2019

While in the Yakima Valley, we wanted to catch up with Barbara Glover who heads up Wine Yakima Valley. She had put together an amazing tour for many of us in the Wine Media for the conference held in Walla Walla in Oct 2018. The tour gave us an in depth look at this region and was the reason we decided we needed to return to learn more.

We had a couple of morning interviews and Barbara was kind enough to squeeze us in last minute. Now…where to meet? Barbara made a call and set us up to meet at Stems in Yakima.

Stems is a wine & gift shop, so we had a backdrop of shelves of bottles of Yakima Valley wines for our interview with Barbara.

Brad who runs this shop was generous in letting us use the space and we had great conversations on the area. We found a couple of bottles that we were not able to find elsewhere to take along with us.

If you are in Yakima, this is a great place to pick up a bottle and gain some valuable information from Brad on the area! It’s also a pretty great spot to pick up gifts for fellow wine lovers!

Stems does tastings with Washington wines and beyond so check their facebook page for events! https://www.facebook.com/stems.yakima

You can find them at 399 E. Yakima Ave, Ste 180, Yakima, Washington (509) 452-8800.

Elephant Mountain Vineyard in Yakima Valley’s Rattlesnake Hills

May 1, 2019

We finished our breakfast and morning flyover seminar, courtesy of Wine Yakima Valley. With caffeine ingested and a little more information to give us a some perspective on the Yakima Valley, we headed to Elephant Mountain Vineyard.

Rattlesnake Hills AVA

This is a super nested AVA, inside the Yakima Valley AVA which is itself nested within the Columbia Valley AVA. (It is the darker region north of 82 to the West side of the map).

Located on the North Western side of the Yakima Valley AVA the Rattlesnake Hills AVA was established in 2006 with vineyards dating back to 1968. It’s about four miles south east of the city of Yakima, where we were staying. The AVA spans over 74,000 acres with around 1,800 under vine.

Rattlesnake Hills take in the hills running east to west, that are north of the Yakima River. Elevations for here are high, starting at 850 feet and going to over 3,000 feet, with most vineyards planted in the lower elevations.

Want to get really geeky on this area? Visit the washingtonwine.org page for Rattlesnake Hills https://www.washingtonwine.org/wine/facts-and-stats/regions-and-avas/rattlesnake-hills

Elephant Mountain Vineyard

It was October and harvest as we drove into Elephant Mountain Vineyard. We passed bins filled with fruit harvested that morning and had to stop and take grape glamour shots.

We climbed up the mountain through the vineyards surrounded by high desert landscape. I will admit to it feeling a little odd. We are from Vegas and to see a vineyard in the midst of this landscape was a little disconcerting. We climbed the hill to the picnic area on top, where picnic tables were set out with bottles of wine and plates of wine grapes.

Elephant Mountain Vineyard, in Yakima Valley’s Rattlesnack Hills AVA

The Vineyard itself is located on the southern slopes of Rattlesnake Ridge which sits at the base of Elephant Mountain. The ridge sits above the Missoula Flood plain. Elevations here sit from 1320-1460 feet.The high elevation here means that they have about 30 more frost free days than the rest of the Yakima Valley.

Varieties Grown at Elephant Mountain

First planted in 1998 with Merlot and Cabernet, the vineyard has expanded to almost 120 acres which now includes Cab Franc, Mourvédre, Grenache, Petit Verdot, Petite Sirah, Syrah, Sangiovese, Cinsault, Counoise, Barbera and Viognier, Marsanne & Roussanne.

I mentioned the grapes on the table. It was a gorgeous line-up for tasting the ripe grapes of Cinsault, Counoise, Mouvédre, Grenache, Syrah, Marsanne & Roussanne.

Cinsault grapes
Roussanne grapes
Marsanne & Counoise

Co got started giving us a little background on the area and then, Joe Hattrup, the owner of the vineyard met us to speak about the vineyard.

Joe Hattrup speaking to us about his Elephant Mountain Vineyard

Joe has been a farmer all of his life, but when they started this vineyard, he was new to wine grapes. So they set up a test block to see what worked and learn about the grapes before planting them in the commercial blocks.

They began as I said with Cab & Merlot and quickly got into Syrah. From there they found tat this site with it’s high elevation was good for many of the Rhône varieties. Most Rhônes are late ripening and the elevation here gives them those 30 additional days frost free, as well a great southern exposure late in the year to help with ripening.

They do have a second vineyard, Sugarloaf, also in the Rattlesnake Hills. He mentioned that they had pulled out the Viognier here at Elephant Mountain to plant Grenache which is in high demand and grows better with the protection this site provides.

A little on the Geography

We mentioned the elevation here, but Co put this into perspective with a few stats. At this point in the Yakima Valley, the river sits at 900 feet, and we were standing at about 1450 feet. When you head east to Red Mountain, the river there sits at around 400 feet. So you can see the valley is much lower there.

Desert, Vineyard and basalt at Elephant Mountain.
Basalt at Elephant Mountain Vineyard

We were standing in a ring of basalt lava rocks which informs the soils. Up on the ridge behind us, if you look closely, you can see a tree line. A band of trees sites at about 1600 feet, right at the line for moisture, fog and snow.

The views

Spectacular panorama of the Yakima Valley from Elephant Mountain Vineyard

View of Mount Adams from Elephant Mountain Vineyard
Looking South from Elephant Mountain Vineyard across the Yakima Valley
Vineyard View Elephant Mountain.

The wines

The lineup of wines on the table, all from wineries who source from this vineyard, was diverse and impressive! The grapes are concentrated and the wines from these grapes tend to be really inky.

We tasted a wide sampling of Rhône varieties and blends from an assortment of wineries, all with fruit from this vineyard. It was really interesting to see the reflection of the fruit with it’s similarities and then the expression of the various winemakers on top of this.

Wines made with Elephant Mountain fruit

We were treated to a great lunch following this tasting. A food truck with Authentic Mexican food arrived to fill our bellies. I felt even more at home, with food truck the desert sage brush. Once full, we climbed back into our vans and headed to Walla Walla for the start of the Wine Bloggers Conference. But along the way, we took in some spectacular views and our driver filled us in on the history of the area, ancient as well as recent.

I’ll do yet another shout out to Barbara Glover at Wine Yakima Valley. This visit that she planned for us was entertaining, informative and beautifully paced. Thanks also to Co Dinn and Joe Hattrup for taking the time to give us these great insights into the Yakima Valley Wine Region. And of course to WBC18, without which we might not have visited this beautiful region.

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

Yakima Valley Seminar

Apr 24, 2019

We spent a glorious evening at Owen Roe Winery, tasting wines and meeting winemakers from all over the Yakima Valley. Now it was time to get into the nitty gritty geeky stuff.

Wine Yakima Valley, set us up with a morning seminar for a video flyover of the Yakima Valley with Co Dinn and Kerry Shiels to orient us on the layout of the valley.

Yakima Valley Seminar

Co Dinn

Co Dinn Cellars

I had met Co Dinn on the first evening in Yakima. As the party was winding down, and the table emptying out, he came to my end of the table and introduced himself. We spoke for quite awhile in the shadows, my shot of the wine I tasted with him, with attest to that.

Co has been a winemaker in Washington for over 20 years. A UC Davis master’s grad, he worked in Napa and then came to Washington in 1996. Since then he has worked with vineyards all over the state to make his wines.

He spent 12 years working with Côte Bonneville before diving into his own label Co Dinn Cellars, where he makes wines of the Yakima Valley and is devoted to learning everything about this areas soils and climates. His knowledge is expansive as you will see as he speaks with us.

Kerry Shiels

Côte Bonneville

We mentioned that Co had spent time working with Côte Bonneville. The Côte Bonneville estate vineyard is Du Brul Vineyard. It was planted by Hugh and Kathy Shiels back in 1992 with the winery founded in 2001. Kerry Shiels, daughter of Hugh and Kathy and the current winemaker at Côte Bonneville joined us for this conversation.

DuBrul Vineyard

Did I mention that Co was devoted to learning about the climates of the area. Yes, that was plural climates. When you talk about DuBrul vineyard, they have multiple microclimates within their 45 acre site.

“In distance measured by hundreds of feet or less, we observe different growing conditions and tailor our farming practices to provide for the individual needs of the vine.
Quote courtesy the Cote Bonneville website https://www.cotebonneville.com/vineyard

This vineyard is recognized as one of the top in the state.

Part 1 – Overview and comparisons

In Part 1 below, we begin with Barbara Glover, the Executive Director of Wine Yakima Valley giving us an overview of the Yakima Valley AVA, it’s sub AVA’s and some of the surrounding area. She then turns it over to Co Dinn. Co gives us a little perspective on the size of the wine region here compared to other regions. He and Kerry move on to a comparison of Washington to Burgundy and then moving on to talk about the soils and geology within this region.

Part 2 – Soil overview and Union Gap to DuBrul Vineyard

Part 2 continues with details on the soils and top soils. They don’t have clay here, the soils here are gravel or sand. As they don’t have clay, they don’t have phylloxera. They are also in a rain shadow. We zoom in and begin our flyover where Kerry details some of the vineyards that we will be driving by shortly on our way first to Elephant Mountain and then on to Walla Walla.

Kerry mentions the world class vineyard research happening here in the Yakima Valley. She also tells us about the Red Willow Vineyard. They focus on Syrah here and have a replica of the Chapel at Hermitage on the hill at the vineyard. They also are looking deeply into the nuances of the different microclimates of the vines on different sides of their hill. Red Willow is a vineyard and at least 18 wineries source fruit from this iconic vineyard. Our flyover takes us from Union Gap on the western end of the valley discussing areas and vineyards as we travel east. We get to DuBrul Vineyard in Rattlesnake Hills AVA, where Kerry takes over speaking of their vineyard.

Kerry gives us a great quote from Bob Betz, Master of Wine

“Every grape would be red if it could. Every grape would be cabernet if it could, and the best cabernet in the state of Washington is DuBrul Vineyard merlot.”

Part 3 – DuBrul to Red Mountain

In Part 3 Co continues us east from DuBrul ending in Red Mountain. This hill is an extension of Rattlesnake Ridge. Red Mountain provides excellent structure and tannins and is used often in blends. This is a southwest facing slope, not an entire mountain. It is one of the warmest grape growing region in the state, so the cabernet grown there always ripens fully.

We had a little time for questions which got into climate change. Kerry says the hillsides help to protect them according to most projections, but they are working on water management. (She goes into some great details on why this is so)

Thanks to the Wine Media Conference https://www.winemediaconference.org/ (then known as the Wine Bloggers Conference) and Wine Yakima Valley https://wineyakimavalley.org/ for setting us the enjoyable and informative Pre-Conference tour.

Next up – Elephant Mountain Vineyard

From here we head out to Elephant Mountain Vineyard in the middle of the Yakima Valley

Washington Wines

L’Ecole No. 41 and where it fits in the Washington Wine World

Where did the name “L’Ecole No. 41” come from?

The 2017 L’Ecole No. 41 Cabernet Sauvignon from Walla Walla

What does all that mean as far as flavor?

So what to pair with this Cabernet Sauvignon from L’Ecole No. 41? Well Steak of course!

Chocolate and Cabernet Sauvignon

Want to know more about L’Ecole No. 41?

Ingredients

Instructions

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Syncline 2017 Subduction Red – Columbia Valley

Bacon-wrapped stuffed pork tenderloin with raspberry sauce, beet greens, and a root vegetable gratin

Bacon brie raspberry bites

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Bacon Brie Raspberry Bites

What to Pair?

Syncline 2017 Subduction Red – Columbia Valley

Time: 1 Hour 25 Minutes

Yield: 3 people

Bacon Brie Raspberry Bites

Ingredients

Directions

Bacon Brie Raspberry Bites

Watch our quick video for the highlights.

Bacon brie raspberry bites

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